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 Spring is a time for rebirth and new beginnings. Flowers begin to bloom, animals come out of hibernation, and our industry hits the road for the hustle and bustle of a tradeshow floor. Nothing compares to the energy in the air on that first weekend in the Midwest where the weather breaks 50 degrees. The sun-starved masses take to the streets to seize the day in a world that feels full of possibilities. Your IAEE Midwestern Chapter Board has been channeling that energy all year as we look to provide the chapter with the top-of-the-line member experience you have come to expect being in our chapter. For those of you who may not know, everything your chapter does for you is powered through the efforts of chapter members just like you, who see getting further involved as an excellent way to advance their careers and rub shoulders with other like-minded, high-achieving industry colleagues. The chapter is always looking for more volunteers, so please reach out if you have any questions about ways to get involved.
For those of you who may not know me, my name is Gretchen Thielen. I am your chapter’s Chair for 2023. I started my career in outside sales and moved into the events and exhibition industry about 7 years ago. I am so excited for this opportunity to serve our members’ needs through innovative engagement offerings. We have so many exciting things planned for 2023 comprised of both old favorites and new initiatives. The chapter has already hosted our annual kickball tournament in January and our first education session in February. Through our activities, the board has set the following goals to keep chapter engagement high and provide the utmost support for our member base:
1. Rebuild the chapter’s established partner program by securing at least 4 partner program participants and an additional 4 new organizations supporting the chapter in some capacity by December 2023.
2. Focus on connecting with the Midwestern Chapter outside of Chicagoland by having each committee develop at least 1 initiative that is inclusive of the greater chapter throughout 2023.
3. Foster growth in the exhibitions and events industry by providing opportunities for at least 10 students or early career professionals to learn and grow in the industry.
Look to see these goals incorporated in the activities we do and the communication we send to our members. If you have ideas on how we can better accomplish these goals or have ideas to support the Midwestern Chapter, I welcome your feedback! Please take this time to check out our upcoming activities and recaps of our January and February activities in the rest of the newsletter. We’d love to see you at our many in-person and virtual events throughout the next year! I hope your shows go (mostly) according to plan and that your shoes hold up for the entire event.
Gretchen Thielen, CMP, CEM, Chapter Chair
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| Kickball Recap |
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On January 26th, we kicked off the year with our 8th Annual Kickball Tournament at McCormick Place. Six industry teams including CORT, GES, Winsight - National Restaurant Association Show, Expo Inc. and ROC/SMS competed for the 2023 championship title. Congratulations to our 2022 and 2023 back-to-back champions, CORT and team captains, Adrienne Fitzgerald and DT Love, on their win. A big thank you again to our 2023 kickball in-kind sponsors: McCormick Place, Savor, GES, Armageddon Services and CDS.
Hope to see you all next January!
Quote from the winning team:
CORT Events was honored to win back-to-back tournaments. Thank you to my amazing team #DTLOVE #GUSMartinez and #LesterVaughan we stayed focused and played to WIN. We are looking forward to 2024 to defend our title!
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| IAEE MWC Member Spotlight |
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Name: Mike Lindahl
Company Name: Winsight Media – National Restaurant Show
Title: Sales Director
Mike Lindahl sees that membership in the IAEE Midwestern Chapter gives him a great opportunity to interact and connect with others in the same field. He enjoys “the sense of community I feel with my fellow members.” He encourages any new member to join that community and “Attend an event! I've met so many interesting and kind people through IAEE Chapter Events.” And while walking events and spending time on the tradeshow floor, Mike strongly recommends a pair of comfortable shoes.
Outside of work, Mike lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters. Mike loves to golf, to play and coach softball, to watch his daughters play softball, basketball, and volleyball, to spend time with family and friends, and to travel to places warmer than Illinois.
Thanks to Mike for serving on the board of the IAEE Midwestern Chapter!
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| June Program Save the Date! |
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| Save the date for our upcoming June Education program in partnership with PCMA GMC, June 8th at the Renaissance Schaumburg! |
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Education Program:
DEI: Shifting Approaches, Actions and Practices for Lasting Change
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IAEE MWC held our first education program of the year on February 15th at the Donald E. Stephens Convention center in Rosemont. The program focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in our industry and what we can do to bring about changes in our organizations. A big thank you to our dynamic panelists for providing firsthand experiences and thoughtful takeaways: Roz Stuttley, Director EDI, Choose Chicago & Choose Chicago Foundation, Glenn Charles, Jr, Executive Leader at GCJ Management, LLC., Show Strategy, Inc., and Spec Build, Inc., and Eduardo Arabu, CEO at the National Hispanic Corporate Council (NHCC) & The Latino DEI Collective. A big thank you to Jennifer Salerno, Owner of JTS Connect, for expertly moderating the session.
Thanks to all of our sponsors for helping us put on a fantastic education event: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont Convention & Tourism Bureau, RES, and Convention Data Services
A special thank you to our Platinum sponsor, Freeman, and our Silver sponsors, Meet Chicago Northwest and Shepard.
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Global Meetings Industry Day
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Join your fellow Chicago meetings and events industry professionals to celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day at IX 2023. Multiple midwest based industry associations come together for this afternoon of networking and education.
3:30-7:30pm
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Convene, Willis Tower
233 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL
Meetings Matter - Industry Trends
At Industry Xchange 2023, join us for an afternoon of thought provoking conversations as we rethink how we plan events and set up into the future of our industry.
Unlockable Sustainable
Solutions from increased workloads, shorter lead times, and supply chain complications, we’ve all experienced challenges over the last few years. However, challenges can lead us to new opportunities to become more sustainable as an industry, and in more ways than one.
Keynote Speaker
Courtney Lohmann, CMP, Certified Sustainable Event Professional of PRA will lead us through Designing for Sustainability using the practical skills of the Design Thinking process to implement sustainability into the event planning process. This strategic approach is also flexible and the thought process can be applied to several facets of our industry.
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| 2023 IAEE MWC Golf Outing |
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Mark your calendars for our IAEE MWC 2023 Golf Outing on Thursday, August 24th from 4:30-7 pm at TopGolf in Naperville.
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IAEE MWC on St. Patrick's Day!
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| IAEE Midwestern Chapter members participated in the downtown Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade Celebration on Saturday, March 11th. |
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Follow IAEE Midwestern Chapter on social media!
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