Destination Management

Memphis hosts to more than 200 industry leaders at 2009 Global Events Partners Executive Summit

MEMPHIS. Tenn. — Global Events Partners, the leading partnership of destination management companies worldwide held its annual Executive Summit in Memphis, Tenn. from June 25–28.

GEP, in partnership with Destination King and The Peabody Memphis, welcomed meeting professionals and GEP Partner DMCs from more than ninety destinations worldwide.

Planners came from all throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe to experience a series of educational seminars, networking opportunities, one-on-one appointments and social and cultural events designed to showcase the best meeting venues Memphis offers.  

The educational topics began with a keynote presentation from Cindy Novotny, Master Connection Associates on “Innovation in Today’s Leadership”, which focused on how to effectively manage and lead different types of employees in today’s tough market.  Attendees gained a better understanding of how to effectively motivate and communicate to employees during these times of high stress and economic insecurity.

In addition, panels of planners and DMCs were formed to discuss various solutions as to how they can work together to achieve the goals and objectives defined for meetings/programs while conforming to new budget restrictions and further learning how to maximize the value of DMC services.

A primary objective of everyGEP Summit is to focus a portion of the agenda on giving back to the local community hosting the Summit.  This year, orchestrated by Destination King, the Summit opened with a powerful interactive discussion aimed at helping twelve Memphis non-profit organizations.

The leaders from these non-profits challenged planners and DMCs to brainstorm and present unique and creative ways to raise money and how to use events to reach their goals and objectives.

In conjunction with this session, through attendee donations for the Memphis Chapter of Dress for Success, the group was able to suit 50 women for interviews.  These donations included a suit, blouse and shoes for each woman.

In addition to the business sessions, compelling and emotionally moving off-site activities included VIP tours of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as well as the National Civil Rights Museum, leaving attendees with a new perspective on what the city of Memphis has to offer for groups of all sizes.  Program Manager of Jarman Travel, Inc, Karen McNeilly states, “Before this, I really never thought too much about Memphis but now I would put that destination on the top of my list.  I truly enjoy going to these events (Summits) because they do open my eyes to different destinations or ones that I would never really think of prior to the Summits.”

After three days of intense networking and educational business sessions, attendees walked away with a host of new ideas on how to be more strategic in their thinking to enhance the way they do business and make connections. Janice McCallen, convention & meeting planner manager of ServiceMaster Clean & Furniture Medic comments, “The value of the Summit was the opportunity to meet and visit with so many extraordinary people from all over the world!  I enjoyed visiting with many DMC’s and finding out more about the cities/countries they represented.  It helped me further solidify relationships with those DMC’s we will be working with, as well as meeting new people from different cities that we might have an opportunity to visit in the future.”

GEP was pleased to announce that next year’s Summit will be traveling to Alaska hosted by GEP’s partner, Logistics, LLC.  GEP also announced this year’s Partners of the Year, an award given out every Summit to an International and US based DMC that demonstrates exceptional customer service, raises the bar of excellence, promotes and brands their company with GEP, and embodies the standards of GEP. The 2009 awards were given to Destination King (Memphis), JPdL Destination Management (Eastern Canada) and Plano Global Events Portugal.

Launched in 1999, Global Events Partners celebrates 11 years of leading the DMC industry.  The partnership includes more than 65 leading destination management companies (DMCs) serving over 92 destinations worldwide. A DMC is a professional services company possessing extensive local knowledge and resources, specializing in the design and execution of group tours, transportation, events, activities and program logistics. GEP partners provide consistently high quality DMC services in the most desirable locations worldwide. Thanks to affiliations with sister company, Krisam Group - the top independent national sales office for hotels and resorts worldwide - and production company IEP, GEP offers a unique "one-stop" solution for corporate meeting planners worldwide. www.globaleventspartners.com.