The Chicago-based Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) recognized three meetings industry professionals last week at its annual PCMA Education Foundation Dinner Celebrating Professional Achievement, during which it also awarded $120,000 in research grants and scholarships.
Held April 15 in Washington, D.C., the PCMA Education Foundation Dinner is a 22-year-old annual event designed to honor meeting planners' contributions to the profession while also raising funds for research, grants and scholarships benefiting the meetings and events industry. Recognized this year were Bruce Harris, CMP, John Patronski and Tyra Hilliard, Ph.D., J.D., CMP.
"Each year, I look forward to the PCMA Education Foundation Dinner," PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton said in a statement. "Having worked on a personal basis with each of these honorees, it was wonderful to see them recognized by so many of their colleagues for their unparalleled passion and dedication to the meetings industry."
This year's dinner drew more than 900 meeting industry professionals, who attended not only to honor their colleagues, but also to rally around PCMA's advocacy efforts, which in the face of the recession are focusing on demonstrating to lawmakers and stakeholders the economic value of face-to-face meetings and events.
"Being a part of this year's Foundation Dinner was an incredible experience," said 2009 PCMA Education Foundation Chair Michael Payne, a former Dinner honoree. "I was pleased to announced that the PCMA Education Foundation has agreed to fund two important research projects: a 'pulse' survey on meeting planner intentions to help gauge meeting market conditions, and the coordination of industry-wide research that will determine the value of meetings to business and commerce as well as their economic impact to communities."
All in all, the PCMA Education Foundation Board of Trustees this year has approved four grants and 11 scholarships totaling over $120,000, it announced at last week's dinner. What's more, the Foundation raised more than $90,000 courtesy of a silent auction, during which attendees bided on trips to Budapest, Shanghai, Hawaii and other exotic destinations.
For more information about the PCMA Education Foundation, visit
www.pcma.org/foundation.