PCMA New England education meeting doubles as pep rally for Convening Leaders!
Although many of us are just getting around to wishing our friends and colleagues a Happy New Year, PCMA New England got a jump start when we said our goodbyes to our 2013 Chapter year and a gave a big hello and welcome to 2014!
A fresh start and turning a new page is always an exciting moment to celebrate, but in the case of New England, we’re now days away from welcoming PCMA Members and participants from all around, to our great city of Boston as the host city for this year’s Convening Leaders! The December Annual Meeting at the BCEC was alive all night long with the electricity of everyone’s anticipation for the big event that is now just a week away!
With the illuminated city scape of Boston on one side and the seaport in view out another, over 100 attendees arrived at the largest building in New England, the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to get registered and start saying hello to friends new and old.
Deborah Sexton and Johnnie White were in attendance and gave us all updates on the status of PCMA, what to expect at Convening Leaders, and what the event would mean for Boston and our surrounding cities and neighboring New England states. Next up was a sneak peek – Dahlia El Gazzar took to the stage. Her presentation was as fun as her personality as she took us through all the best event apps and programs that would reenergize and transform anyone’s event planning or producing universe. There were also some universally helpful apps like “Snagit”, the online or on the go app that allows you to easily grab logos and images embedded in any site, or “Card Munch” a great LinkedIn-friendly app that quickly imports business card information and connects you on LinkedIn; were two of many suggestions that fingers busy as people rushed to download the apps or write them down to remember and do it later. For those who missed this part of the event, or didn’t get a chance to take notes, come see Dahlia next week at Convening Leaders where she’ll have even more time to change our worlds with other helpful apps and ideas!
At the conclusion of the meeting portion, attendees left the meeting room and were greeted by confetti cannon explosions, raining down and swirling through the hallway as attendees made their way to the Boston skyline flanked reception, a gleaming Convening Leaders logo projected on the building across the street. The party had begun!
Auction tables, bars, and various food stations speckled the event space as people mingled through highboys sampling the fare, chatting about the meeting, and putting in their best bids for Red Sox tickets, hotel stays, and trips with all the trimmings. There wasn’t much that could quiet the crowd, that is until Billy Costa grabbed the mic and rallied the troops for the live Auction. A word from Jim Rooney, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority- our gracious host and sponsor- followed on stage and officially kicked off the countdown to Convening Leaders!
It was an exciting and fun-filled evening with great energy and enthusiasm. The perfect forecast for what’s in store in 2014 and at Convening Leaders in Boston!