sitelines
Welcome to ‘sitelines’ your Site Canada Newsletter
… new segments, new contributors from across the country, and
beyond
In this edition
• Meet your 2010 President, Cathy O’Connor• Celebrating True Bravery:
AttheSiteWinterSocial
• AGM Happenings:WelcometoCanada,SiteGlobalPresident,SeanMahoneyplus,announcingtheSiteCanada‘VolunteeroftheYear’
• Update on the BEICC(BusinessEventsIndustryCoalitionofCanada)
• ‘Cross-Country Corner’…SiteCanadamemberEmilyEdwardsexperiencesthe2010OlympicsinVancouver/Whistler
• ‘Cape Town Challenge’…Readaboutanexcitingopportunityforyoutoattendthe2010SiteInternationalConferenceinCapeTown,SouthAfrica,December4-7,2010
‘sitelines’willbepublishedsixtimesayeartokeepyouinformedofwhat’shappeninginCanadaandaroundtheWorld,what’snew,upcomingevents,andlinkagestomembersandotherSiteGlobalChapters
Asthisfirsteditionisprepared,Canadaisexperiencingtheagonyandtheecstasyofsuccessesatthe2010WinterOlympics
President’s MessageWe’re on our way…
To another great year for Site Canada and…
To Cape Town, South Africa for the 2010 Site International Conference!
ThelaunchofourSiteCanadaCapeTownChallenge,atourrecentAGM,wasreceivedwithagreatdealofenthusiasm.Theprogramisdesignedtoassistourmemberswithfund-ingtoattendthe2010GlobalConferenceinCapeTown.SponsoronenewmemberandSiteCanadawillgiveyouarebateof$500towardsthecostofyourregistrationfee,flightandaccommodation.Twomembers-$1000,threemem-bers-$1500!Weencourageallourmembers,acrossCanada,totakeadvantageofthisopportunityandhelpuscarrytheChapteroftheYearbannerintotheGlobalConference.Forcompleteinformationontheprogram,pleasevisittheSiteCanadawebsite.
AttendeesatourAGMwerenotonlytreatedtoanoutstand-ingdinner(thankyou,NyoodRestaurant!),wewerealsoprivilegedtohaveSeanMahoney,PresidentSiteGlobal,withus.OnhisfirstinternationalChaptervisit,Seanbroughtusup-to-dateonSiteGlobal’splansfor2010,aswellasitsrecentachievements.
Plansarewellunderwayforournexttwoevents-achap-termeetingtakingplaceinMontrealontheeveningofWednesday,April7andNationalMeetingsIndustryDay,justaweeklater,onApril15.IfyouaregoingtobeinMontrealonthe7th,orknowofsomeoneinthecitywhowouldliketocome,allarewelcome,youdonotneedtobeamember.SimilarlywithNMID,everyoneiswelcome,eitherhereinTorontoattheAllstreamCentre,oratanyoftheotherNMIDmeetingsacrossCanada.Detailsofbotheventswillbeavailableonsitecanada.orgshortly.
Forasmallorganization,SiteCanadahasalotonthego-andwewouldloveyourhelp.You’llfindvolunteeringtobeanexceptionalwayofmakingconnectionswithyourfellowSitemembers,hereathome,aswellas,internationally.Ifyouareinterestedinjoiningoneofourcommittees,pleasecontactLizAkey,[email protected].
WearealwaysopentoideasandsuggestionsastohowSiteCanadacanbetterserveyou.Pleasefeelfreetoshareyourswithus.
sitelines March 2010
President’s AwardSiteCanada2009President,SusanProphet,inherwrap-uptoamemora-bleyearinwhichtheCanadaChapterreceivedtheSiteGlobal‘ChapteroftheYear’,decidedtosetuptheinaugural‘PresidentsAward’torecognizeout-standingcontributiontoSiteCanada.TheawardwaspresentedtoLeslieWrightofFletcher,WrightAssociatesforhertirelessworktosupporttheCanadaChapterthroughitsadministration,strategicdirectionandmeasuresforitssuccessthisyear.Verywelldeserved,Leslie.
Volunteer ChampionsItwasaveryexcitingeveningatourSiteAGMwhenwerec-ognizedandcongratulatedour2009VolunteerChampionnominees:
MoragDonald,CITE–IncentiveInsightJaneWallbridge–CarlsonMarketingCanadaSeanLandis–StarwoodHotels&ResortsHeatherDouglas–MaritzCanadaVladHaltigin,CITE–PDM(i)RichardElliott–IGNITEDeborahDavy–RadonicRodgersWendyMcKenzie–HospitalityConnectionPamGraham–CongressCanada
ThenomineeswerenominatedbytheirSitepeers.BallotformsweresenttotheSiteOfficeandwewouldliketosharesomeofthecommentsthatweremadeabouttheseamazingvolunteersontheballotforms.
A Superstar!• Outstandingteamplayerandgreatleadership• Jumpedinwithbothfeettohelpthecommittee,inadif-
ficultyear.Shedidmostofitoverherholidays!• Hasexemplifiedteamworkandcommitmenttoourcom-
mittee.Nodetailisoverlookedunderherdirection.• Hasgivengreatguidanceandleadershiptoourevent.
