In Person Meetings Are Back!

I just returned from attending the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Convening Leaders Annual Conference (January 9-12, 2022), at the the beautiful new Caesars Forum Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. It was so wonderful to attend a live in-person meeting seeing friends and colleagues from the Meetings, Travel and Hospitality industry.

The Conference consisted of attending educational sessions, sharing ideas and information, interacting, networking, eating good food and having a lot of fun. It was so great to reunite with everyone again as in 2021, we met virtually due to COVID-19. All educational sessions were recorded and allowed those people who were not able to attend in-person the chance to participate virtually.

In order to be able to attend the Conference in-person, all attendees had to upload and send in proof of their Vaccination in advance before being allowed to pick up their Conference badge. A COVID-19 booster shot was strongly encouraged as extra protection.

In addition, it was mandatory that everyone attending the Conference in-person wear a mask at all times. This is required by the state of Nevada. N95 Masks were sponsored and distributed to everyone as they entered the Opening General Session, on the first day of the Conference. This provided extra protection for all attendees.

There was also a rapid testing site set up at the entrance of Convening Leaders for those people who felt the need to be tested or wanted to be safe. This testing site charged each person who wanted to be tested.

After attending Convening Leaders, I felt energized and excited to see that in-person meetings are back plus I gained knowledge as to where the industry is heading. Virtual and Hybrid meetings are here to stay and they give those people who are unable to attend the option of participating in the educational sessions by staying engaged and interacting with others.