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Hello students,

It’s that crazy time of the year where your final assignments are creeping up and you’re trying to recover from the midterm madness.  The holidays are just around the corner and you can almost see the end of the tunnel .  Here are a couple of tips to keep you motivated.  Give it a try whenever you’re needing an energy boost / positive reinforcement  🙂 

1)      Make yourself a cup of hot tea / coffee –  
A bit of caffeine will help re-energize your brain and keep you focused.  Try to avoid energy drinks.

2)      Exercise –
Take a short walk to let your mind refresh.  A bit of quick stretching will also do the trick!

3)      Create a calendar / task list –
Outline an academic task list to accomplish each day.  Hopefully you have had been using your school agenda thus far.  If not, it’s never too late!   Writing out the steps required to complete your assignment / study timeline will help you manage you time better. 

4)      Study in a group –
Learning is more fun when you have great company.  Call up your buddies for a study group or a work session for group projects.

5)      Sleep –
Remember to take a break when your body calling for some rest.  Staying up often decreases productivity and work quality.  So make sure you management your time well, and get some quality snoozing time each night.

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***NEW DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS – NOVEMBER 2***

The PCMA Canada East Chapter is offering one lucky student the opportunity to attend the industry’s premier networking and educational event. PCMA’s 57th Annual Meeting “Convening Leaders” in Orlando, Florida, January 13 — 16, 2013 promises to have it all — from innovative meetings, relevant industry education, fantastic networking opportunities to PCMA chapter events and student programming.

The Starwood Hotels & Resorts Annual Meeting Student Scholarship includes airfare, hotel accommodation, food and beverage stipend and student registration fees. Please submit your application no later than NOVEMBER 2, 2012 to be eligible to win this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

For more information visit: http://www.pcma.org/Chapters/Canada-East.htm
Email Applications to ghgbarker@gmail.com

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Imagine graduating from college not knowing what you want to do.  You start to investigate a certain career, and someone encourages you to get involved with a certain industry association.  Most enterprising people would check it out – see if there’s a job board, or attend a local networking reception…

Then there’s Madeline Bart.  After graduating in 2009 from Queen’s University with a degree in English and Psychology and spending a year in South Korea, Madeline returned home, not knowing what career path to pursue.  The meetings industry seemed interesting.  She met Jacqui Sullivan, then incoming president of PCMA Canada East Chapter, who helped her make some local connections.  A few months later, she decided to take the plunge and attend Convening Leaders 2011 in Las Vegas – on her own dime, without having a job in the industry…

To find out more about Madeleine’s journey into the industry click below…

Deborah Sexton To the Point – March 2012 Convene

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The Conference Innovators’ DNA

Innovation. It’s the heartbeat of today’s economy. It’s also where you as a meeting professional need to focus your attention, time and resources to compete in the meetings marketplace. Average meetings are planned by average meeting professionals. Yet, most conference attendees don’t want to pay for an average conference. They want a unique experience.

Is innovation a talent from birth or something that can be learned and acquired? Good news…you can be more innovative and creative. You can change your behaviors and adopt critical innovative strategies. What are the traits of today’s innovative meeting professionals? How do they think and behave? Why don’t they let traditional rules and the status quo stand in the way of their vision? What questions do they constantly use to benchmark their thinking? What are the skills needed for innovative thinking and behaviors?

Join us as we learn how to embrace the Conference Innovators’ DNA

Remember student…pay to attend one chapter educational session in 2012, and you will receive complimentary access to the rest of the chapter’s education sessions for the entire year!!!

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Through a grant from the Education Foundation of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) we are conducting a study to investigate what the millennial generation prefers in their meetings, events, and conventions.

We are asking faculty to either: (Please issue to students no later than Monday, February 20.)

• Share this invitation with your students so they may take the survey, or
• Make it an assignment for your students to complete the survey
• There is a “survey completion verification” page with a unique identifier that respondents can copy, paste and send to you to know they completed the assignment

Your students ideas are important to us and we are asking you to help facilitate their participation in this study. All answers will be kept confidential. The survey should take between 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

As a bonus, one respondent will be selected from completed surveys to receive two round trip air tickets anywhere in the U.S. as a complimentary gift for completing the survey. Email addresses must be submitted at the end of the survey to be considered for the complimentary gift.

Further, we would ask that your students forward this invitation on to their friends and peers. Each time one of them answers the survey and tells us who referred them by providing the forwarders email address at the end of the survey, they will get an additional chance for the gift. More friends = more chances!

The survey will remain open through Friday, March 9.

