Month Date, 2017

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Dear Meetings/Hospitality Leader,

Each year, the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) serves members of the government meeting profession through the National Education Conference. Our membership consists of those who plan and/or execute these meetings and the suppliers who provide the facilities and/or services to those planners.

EDUCATION

This year’s three-day event is located in Fort Lauderdale, FL at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, and provides government meeting professionals with the ability to earn up to 13 education contact hours.The education includes the latest in contracting, ethics and logistics that are so important in managing a government meeting appropriately and effectively.

SGMP is a 501(c)(6) educational society whose mission is to enhance the knowledge and expertise of government meeting professionals and whose objectives are to improve the quality of, and promote the cost-effectiveness of, government meetings.

THREE PART HYBRID EXHIBITION

We are very excited about our plans for this year’s NEC, particularly due to some significant changes for this conference based on the feedback we have received from our long-time exhibitors. The changes that have been made, with particular attention to meeting the growing needs of our supplier partners,include:

  • Part I: Traditional Tradeshow

Though many associations have been trending away from the traditional tradeshow format, it remains a useful way for our suppliers to share information with our planners. The tradeshow will be smaller, shorter and more efficient than in previous years. Booths will be limited to 48 10x10’s (or fewer should suppliers opt for a larger booth). The event will be kept to one hour and light refreshments will be served.

  • Part II: Supplier Hosted Education Sessions

Four major sponsors will be offered an entire classroom (of nearly 3,000sf) at which lunch will be served and the sponsors will have the opportunity to decorate and design the room as they please. They will be able to bring in their own speakers (approved by SGMP), present on a specialty topic, introduce branded information, and enjoy an audience comprised of both planners and suppliers alike for up to four repeating 15-minute sessions. The audience will be permitted to rotate to the other classrooms during this period. Lunch will be provided in all of these concurrent sessions. This track will count as one of the education tracks for the conference.

  • Part III: Planner Dessert Reception

This is another brand new concept for SGMP. For the forty-five minutes following the hosted luncheons, we will hold a “reverse reception” where instead of suppliers arranging themselves by geographic region, the planners will do so. Suppliers will be free to roam about as they wish; mingling in whichever geographic circle befits them. This will give suppliers easy access to network specifically amongst those who can reasonably bring business to their hotel and thus more specific ROI.

AFFORDABILITY
In order to attend the 2017 SGMP NEC, your government market professional will need financial support and time away from the office to gain the education, resources and networking necessary to successfully fulfill your revenue goals.

Our Supplier attendees can book in our room block at our headquarter hotel for $118.00 plus taxes. Primary hotel is Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina and the overflow hotel is Hyatt Regency Pier 66. Meals are provided to all attendees in the same area from Tuesday night through Thursday afternoon, so you do not need to pay any additional expenses to network and meet with existing or new clients!

This educational opportunity is uniquely designed for your meeting professional. I encourage you to provide support to their effort to develop the skills that will enhance your organization’s success.

Regards,

Michelle Milligan, MSW, LMSW, CGMP
SGMP National President