Executive Director's Blog

Executive Director’s Blog: May 2007

Welcome to my blog – and if you haven’t jumped straight here from Eventia’s newsletter, I strongly recommend you check it out immediately after reading this.

There has never been a better time to engage with your association as now.

We have the hottest contested elections in the history of the association and we are communicating regularly with the corporate market on your behalf.

IMEX asked me to help them put together the first ever Corporate buyer programme. We had 47 UK corporate buyers visit the show & attend our breakfast seminar on SMART event planning which also looked at CSR issues. As a result even more corporates now understand the strategic importance of events and - very importantly for us - they are now engaged with Eventia and realise the value that our membership offers. In addition to this our Corporate Advisory board this month discussed CSR and how this is filtering from the top down within organisations and if not already is fast approaching the events departments. The key thing is that they are looking at us to be the experts and advise them on the issues and how to respond to them.

We are listening to what you have to say and responding, during our networking event last month you told us the issues affecting your business the most was ‘tightening event budgets’ this was an overall rating of suppliers and buyers, but it was interesting to see that the buyers results showed CSR in their top three. We address these issues during our SummerEventia 2007

Plus - you told us which member benefits suited you most and of course this varied (with suppliers wanting more networking and buyers wanting information on news affecting their business, education and representation in government.) We are already addressing these needs but will concentrate our efforts in these areas for you.

We have had a phenomenal response to the elections! Wow - - for the first time in years we have ten agencies and five partners competing for three places each. Never mind Tony Blair standing down (Britain’s worst kept secret.) These are the elections to watch. Who will be the next chairman., and who will be on our next board??

The results will be announced at our AGM on 20 June so mark your diaries now! And if you are standing for election, now is the time to start lobbying. After all, no election was ever won on a single submission…..so if you’re serious about shaping the future of Eventia then tell all your contacts why they should vote for you and what you hope to achieve if voted to the board. Write to the membership to gain support - - it really does work. And when you are voting, please take the time to read what each person has written in the statement of intent. There are some little-known names put forward with a whole load of passion for what we are about. So don’t skim over those submissions, really consider who you want to represent you over the next two years and what these board members will bring to the table on your behalf. And if you’re not sure on anything, phone up and ask! And then be prepared to put yourself on a committee.

The whole thing works best when everyone does a little bit each rather than leaving it to a few people to do a lot. As I always say, “This is your association; it belongs to you, so make it what you want it to be. It will only be as good as the effort put in by all.”

Voting papers are coming out soon…..

Yours,

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