Review of Past MEA Events
Australian Capital Territory
Professional Development: Public Relations and the Media plus Facebook for dummies
Thursday 19 June 2008
26 industry professionals honed their skills in the field of media and public relations at DeVine Function Centre on Thursday 19th June. Winning over journalists and maximising promotion of your event were the key themes of ACT MEA’s latest professional development session.
Nicole Browne from Media Opps proved a popular speaker and reinforced the need for event planners to be creative in utilising media opportunities.
Discussions continued over a delicious hot lunch with guest speaker Robert Beerworth from Wiliam, a Sydney based web services consultant specialising in new media.
Robert de-mystified the medium of Facebook and challenged us to embrace new ways of interacting with our customers. Although Facebook is a bit too new to be taken seriously as a marketing medium, one thing was made apparent – you’ll be able to find the majority of MEA members on this social platform!
MEA ACT would like to thank Committee Members Mark Huck and Georgina Hart for facilitating our session, our special guest speakers Nicole Browne and Robert Beerworth and of course our Venue Sponsor the stunning DeVine Function Centre.
(Pictured Left: ACT Nicole Browne presenting in the Federation Centre at DeVine Function Centre. Pictured Right: ACT Nicole Browne with ACT Committee member and MC Mark Huck of the Brassey Hotel. )
New South Wales
Professional Development: Business Creativity
Wednesday 4 June 2008
Nigel Collin delivered a fantastic, interactive and thought provoking workshop in the creative space ThinkPOD (UNSW Venues and Events) recently. Nigel, a very engaging presenter, had each attendee inspired to ‘think creatively’ and taught new ways of thinking outside the square. ThinkPOD was the ideal creative space for this professional development session.
ClubMEA: Sir Stamford Circular Quay
Wednesday 18 June 2008
Guests who came along to the ClubMEA at Sir Stamford Circular Quay were welcomed by a warm wood fireplace and cosy bar area – perfect for a chilly evening. There was a buzz in the air as people caught up after a string of industry events such as the MEA National Conference in Alice Springs, Australian Events Expo and RSVP in Melbourne. Cory Watson, Show Director, RSVP was delighted with the evening - “Congrats on a great night last night – one of the best ones yet! We absolutely loved the venue and there was a great crowd there – well done!”
Professional Development: How to Awe them not Bore them
Wednesday 25 June 2008
Andrew Klein from Impact Entertrainers had participants in AWE, entertaining them while teaching the best and most engaging ways to deliver presentations during this recent PD which attracted almost 50 attendees from various industry segments. One delegate commented “Best I’ve ever seen – Well done Andrew”. Thanks to our PD sponsor Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre for providing venue and AV support.
Queensland
ClubMEA events held throughout Queensland in June
MEA Qld members have been busily networking at both ends of the State in the month of June with ClubMEA functions being staged in Tropical North Queensland and also on the Gold Coast.
A lunch was held at the beautiful Sebel Reef House & Spa at Palm Cove in early June and featured a presentation from “Success with Attitude” who successfully motivated all in attendance on to greater heights!
On the Gold Coast, a lunch was held at the North Burleigh Surf Lifesaving Club which presented a delightful venue with magnificent views over the ocean. The venue was stylishly themed in crisp white and a superb buffet lunch provided for the 40 guests in attendance.
MEA Queensland would like to sincerely thank both venues, the Sebel Reef House & Spa and the North Burleigh Surf Lifesaving Club for their kind support of the ClubMEA lunches.
Inaugural Queensland Executive Certificate Course a great success
Monday 23 June to Thursday 26 June 2008
MEA Queensland was thrilled at the number of registrations achieved for the inaugural Queensland-based Executive Certificate in Meetings & Events Management which was held last week. Held over 3.5 days at Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast, the residential intensive training course attracted 24 delegates from as far afield as Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and the ACT, as well as Queensland. This was the first time that the Executive Certificate had been offered outside NSW and the excellent number of registrations confirmed a strong demand within the industry for this type of educational opportunity.
MEA Queensland wishes to offer sincere thanks to Staging Connections and also Conrad Jupiters for their kind support of this event.
South Australia
Black Friday Quiz Night
Friday 13 June 2008
The Black Cats were there along with the Smarties the Red Hot Trivia Peppers and the Ten Disciples.
These were the names of some of the teams who participated in the South Australian MEA Quiz Night held in Adelaide on “Black” Friday 13 June.
This challenging intellectual event showed the very competitive spirit of South Australian MEA members and their friends and despite several calls for recounts and bribes being openly offered, Michelle the Quiz Master could not be swayed.