ThenomineesthencompletedaquestionnaireandeachwasreviewedbyaNominationReviewCommittee.Itwasaverydifficultdecision,andwecouldnotchooseone,anddecidedtoawardtwo 2009 Volunteer Champions!Morag Donald, CITE: Incentive Insight, and Vlad Haltigin, CITE: PDM(i).HereiswhatourwinnerssaidaboutwhatSitemeanstothem.
Morag Donald–“Siteisagroupofprofessionalsthatallhavedifferentbackgroundsandexperiencefromwhichtodraw.It’saneclecticgroupcomingtogetherforacommongoal-tofurtherthehospitalityandespe-ciallyincentiveaspectoftheindustryandhelpeachotherinthiseffort.”
Vlad Haltigin–“Aninvaluablesourceofeducation,anunparallelednetworkingvehicle,aforumthroughwhichtoshareideas.Sitemeetsdif-ferentneedsthroughoutyourcareer.Siteprovidesopportunitiesto‘giveback’throughvolunteerprojects,
mentoringothermembers,andbysharingknowledgegainedthroughyearsofexperience.”
Heartycongratulationstoyouboth!
Liz Akey, CMP, Vice President, Membership
AGM Happenings
Members MusingsWelcome new Site Canada Members
WewouldliketoextendaverywarmwelcometoournewestSitemembers.
• RebeccaAlexander–TourismLondon• JanetCuffie–BahamasTouristOffice• BarbaraDirnberger–TravelInformationNetwork• BarbaraFinn–LasVegasConventionandVisitors
Authority• JenniferGlynn–MarriottInternational• CatharineGracon–HotelLeGermain• JayneGray–MarcoSalesandIncentivesLtd
Mark Your Calendar… UpcomingSiteandindustryevents• April7…SiteCanadaMontrealEvent • April15…NationalMeetingsIndustryDay• May19…SiteCanadaChapterMeeting• July14…SiteCanadaSummerSocial • August16…SiteCanadaGolfTournament • September15…SiteCanadaChapterMeeting • October20…SiteCanadaEducationDay • November17…SiteCanadaChapterMeeting • December3-7…SiteInternationalConference • December15…SiteCanadaHolidaySocial
sitelines March 2010
BEICC - Business Events Industry Coalition of CanadaTheCoalitionwasformedtowardstheendof2009andfor-mallylaunchedinJanuary2010toactasaunifyingvoiceforthemyriadofbusinesseventsIndustrygroupsandassocia-tions.TheemphasisisonBusinessasacommondenominator,andalsoontheimportanceofpresentingastrongcollaborativeapproachtogovernment,industry,businessleadersandthegeneralpublic.Ouraimistobethego-tosourceforconsulta-tionwiththesebodies,toensureasolidenvironmentforoursectortogrowandtodeliverstrongfinancialreturnsforourmembergroups.AsaresulttheCanadianeconomyoverallwillbenefit.SiteCanadaisoneofninefar-sightedindustryassociationswhohavecometogetherastheFoundingMembersoftheCoalition.Thejointleadersofthesegroupshaveseentheneedtojointhedisparatevoicesoftheindustryforstrength,synergyandgreatereffect.EachFoundingMemberholdsaseatontheBEICCBoardofDirectors.Naturallythehopeisthatotherindustryassociationswilljoininthenearfuture,andthatotherpartnerswillcomeonboardwhetherfromthegreaterbusinessworld,advisorstotheindustryorfromofficialbodies.ThereisprovisionintheBylawsforadditionalmemberorgani-sationseatsontheBoardandalsoforindividualDirectorswhobringspecificexpertisetothetable.Inaddition,theCoalitionhasbeendesignedwithahigh-profileAdvisoryCouncilinmind(namesandsuggestionswelcomed).Itisanticipatedthatinadditiontoprovidingstrategicadvice,theseleaderswithintheBusinessEventsIndustryacrossthecountrymaycarryoutadualrolefromtimetotime(whenappropriate),representingBEICCatvariouspublicvenues,meetingwithseniorgovernmentofficials,etc.Weknowthatbecominganacceptedindustryvoicedoesnothappenovernight,butweanticipatebuildingsolidlythrough-out2010.TheBEICCBoardisholdingastrategicsessionattheendofFebruaryandisfinalisingaplanofaction(thathasalreadybegun)tomeetwithmemberassociationboardsandtheirmembers,withindustryandgeneralbusinessleadersandwithgovernmentrepresentatives,totellthemabouttheCoalitionandtofamiliarisethemwithprioritiesinoursector.ThelandmarkMPIEconomicImpactStudy(producedbyMPIFoundation,MaritzResearchandtheConferenceBoardofCanada),recentlyupdatedwith2008statistics,willbeavitaltooltodemonstratethevalueofourindustryasanintegralcomponentoftheCanadianeconomy.YourBoardmemberisyourSiteCanadaPresident,CathyO’ConnorwhowillbringnewsofBEICCworkbacktoyouandwillensureyourissuesofconcernareattheforefrontofBEICCplanning.Staytuned-wehavemuchworktodo!
