Photos courtesy Sioux Falls CVB
Small Market Meetings Conference delegates will see South Dakota’s largest city when the fourth annual conference for meeting professionals is held in Sioux Falls, S.D., Oct. 6-8.
Evening events will show off the Washington Pavilion, home to an 1,800-seat performing arts theater, a science center with a presentation theater and a cafe, and Falls Park, the 123-acre downtown park that preserves, protects and promotes the Falls of the Big Sioux River.
During several hours of free time on Monday afternoon, attendees can take tours of the city. They’ll see the new Sanford Sports Complex, the Seratoma Bufferfly House, the Outdoor Campus and the Old Courthouse Museum.
Remodeled Sheraton is headquarters
The two-day conference will be held at the Sheraton Sioux Falls and the adjoining Sioux Falls Convention Center. The 243-room Sheraton wrapped up a comprehensive remodeling this summer.
The conference is all about networking, from its Marketplace, where meeting planners and industry suppliers meet during prescheduled appointments, to meal times, where everyone has the chance to dine together in a casual setting that leads to friendships and business partnerships.
Each day, an industry expert will lead an educational seminar, designed to give meeting planners valuable insights and information about planning programming for modern audiences, using Internet marketing tools and negotiating contracts.
Did you know?
• Sioux Falls ranked No. 9 in Prevention magazine’s 2013 list of the 25 healthiest, happiest hometowns in the nation.
• Over the past decade, Sioux Falls has consistently ranked high on Forbes’ list of the Best Small Cities for Business and Careers. This year the city ranked No. 1 overall, No. 2 in cost of doing business, No. 14 in job growth and No. 38 in education.
• Sioux Falls has the second-highest rate of per capita giving to United Way campaigns in the nation; only Palm Beach, Fla., has a higher rate. This past year 30,000 individuals and more than 700 businesses gave their financial support to 96 programs funded by the United Way.
• Sperling’s Best Places ranked Sioux Falls No. 5 in a December 2011 list that touted the city’s “diverse economy, small-town atmosphere and low cost of living.”
