The Alexandria, Va.-based Convention Industry Council (CIC) will induct five meetings, conventions, exhibition and travel industry pioneers into its prestigious Hall of Leaders, it announced last week. Selected from a large group of nominees, the leaders will be officially inducted into the Hall of Leaders—which currently has 97 members—in January 2010 at the 2010 Hall of Leaders Gala, held in conjunction with the Professional Convention Management Association's Annual Meeting in Dallas.
"We are pleased to announce the winners of this prestigious award," CIC Chief Operating Officer Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, said in a statement. "There is tremendous talent in our industry, and the 2010 class clearly meets the criteria for this award—lasting contributions to the meetings, conventions, exposition and travel industry, as well as to society as a whole."
In order to be considered for Hall of Leaders induction, CIC says nominees must have "substantially contributed to the industry" and demonstrated "proven versatility through a range of actions that have impacted and re-defined meetings, conventions, exhibitions and /or travel."
Chosen this month by a CIC selection committee, and approved by the CIC Board of Directors, next year's Hall of Leaders inductees are:
• M. Theresa Breining, CMP, CMM, President and CEO, Concepts Worldwide
• Thomas M. Mobley, Jr., Senior Vice President for Convention Centers, Global Spectrum Facility Management
• Steve Porter, Former President, The Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group
• Preston Robert Tisch, Former Chairman and Co-Owner, Loews Hotels
• Jerry A. Wayne, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, The Greenbrier
Established in 1985, the Hall of Leaders honors inductees at the Hall of Leaders Recognition Pavilion in Washington, D.C.'s Washington Convention Center and on the walls of Chicago's McCormick Place.