By David L. Malhalab, MNS Photo/M News Service
Making connections pays off
The conference began with a kick-off speech by networking expert Laura Schwartz, followed by a reception at the beachfront One Ocean Resort, 20 minutes away.
On Monday, attendees got down to business during the SMMC Marketplace, where suppliers visit meeting planners during six-minute appointments. Over the course of two days, there were 50 appointment slots. The appointments educate meeting planners about second-tier and smaller destinations that might be a good fit for their meetings and conventions.
After the first day’s appointments, Will Carlson, with Sandy Springs Hospitality and Tourism in Sandy Springs, Ga., said he had gotten several RFPs from meeting planners.
Cindy Pierson, a St. Augustine, Fla.-based meeting planner for HelmsBriscoe, said she would further investigate state park lodges in Georgia and Arkansas after meeting with representatives from those venues. “I’ll be sending an RFP,” she said.
She was also excited about a North Carolina venue. “It is a former barn,” she said. “I think that would be a good retreat space.”
Don Shipley, with 24 Karat Travel in Calhoun, Ill., found a number of potential sites for incentive trips. “These appointments have worked so well,” he said. “What I’ve seen and heard has given me many places to look at for these rewards programs.”
Vicki Baptista, with Cabarrus County CVB, was attending her first SMMC. By the end of day one, she had four meeting planners who wanted to attend the bureau’s upcoming familiarization trip and another who was considering her area for a golf tournament he organizes.
“Holy smokes, this is exciting,” she said. “I’ll be spending the next few days following up with people.”
The conference ended on a high note for Nedra Sneed, a meeting planner with Bioactives World Forum in College Station, Texas, who has attended all three Small Market Meeting Conferences.
Sneed walked away with a 1.1 carat chocolate diamond, valued at $5,200, as winner of the annual Diamond Drop. She was also among the meeting planners who signed on for a post-conference familiarization trip to Amelia Island and St. Augustine, Fla.
