The meeting industry will come together to celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) on March 30, but did you know that a day now recognized and celebrated by meeting professionals around the world began in Canada?

The first official National Meetings Industry Day was held in Canada in 1999. This followed local and regional events hosted by Canadian MPI chapters and conversations about elevating the celebration to a national level by the MPI Canadian Council—eventually leading to the first GMID in 2016.

As we get closer to GMID 2023, we’re honoring some of the MPI members in Canada who led volunteer efforts in the 1990s and understood before many others why the importance of our industry and its monetary and intrinsic value needed to be understood by governments and business.

Today, we chat with Theresa Polok from the MPI Greater Edmonton Chapter.

Tell us about your role (chapter or regional) in MPI Canada in the 1990s.

Our local Edmonton, Alberta, chapter was very active in the 1990s and I held a board position for quite a few years. I enjoyed the comradery that we had with various suppliers and planners on our board.

What is your role in the meeting industry today?

I am unofficially retired from the industry but still pick up a few small event planning jobs on the side.

Can you share a fond memory about your MPI involvement from that era?

One of the many fond memories I have during those early years is when a group of us gathered weekly to study for our CMP designations. We would meet regularly in the evenings at a historic golf club in Edmonton. Being that this building was very old, it came with many ghost stories, and we were visited periodically with the resident ghost. It was a bit unnerving huddling together in the study room and partnering up to go to the washroom...so many laughs and great memories! By the way, we all passed and received our CMP designations and many of us went on the get our CMM designations as well.

What was a big misconception about the meeting planning profession in the 1990s that has changed (or hasn’t changed) over the years? 

We had to overcome the stigma that meeting planning was much more than party planning and that we played an integral part in business and the tourism industry. We had to fight for our place as an important and viable career opportunity within the business world.

Why was it a priority to you to raise awareness of our industry’s importance?  

It was important to me and all my colleagues to be recognized and compensated accordantly for our career choice in business and government.