To honor its 20th "Hall of Leaders" class, the Convention Industry Council (CIC) this fall will introduce a new format for its annual Hall of Leaders and Pacesetter Awards Celebration, it announced last week.
Taking place Oct. 13 at MGM Grand (pictured) in Las Vegas, coinciding with IMEX America, this year's awards program will ditch the traditional sit-down-dinner format and replace it with a more casual event. It will be hosted by Laura Schwartz, former White House director of events and author of "Eat, Drink, and Succeed," with entertainment by MO5AIC, a five-man vocal band whose members replicate the sounds of instruments with their voices.
"Each year we evolve the event to make it relevant as well as enjoyable to our industry audience while giving proper respect to those that have had such an impact on the industry," CIC CEO Karen Kotowski said in a statement. "We listened to our members and attendees who said they wanted a less formal event, coinciding with the IMEX America trade show event, rather than the Sunday before. Gone are the rounds of 10 long speeches and the multicourse dinner. 'In' is lounge-style seating, artistic appetizers, and innovative cocktails prior to, during, and after the special entertainment."
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 by a CIC selection committee, and approved by the CIC board of directors, this year's Hall of Leaders inductees are: Amy Spatrisano, CMP, former principal of MeetGreen; Larry Luteran, former senior vice president, group sales and industry relations, Hilton Worldwide; Jane E. Schuldt, CIS, CITE, founder and president, World Marketing Group Ltd.; Patricia Farías Barlow, CEM, CEO, Puerto Vallarta Convention Center and FIDEES; and Craig Smith, retired, former president of Freeman Audio Visual Inc.
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