As a longtime executive with Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants, I have witnessed my fair share of both heartbreaking and exhilarating games. It’s the ups and downs of games and seasons that create the compelling stories so many of us eagerly follow in sports. All of us in the meeting and event industry are in the midst of the most heartbreaking season of our careers. Our challenge is to turn the season around and somehow transform it into a heartwarming story.

If this were a baseball game, we would be in the middle innings and fighting to stay within striking distance of a win. As an industry we are figuring out how to adapt to the unforeseen events of this year while keeping an eye on the future beyond the pandemic. We are reimagining live events using digital platforms to enhance or entirely replace the in-person experience that has been our core offering. The general public and our event attendees have various levels of risk tolerance, and a hybrid experience is likely to be our reality for the foreseeable future. Our short-term role is to leverage our creativity to make the most of this hybrid reality while making sure the new ideas we develop during this period can have relevance in the post-pandemic period.

I am extremely impressed with how MPI shifted to address this situation during the World Education Congress (WEC) in Grapevine, Texas. We adapted, established new standards and protocols and completely reimagined live events in response to the immediate challenge we faced. We will continue to use our own platforms like WEC or the European Meetings and Events Conference to incubate ideas so that you are informed, connected and gaining benefit from our events. All of our meetings and events during this period will not be perfect, but they can still bring huge value to attendees and we can learn and grow as we produce them.

As an industry we are figuring out how to adapt to the unforeseen events of this year while keeping an eye on the future beyond the pandemic.

We can also use this period to get to know our teammates, to strengthen the bonds with colleagues inside our own organizations and within our industry. Our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion has long been a priority for us and it is more important now than ever before. Working with our Diversity & Inclusion Committee and holding ourselves accountable for actions—available resources, education, partnerships with like-minded organizations such as the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals and support for advocacy efforts—is critical to ensuring the industry makes progress and serves in a leadership position globally.

We must come out of this healthier and stronger. This is only possible if we make the strides today that have eluded us in the past. This will prepare us for the later innings when we will all have to lean on each other to help keep us in the game. Get to know your teammates and use this time to double down on our most important initiatives.

So as we approach the later innings of what may be the biggest game of our careers, I urge you to get off the bench and onto the field. Support your local chapter, business and community. Be vocal. Push for change and cheer for the moments when we can start to see the tide turning. Most importantly, join MPI and our colleagues as we initiate the most memorable comeback in the history of our industry.

Thank you, Steve O’Malley

Steve O’Malley served as chair of the MPI International Board of Directors for an unprecedented two full years, stepping in to serve a second term when then Chair-elect Annette Gregg joined the MPI staff. The challenges our industry faced this year in particular were daunting, and with Steve’s leadership, MPI was able to show the indispensable value of events, from a strong digital presence on Global Meetings Industry Day to a successful return to live events at WEC Grapevine last month. Thank you, Steve.

Cheers.

Stephen Revetria
2021 MPI Chair
srevetria@sfgiants.com

Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash