Caesar himself would be proud.

MPI delivered a grand celebration in the newest house that Caesar built, CAESARS FORUM, with a World Education Congress opening general session in Las Vegas that awakened a meeting and event industry determined to set a new course after being stymied by a pandemic.

Usher, the music legend and eight-time Grammy Award winner who has taken up residence at The Colosseum, was there. He didn’t sing, but his message on the value of relationships, the importance of passion and purpose and the power of the human connection was music to our souls. Yeah!

So were the inspirational voices of Cleo Battle, Janet Dell, Mike Gamble, Tammy Routh, Stephen Revetria and Annette Gregg on critical next steps for industry recovery.

Caesars honored one of its own, Chiquita A. Jeffery, the facilities manager at CAESARS FORUM who at times toiled alone to keep the conference center clean during the pandemic shutdown.

And of course, there was Paul Van Deventer, the president and CEO of MPI, speaking to more than 1,000 meeting professionals who gathered in-person in Las Vegas (nearly 2,000 counting the virtual audience) for the first major event in the meeting industry in 2021, reflecting on a year in which the world was “given an invaluable lesson about our industry.”

“Granted, it was a painful and costly lesson, but the world learned what it is like to live without face-to-face interactions. And the world did not like it,” he said. “The value of face-to-face meetings has never been clearer. And the desire to gather in person has never been stronger.”

He also urged the industry to no longer remain silent or passive about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“We can and should step up to make a difference,” he said. “I challenge you to make space at the table for those who may look or think differently by expanding who you recruit, hire and mentor.”

Caesar would have the final word: Go forth meeting professionals and prosper.

Rich Luna
Editor in Chief
rluna@mpiweb.org