President’s Message – New Year, New Opportunities for CAEM
Dear Members,
The New Year is a time when many of us within our industry kick it into high gear and CAEM plans to keep up! The Board of Directors has been diligently working with Redstone, our association management company to bring new ideas, initiatives and resources to our membership. Our dedicated member volunteers continue to direct and motivate the efforts of CAEM’s committees and signature events and for that, I am sincerely grateful.
In the past quarter, CAEM has developed a new partnership with Meetings Mean Business Canada. MMB promotes advocacy for the betterment of face-to-face business meetings and events. Our goal is to have a seat at the table, as the coalition works toward developing advocacy strategies. While MMB represents a cross-industry platform, our partnership provides the opportunity to bring awareness to trade and consumer exhibitions in Canada. This relationship is newly forged and I look forward to updating the membership as it progresses.
We have entered into a reciprocal sponsorship arrangement with GO WEST, which is an annual event that influences event professionals through education, innovation and networking. The interactions at that event help CAEM connect with our western members while gaining new ones. Be sure to visit the GO WEST booth at ExpoCAN during CAEM’s Annual Conference June 23rd through 25th in Calgary.
CAEM also had a presence at the 2018 IAEE Conference and trade show in New Orleans and brought back resources that will be shared with the membership over the coming months. CAEM will further develop its reciprocal agreement with IAEE and work with them to access their resources for our members, while sharing ours with them. The resources we are focused on accessing include research on fraudulent list brokers, webinars, mentorship programs and industry data/reports to name a few.
Sponsorship has been and continues to be imperative to CAEM’s success. I join the Board and the entire membership when I thank each and every sponsor who supported us in 2018. Redstone has conducted a sponsorship focus group which influenced a new offering package which will be circulated to the membership later this year. The goal is a sponsorship plan which is collaborative and responsive to sponsors’ needs and we look forward to sharing it.
As always, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your membership.
Yours in CAEM,
Catherine