The prize for the Best Themed Table was won by the Black Cats who each received a pass for the Adelaide Show donated by the Adelaide Showground with the overall winning team being the Stamford Black Knights who shared a basket of Haighs Chocolates.
(Pictured L-R: Emma Jarvis, Paula Sanchez and Chris Heddles)
Understanding Most Things Technical
Tuesday 17 June 2008
What is a goose neck and should you invest in gobo?
These were some of the issues addressed during this Professional Development Session on Tuesday 17 June, along with writing a technical brief or checklist, comparing quotes and the how to work within increasingly tighter budgets while delivering higher client expectations .
Following the presentations attendees had the opportunity to touch and play with technical setups based on a real brief and have their questions answered by the several experts.
The session was kindly sponsored by the Adelaide Convention Centre.
(Pictured in far right photo, Front Left to Right: Ben Baker, Rob Stegeman & Cameron Snare Adelaide Showground attendees, Back Row Left to Right: Philip Wells and Alison Bowman)
Tasmania
TAS Event Review – Professional Development: Event Site Selection
Wednesday 25 June 2008
On Wednesday 25 June MEA Tasmania hosted an educational session for over 20 Hobart members on how to select a venue for a conference, business event or meeting. Sponsored by The Henry Jones Art Hotel, this interactive session facilitated by local industry expert Claire Harrington of the Tasmanian Convention Bureau, guided our attendees through all the details worth considering when choosing a venue, from writing the bid document to viewing the hotel/centre during a famil. Both clients and industry suppliers took helpful tips away from the session, such as checklists for what to look for in a venue and questions clients should ask in regards to accommodation, food & beverage. Following our two hour seminar, all attendees enjoyed canapés & drinks before setting off on an Art & History Tour through The Henry Jones.
MEA Tasmania would like to thank our panel of presenters for the session including Phil Holmes of Convention Wise, Alfred Merse of Federal Group Tasmania, Andrew Best of The Hotel Grand Chancellor (Hobart), Scott Christie-Johnson of The Old Woolstore Apartment Hotel, and Rod Street of Scene Change Tasmania.
We would also like to thank our event sponsors, The Henry Jones Art Hotel & Scene Change Tasmania.
Victoria
ClubMEA @ Hilton on the Park
Wednesday 28 May 2008
Hilton on the Park set the style in Melbourne when Victorian MEA Members were among the first to check out their impressive new events space.
Guests had the opportunity to see the results of the $40 million refurbishment taking place at Hilton on the Park Melbourne which now showcases a selection of top class accommodation, conference & event facilities and a fabulous Day Spa.
The Hotel’s dedicated Conference & Events floor including the famous Grand Ballroom which is an icon in the meetings & events industry, playing host to world class cabarets, corporate & convention events, trade fairs and black tie social events has received a multi-million dollar renovation, revealing impressive new décor and state of the art technology.
Professional Development: Public Relations and the Media
Thursday 5 June 2008
Having worked in public relations for 25 years, Janelle Schreiber, Director of Schreiber Public Relations was the ideal presenter for our recent professional development seminar on Public Relations and the Media. Janelle was happy to share her wealth of knowledge and experience with MEA members in providing the skills and knowledge required to set up and manage public relations and media to promote a meeting or event.
During this half day seminar Janelle provided an insight into what public relations is all about; the role of public relations in promoting a meeting or event; writing effective media releases; techniques to attract media attention and managing press conferences/media briefings.
Special thanks to Janelle Schreiber and to our 2008 Victorian partners in excellence, Audio Visual Dynamics and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
YMEA @ Alumbra
Thursday 19 June 2008
Even the weather couldn’t deter young event industry professionals from attending Victoria’s 3rd YMEA event. The night went off without a hitch at the beautiful Alumbra, with great food, atmosphere and lots of new people to meet! Alumbra provided a beautiful warm environment, with flames of an open fire projected on the walls and beautifully lit furniture creating a relaxed night.
YMEA was very fortunate to have two great speakers for the night, Jacqui Muir of The Conference Manager and Joanne Camilleri of Solution RED. Jacqui and Joanne spoke of the challenges of being young in the events industry and gave fantastic advice to help other young industry professionals be as successful as they are.
All in all it was a great night. The YMEA committee would like to thank Alumbra, for hosting such a successful evening. Also special thanks to Jacqui and Joanne for their support of YMEA.
Watch out for the next YMEA event on 4 September 2008.
For Your Interest
At the recent launch of Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau’s (MCVB) Co-operative Marketing Prospectus at Hilton on the Park Melbourne, MCVB took the opportunity to recognise and thank members for their continued membership and support. Alison Johnson, Manager – MEA Victoria was pleased to accept a Platinum Achievement Award in recognition of 20 years of partnership between MEA and MCVB.