“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “enthusiasm” as a strong excitement of feeling; it also means something inspiring zeal or fervor. For MPI, enthusiasm is a character trait that is embodied by the volunteer leaders that give their time and energy to support the mission of our association.

Since becoming CEO of MPI more than five years ago, I am constantly humbled and awed by the engagement of our community, the commitment of our chapters and the passion and dedication of the volunteer leaders that guide them. While juggling full-time careers and personal commitments, these leaders expand our community, plan and host local education and networking events, seek out ways to keep current members engaged, advocate for our industry and ensure the long-term success of our chapters.

And our chapters are integral to MPI’s overall market position, long-term sustainability and success. For example, MPI Global collaborates closely with local chapters when executing MPI’s signature events—the World Education Congress (WEC) and European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC). This past year, the Italia Chapter was critical to the success of our Global Forum in Rome, and the Indiana Chapter had an integral role in making WEC18 a success. We are also working closely with both the Netherlands and Toronto chapters on the 2019 editions of EMEC and WEC, respectively.

It is our chapters’ enthusiasm for our members and passion for our industry that help make MPI unique and great. I know I have said it many times, but our chapters are the backbone of MPI—without them, our association simply could not exist. So, it gives me—along with the MPI Global team and our international board of directors—great pleasure to recognize the achievements of our top chapters with the MPI Chapter Recognition Program.

This program was developed in 2016 to highlight the invaluable work our chapters deliver to members, and later this month, we will announce the 2019 MPI Chapter Award winners. The three award categories include Chapter Merit, Top Performing Chapters and Chapter Excellence, and the winners are determined based on chapter performance during the 2017-2018 term.

Please plan to join us in congratulating the winners once they are announced by giving the chapters shout-outs via Twitter and posting comments on their Facebook pages!

Paul Van Deventer
MPI President & CEO
pvandeventer@mpiweb.org
Follow me on Twitter @MPICEOPaul

IMEX America

Are you planning to attend IMEX America this month? If so, please check out Smart Monday Powered by MPI and other MPI programming at IMEX America. For details, visit www.mpiweb.org/imexamerica-2018.