Ruth Abrahamson, CMPExecutive Director BEICC
Celebrating True BraveryThiswasaveryspecialeveningforSitemembersattheSheratonCentreHotelinToronto.NotonlydidtheycelebratetheHolidaySeason,butimportantly,theymettwocancersur-vivors,Tobin,age10andAdam,age7.Betweenthetwoboys,theyhavebeenintreatmentforcancerformorethan10yearsoftheirlives.Memberslistenedtotheboys’stories,toldbytheboysandtheirparentsaswellasthroughtheirlongstringsofBraveryBeads.Eachbeadonthestringsrepresentsatreat-mentorprocedurethattheboyshadenduredintheirbattletoovercomecancer.BetweenthemTobinandAdamhadoveronethousandbeads!That’sright,theyhaveenduredover1,000medicaltreatmentsandprocedures…thatistrulycour-agepersonified.Theseyoungfellowsarejusttwoof10,000CanadianchildrenwhoarecurrentlyintreatmentforcanceracrossCanada.GenerousdonationsfromSiteCanadamem-bersweregeneratedattheeventtogiveeachofthefamiliesahelpinghandwiththemanyonerousexpensesassociatedwiththischallengingjourneyfortheirchild.TheChildhoodCancerFoundationhasbeenhelpingCanadianfamiliesintheirjourneysince1987.YoucanreadmoreabouttheworkoftheFoundationtofundresearchatthe17Canadianchildren’shospitalsthroughtheC17ResearchNetworkaswellassup-portfamilieswithavarietyofprograms.Dotakeamomentandlog-ontotheamazingworkdoneatwww.childhoodcancer.ca
L-RMomKaren,cancersurvivorTobin(wearinghislongstringsofBraverybeads);SusanProphetandCathyO’Connor
L-RSusanProphet:,MaryLye,DirectorofMarketingandCommunications,ChildhoodCancerFoundation;cancersurvivorAdam,DadDavid,andbrotherCole
sitelines March 2010
Cape Town ChallengeHelpSiteCanadareachits2010membershipgoal,andwe’llhelpyougettoCapeTownfortheSiteInternationalConference,December4-7,2010!
HOW: BetweenFebruary10andOctober1,2010:o Sponsoronenewmember–receivea$500rebateo Sponsortwonewmembers–receivea$1000rebateo Sponsorthreenewmembers–receiveda$1500rebate
WHY:o Makeglobalconnectionswithmembersfromchapters
aroundtheworldo Learnfromfocused,timelyeducationsessionso HaveanexperiencetorememberasCapeTownshowsus
thebestofwhatittoofferasanincentivedestinationo Carryour“ChapteroftheYear”bannerwithpride
CRITERIA:o Youmustbeamemberingoodstanding.o ThenewmembermustbeapprovedbySiteGlobalby
October1,2010.o Yournamemustbeonthenewmember’sapplicationform
assponsor(onesponsorpermember)andthenewmem-ber’sapplicationformmustbeaccompaniedbyyourletterofrecommendation.
o ProofofConferenceregistrationandattendanceattheconferenceisrequired.
o Receipts,fromthemember,forconferenceregistration,conferencehotelaccommodationandconferenceairfarearetheonlyeligiblereceiptstoqualifyfortherebate.
o Submita200-250wordarticleforSiteCanada’snewslet-tersharingyourexperienceattheGlobalConference.
Forfurtherinformation,contacttheSiteCanadaoffice:[email protected],905-812-site(7483)
Cross Country CornerA note from the
West CoastVancouverandWhistler-inspiredbyOlympicspiritwhichhashadarippleeffectthroughoutCanadastartinghereontheWestCoast.FromtheinitialcountdownatBCPlacefortheOpeningCeremoniestothefirstGoldMedalonCanadiansoil,theenergyiselectrifyingandaddictive.Thepavilionsand“houses”areinfullswingwithlivemusicandentertainmentwhichcontinueswellintotheearlymornings.
Thereisnotmuchchanceofgettinglostandyoucanfindyourwayquicklyaroundthesiteswiththemanyhundredsofvol-unteerswhoarewellpositionedtohelpalllocalsandvisitorsalike.Thelineupsforsecurityarequickandeverythingseemswellthoughtoutandorganized,tominimizeanyinconve-niencesandtomaximizetheOlympicexperiencetoitsfullest.Wecertainlyarereadyineveryaspecttoexpectandlookfor-wardtoreceivingmanymoremedalsbeforetheshowisover.
WithallthenewOlympicvenuesandworld-widecoverageandrecognition,VancouverandWhistlerarecertainlyinatoppositiontoattractmeetingplannersfromaroundtheglobe.Thiscoveragenowgivesaclearpictureofwhatthisdestina-tioniscapableofdelivering–eveninthewinterwithourmildtemperatures.
WiththeOlympicspiritdrivingusforward,WEBELIEVE!
Checkbackafterthegamesforafollowupreport:“Expectationsversusreality”–whatdidwelearn.
GOCANADAGO!Emily Edwards