The International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) has completed its first-ever European conference. Held Aug. 28 through Aug. 31 in Coventry, England, the four-day event attracted nearly 100 attendees from 10 different countries and was preceded by a Global Board of Directors meeting during which association leadership elected a new board and established a new industry awards program.
IACC Global President Peter Stewart of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, opened the association's landmark event—titled "Expanding Our Horizons"—with a welcome message to attendees, who traveled to the conference from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. He was followed by a variety of educational sessions and workshops on topics such as sales, marketing, operations and environmentalism—all delivered by speakers and presenters from within the United Kingdom's local conference and meetings industry.
IACC's inaugural European conference was preceded by a three-day "study tour" of European IACC conference centers, as well as a meeting of the St. Louis-based association's Global Board of Directors, which unanimously voted new officers into office. Among those elected were Neil Pompan of Thayer Lodging, who will serve as president of IACC North America; Steen Broby of Denmark's Cornwell Klarskovgaard, who will serve as first vice president; and Carin Skoglund of Sweden's Bergendal Kurs & Konferens, who will serve as secretary.
Also during its meeting, the IACC Global Board of Directors created two new industry awards. The Global Distinguished Service Award—the first of which will be awarded at IACC's North American Annual Conference in March 2009—will recognize one IACC member every year for his or her "sustained contribution and commitment within the conference center industry across chapters and at the global level." The IACC Global Future Leaders Scholarship, meanwhile, will recognize outstanding young people within the conference center industry by awarding them complimentary attendance on IACC's International Study Tour prior to either its North American or European conference, as well as complimentary conference attendance.
In a statement released this month, IACC called its first European conference "successful and groundbreaking."
For more information on IACC, visit
www.iacconline.org.