The MPI Italia Chapter received the 2021 MPI RISE Award for Membership Achievement. This award recognizes an MPI chapter, club or student club for achievement in membership growth, engagement and retention demonstrated by overall membership numbers or effective campaigns, programming and involvement in activities.
We spoke with 2020-2021 chapter president Maddalena Milone about the award.
This award honors Membership Achievement. What does this mean for your chapter to receive this RISE Award?
The RISE Award for Membership Achievement really means a lot for our chapter, especially for the difficult time our industry has gone through. It is a big recognition for all the hard work made to attract new members and keep old members engaged. The acknowledgement that the extensive and high-level education program offered to our members and often also to non-members has been appreciated. It is a reward to the teamwork made by the passionate board members and all the teams. It means recognition from the whole meeting and event industry.
What has inspired your chapter to this high level of engagement?
Passion is the magic word. Members and professionals who join our community can see how passionate and devoted the board members and teams are.
How has the success of the chapter inspired and motived members going forward?
During the Global Meetings Industry Day online event when more than 600 people connected, we were notified that our chapter was the winner of two RISE Awards, one for Membership Achievement and one for Industry Advocate. We shared the news to the online audience and highlighted the fact that the award was a recognition and a collective win, and especially in such hard times. This has inspired and motivated our members to be proud of the community to which they belong.
How has your chapter’s commitment to education and programming helped raise the profile of your chapter and MPI with meeting professionals in your community?
Our chapter’s commitment to education and programming helped raise the profile of our chapter a lot. The last year was really full of webinars with different interesting topics, from artificial intelligence to women in leadership, from new skills to research and instruments for safe events and venues. The certification in meeting and event manager, for instance, is a very important step and a leverage for attracting new members.
What was the best lesson learned from this experience?
The best lesson can be summarized in a single sentence, which is, “stronger together, stronger than ever.” MPI Italia Chapter has been very close to its members and together with other 12 association united under the name of “Italia Live” has done different actions to protect the industry. Among the different actions was the demonstration in front of the Italian parliament to ask for immediate financial support and relief to our industry
What are the values that inspire your chapter?
The core values that inspire our chapter are education and networking. We listen to our members, to their needs, and according to these we address our activities and actions. We do our best to stand by our peers, shoulder to shoulder.
How has the chapter coped with the COVID crisis?
The chapter has coped with COVID crisis by collaborating and sharing information and by giving support to the members in terms of updated information regarding safety measures, how to access to financial support by the government and exchanging experiences and best practices.
What advice would you give to MPI chapters about high-level engagement in our industry?
Our advice would be to build teams which can support the vice presidents in the different areas. Recruiting members and involving them in teams means to involve part of the members in the association’s life, and this strategy helps build ambassadors who can have a positive experience and motivate other professionals to join.
Who were key members who were involved in this initiative that resulted in the MPI RISE Award for Membership Achievement?
We were able to reach these achievements with the combined efforts of all our volunteer leaders, but this award is a good example of what a good team can achieve when coordinated by Giuseppina Cardinale as our VP of membership.
Each week, we’re highlighting individuals and chapters that received 2021 RISE Awards. Learn more about Kate Copeland, recipient of the RISE Award for Member of the Year. Visit the blog on July 19 to learn more Greg Elam (RISE Award for Meeting Industry Leadership) and the MPI Caribe Mexicano Chapter (RISE Award for Innovative Educational Programming).
