In honor of the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of MPI (Aug. 22, 1972), we're sharing this article about Marion N. Kershner, which originally appeared in the June 1997 edition of The Meeting Professional, celebrating MPI’s 25th anniversary.
By Kristi Froehlich
Quiet and unassuming aren’t typical adjectives used to describe someone who sets the foundation for a large international organization. But Marion N. Kershner wasn’t typical.
Known as a soft-spoken, laid-back gentleman, he was close to retirement from a longer career as executive vice president of the National Management Association (NMA) in Dayton, Ohio, when he began helping develop the burgeoning association then known as Meeting Planners International.
In 1971, he became the association’s first president. Kershner also served on the Executive Committee as immediate past president and secretary before becoming the association’s executive vice president in 1974 until his retirement in 1982.
“We were lucky his retirement [from NMA] came at a time MPI needed him,” says Jim Jones, CM, CMP, who worked with Kershner in the early days and later served as the 1976-1977 president.
“Marion was a good guy. There wasn’t an evil bone in his body. He was a quiet, laid-back guy…real solid—not flashy at all,” Jones says. “He was optimistic when he could have been pessimistic, and he was certainly dedicated to his job.”
Stuart R. Clarkson, CM, 1979-1980 president, agrees.
“What can I say? If it weren’t for Marion…he was the major force in getting [MPI] off the ground, there’s no question about it. It was ideal for him to take over. It’s through his leadership that we created this organization. With his background and experience, he was perfect for the job.”
It seems he also had the perfect architectural touch.
After the death of Robert E. (Buzz) Bartow, MPI’s first executive vice president, Kershner drove to MPI’s then-headquarters in Chicago, packed everything in the trunk of his car and took it back to his home in Middletown, Ohio, where he ran the association from his basement for the next five years.
“It’s a good thing his house had a basement or we wouldn’t have had an MPI,” Jones says.
Kershner’s daughter, Susan Moore, says she remembers talking to her mother about the new basement office.
“She always felt she had to be dressed right away in the morning because people were always coming over to the house to see Dad. Eventually, a separate entrance was build so visitors could access the basement without having to walk through the living room and kitchen.”
But Kershner wasn’t the only one using the basement office to conduct business. When Moore’s family came to Middletown for a visit, her son Brad, age 3, always wanted to go see Grandpa and the huge desk he worked from.
“He loved to visit. Dad had set up [Brad’s] own desk drawer where he could find candy, crayons and pictures to draw,” she says. “It was a huge desk, and when Dad died four years ago, there wasn’t anyone who could take that desk because it was so big it wouldn’t fit anywhere. We were going to leave it, but Brad said, ‘Nobody can have my grandpa’s desk,’ so he took it and put it in his apartment. It takes up half the living room, but he’s got the desk.”
Kershner was active in a number of meeting-related groups, serving as director of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), a member of the Association Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, chairman and member of the Divisional Board of Regents for the Institute of Organization Management and honorary vice president of the Institute of Supervisory Management in Litchfield, England.
Kershner, considered the “father of MPI,” received the 1987 MPI President’s Award and, in 1988, was inducted into the Convention Liaison Council Hall of Leaders for his contributions to the meeting industry.
He lived in Middletown until his death in 1993. In honor of his dedication to MPI, the International Board of Directors approved the International Marketing Committee’s recommendation to rename the Chapter Leader of the Year Award after Kershner.