Thank you for your interest in helping to enhance meetings/events. Click the following website to access the survey OR cut and paste it into your browser:

https://ecu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cZ65dOViwka2P4w

George G. Fenich, Ph.D.
East Carolina University

Sheila Scott-Halsell, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University

Godwin-Charles Ogbeide, Ph.D.
University of Arkansas

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On January 31st, students from all over the Canada East Region came out to our chapter social at SPiN Toronto.  This event was a great opportunity to network and meet industry professionals from every facet of the industry.   The students from Guelph University ended the night victorious as Ping Pong Champions!

SPiN Toronto is a 12,000 sq ft ping pong social club that is located in the heart of downtown Toronto.  The club boasts 2 fully licensed bars, 12 ping pong tables, cocktail menu, full food menu, a lounge and a private party room.  Memberships are available for the more obsessed players but not necessary to take part in the nightly events, tournaments, private ping-pong instructions by professional players, and casual socializing and play!

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International Women’s Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.

Suffragettes campaigned for women’s right to vote. The word ‘Suffragette’ is derived from the word “suffrage” meaning the right to vote. International Women’s Day honours the work of the Suffragettes, celebrates women’s success, and reminds of inequities still to be redressed. The first International Women’s Day event was run in 1911. 2011 was the Global Centenary Year. Let’s reinvent opportunity for all women!

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I’ve always been a shy person when talking about my own achievements.  As you can imagine, winning an industry award does not allow you to hide from the spotlight.  I’ve had to step outside of my comfort zone recently, to take centre stage in San Diego where I received the inaugural Emerging Leaders Award at PCMA’s Convening Leaders.

Now that I have come back home, I have a lot of students and young professionals are asking me how they can be as successful even though they have just started out in their careers.   So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to share my view on success:

I think the key to success is quiet simple.  To be successful all you have to do is achieve a certain level of self worth.  We like to overcomplicate the matter by attaching a dollar sign and/or a status level to what is, and what isn’t considered successful.  Traditionally we strive to become successful through the acquisition of wealth, power or respect.  I believe success should hinge on one fact alone.  At the end of the day, when you look at yourself in the mirror, are you proud of what you see?  Success is a matter of inner strength and confidence.

I would suggest that success should not be defined by wealth, but the sums of your confidence, individuality and resiliency through the knowledge and experiences you’ve gained and shared with the world.  This may seem quite complicated, but the path to unlocking all of these key components begins with happiness.  I believe that doing the things you enjoy helps you climb the ladder of success.

In my opinion there are many ways someone can succeed.  Making a lot of money and having a lot of expensive things should not be the motivating force driving what you do in a day.  Always maintain your passion to satisfy your own creative appetites. Don’t become driven by money or status.

Success should be measured by the way you can positively influence and inspire others to bring out their best potential.  We should be striving to be leaders, not just in industry, but in our communities and the relationships we have.  What we need to do is focus on strengthening of our sense of satisfaction with the resources we have and being content in the work we do.

Don’t try and live your life based on a path someone else has already taken.  Individuality is the single most precious thing you have.  Rather than dwelling on your downfalls inadequacies, you should embrace them and work to make them your strengths. Not every day will go exactly as planned; there is always an element of surprise.  Success can also be the ability to reach the lowest of lows but still bounce back resiliently.

The path to success is long but the journey does not have to be insurmountable.  Success comes in all forms and at all times in life.  Feel free to explore the possibilities of “what if”, take risks and enjoy the small things in life.  Always remember that success is a point-of-view – so start to embrace your own story.

Justin Toth

Best In Class…

This year we had many outstanding applicants for our Starwood Hotels and Resorts Annual Meeting Scholarship as well as our Catherine Anderson-Brown Memorial Scholarship.  Our Board of Directors reviewed all of these submission and is proud to announce the recipients for 2011:

The Starwood Hotels and Resorts Annual Meeting Scholarship is awarded to: Amber Jones of Niagara College ( Bachelor of Applied Business – Hospitality Operations Management Event Program).  Amber plans  to continue her involvement in the community and volunteer within the industry as much as possible. After graduation she would like to become a meeting and event planner for a smaller venue such as a hotel to gain as much experience as possible.

The Catherine Anderson-Brown Memorial Scholarship is awarded to: Julia Westelaken  of Centennial College (Graduate Certificate – Event Management – Festival and Conference).  Julia will use this scholarship to continue her volunteer work and to become a student member of PCMA.  She anticipates expanding her networking base and growing as a potential employee and person.

In addition, PCMA Canada East Chapter also funds multiple bursaries and awards to colleges/universities throughout the Canada East region.  This years recipients of the awards are from Niagara College and Holland College:

Niagara College Award: Jen Robinson/Amy Watts/Katia Cristicini

Holland College Award is awarded to Casey Ford

Congratulations to all of you!