For the fifth consecutive year, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) will deliver its "Smart Monday" education program the Monday immediately prior to IMEX America, it announced yesterday. Taking place Oct. 12, 2015, this year's program will include more than 30 education sessions on topics such as hotel and incentive travel trends, risk management and contracts, technology, green and socially responsible meetings, meeting design, and more.
"MPI looks forward to returning to IMEX America this year," said MPI President and CEO Paul Van Deventer. "We continue to receive positive attendee feedback on our Smart Monday education and keynotes year after year, which is a testament of the MPI brand promise."
Meeting professionals will be able to earn continuing education credits for most sessions, according to MPI, which also will present a keynote speaker on Smart Monday and on each morning of IMEX America. Keynote speakers will be:
• Lee Papa (Monday, Oct. 12): An advisor, instructor, and speaker, Papa will present an address titled "How to Live and Lead Mindfully" during which she will discuss how to understand one's purpose and how to lead a more inspiring life. She will provide an explanation of what mindfulness practices are and how they impact one's life for the better as well as offer concepts and tools to use immediately to bring forth a positive shift.
• Tim David (Tuesday, Oct. 13): A former professional magician and mentalist, David will share the keys to creating a more human connection at work and in life in his presentation, titled "A Lost Art in a Noisy World." Attendees will leave with a renewed sense of what is really important, bringing that sense of purpose and meaning in to the workplace.
• Josh Tickell (Wednesday, Oct. 14): A film director who specializes in making movies with environmental messages, Tickell will reveal the secret world of social and psychological triggers that drive the 18- to 35-year-old demographic in a presentation titled "Managing and Marketing to the Future of Generation Y." Attendees will learn how the "future-focused" value set differs from the previous generations and how to tailor sustainability policies, communication, human resources, and customer service to meet the needs of the next generation of the marketplace.
• Patrick Henry (Thursday, Oct. 15): During a presentation titled "Becoming Remember-able," former Nashville songwriter and SiriusXM satellite radio personality Henry will discuss real world stories from his book, "The Pancake Principle: Seventeen STICKY Ways to Make Your Customers FLIP For You." Attendees will learn about three mindsets to build an extraordinary customer experience.
Said Carina Bauer, CEO of IMEX Group, "We are delighted to be working with MPI once again as our strategic partner and premier education provider. The education that MPI provides at IMEX America through their morning keynotes and the exceptionally strong Smart Monday program is second to none and provides both buyers and exhibitors alike a true added value benefit to attending IMEX America. Our teams work closely to ensure that the content is forward looking, as well as being highly relevant to delegates from all sectors of the industry, and it has become a corner stone of the IMEX America offering."
IMEX America takes place Oct. 13-15 in Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.imexamerica.com.
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