“A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear…”
John Lennon & Yoko Ono
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What a year 2020 has been. So many highs, so many lows, and yet we need to remember how blessed we are. We’ve just celebrated 40 years as a chapter in MPI; what an amazing accomplishment!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who attended our 40th Anniversary party at One Fourteen at Wildhorse! I can honestly say that I think there were so many highlights to the evening that I could write pages about the party. My deepest gratitude to Angela Layton, Sarah Ramsden, Dena Tidwell and Elizabeth Brock for creating an 80s-themed event complete with neon, a Rubik’s Cube cake and a DJ who made sure we all stayed on the dance floor. We cannot thank the entire 40th Anniversary committee for everything they’ve done this entire year to celebrate our chapter.
Continuing on with the party, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Don Osborn of One Fourteen at Wildhorse and his entire staff for a beautiful setting, delicious food, drinks and top-shelf service. In addition, I appreciate all of the following companies who helped donate their goods and services to the make the experience complete: RJ Young, Fadds Entertainment, Branching Out, Brown’s Florist, White Door Events, Tina Gionis Photography, Ole Red and Liberty Party Rental.
We awarded our final 2019 – 20 Circle of Excellence Award winners. Congratulations to Michael Farrell of Redstory for winning Supplier of the Year, Alyssa Pruitt for winning New Member of the Year and Natalie Norris, CMP for taking home the Planner of the Year! These three industry leaders deserve these awards for all they do to help support MPI Tennessee.
Our Chapter participated in the Fall Fest on November 17 in a cooperative effort with other meeting industry associations, and all monies and donated food went to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville. Thank you to all who gave to help make others’ holidays brighter!
This month, we were planning on having our Holiday Party at the stunning Grand Hyatt, however, Covid-19 restrictions mean that we will need to delay this event so look for that date change. Instead, we will be planning a Virtual Event on December 16 – more information to come. I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can.
Remember to count your blessings while having a peaceful and safe holiday season!
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Until we meet again,
Jill
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We hope everyone in our MPI family is staying safe and healthy as we continue to battle COVID-19 and the affect it is having on our industry and our membership. Our board is here for you if you need anything. We hope the information below is helpful to you as we all navigate the near future. Please reach out to any of us directly if you are struggling, have questions, or just need to chat. |
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MPI Tennessee Financial Assistance – If you have lost your job,suffering financial hardship during this time and are unable to attend our events, please take a moment to fill out the Financial Hardship Form. We value you and would love to continue seeing you at our membership events! Click below to fill out a form!
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MPI Member Resume Support – Did you know that MPI members have access to complimentary resume critique through our career centre? Members will need their MPI username/password to access this service. Click on the following link and follow the path listed to have your resume critiqued: www.mpi.org > Resources > Career Center > Sign In > go to My Account (top left corner) > go to Resume > check mark “Send me my free professional resume critique from TopResume” > click on Upload Resume to, you guessed, upload your resume.
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MPI Global Member Assistance Program: We do not want to lose any of you as members. For those whose jobs have been affected by COVID-19, MPI Global has several options to help if you are up for renewal, and they will be reaching out to you. You can also contact MPI Global directly at help@mpi.org, call 972-702-3053, or fill out and follow the instructions in this form.
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Update Membership Profile: If you or someone you know has new contact information, be sure to reach out to us at info@mpitn.org or 615-373-8002 so we can update that information with our chapter and MPI Global. Remember, your membership belongs to you and follows you even when your employer changes.
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MPI Tennessee Private Facebook: Join our private Facebook page to learn more about these events and to connect with the fun and informative things going on with our MPI Family.
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Do you want to become an MPI Tennessee Chapter
sponsor and partner with the state's largest,
most vibrant community of meeting and event professionals?
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For more information, contact MPI Tennessee's Director of Strategic Alliances, Ashleigh Cote! |
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The Holiday Mix Event is now VIRTUAL instead of in-person. Due to city restrictions and to protect our MPI Tennessee family before the holidays, we have decided to TRANSFORM the mix event to a virtual one. Don't fret! We will still hold an in-person Holiday event when we are all able to meet again. And it will be a blast!
More details and a registration link for the virtual event to come. If you already registered for the in-person event, we will let you know how we plan to handle a registration credit in the next few days.
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Join our Mentorship Program! Mentoring benefits the mentor and the mentee by increasing your engagement, social skills and professional development. Click below for more information and to sign up! |
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December Membership Promotion!
Use code GIFT20 for $125 off new and $75 off renewals of preferred or premier memberships for planners and suppliers!
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The importance of equality, diversity and inclusion cannot be understated. MPI Tennessee is developing a Diversity and Inclusion Committee to focus attention on the needs of individuals in our industry and membership who feel they are discriminated against, without regard to age, color, disability, family responsibility, gender, gender identity, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion or sexual orientation.
We invite you to please fill out the anonymous survey below.
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Nominations are due TODAY! |
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Are you an industry leader looking for an opportunity to showcase your skills and contribute to the success of MPI Tennessee Chapter?
If so, consider volunteering your time and talent to the
2021-2022 MPI Tennessee Chapter Board of Directors!
The MPI Tennessee Chapter Board of Directors is responsible for
chapter operations including programming, financial oversight,
and governance. By volunteering your time, you will help shape the
future of our industry across the state!
Please note the following dates and actions:
December 4, 2020
Nomination Due
Nominate yourself or a fellow member by sending interest to
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Board of Directors application due to
Click Here for Board of Directors Job Descriptions
Click Here for Directory of 2020-2021 Board of Directors
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Please join us in warmly congratulating all of our 2019-20 Circle of Excellence Award winners! Thank you for your hard work and contributions.
You help make MPI Tennessee shine!
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Congratulations to our November Rockstars!
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Dena Tidwell & Elizabeth Brock
Dena and Elizabeth were chairs of our November 40th Birthday Party. This team put so much hard work into creating a celebratory, fun, and safe event for our chapter. They exceeded expectations and gave us a really special night to celebrate our Chapter’s 40th Anniversary despite all of this year’s challenges. Thank you both for all of your hard work!
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Sparkle through the holiday season with a pair of Hillberg & Berk Sparkle Ball™ earrings through the MPI Foundation, and 40% of proceeds will go to members in need. When we share our "sparkle", it's a little bit brighter for all! |
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We want to know more about you! Our membership is diverse, and we have grown so much over the last few years. We want to recognize each of you and help all of us feel more connected by learning more about each other.
Click on the link below to fill out our Member Spotlight form. We will include your responses in newsletters, social media posts, and other MPI Tennessee communications. Don't forget to include your picture!
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Congratulations to our member, Kimberly Bean at KBT Creative Support Services for being recognized in ConventionSouth Magazine’s December 2020 issue featuring "Top 25 Meeting Professionals to Watch in 2021"!
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As we start to reopen business after the COVID-19 "Safe At Home" orders, we know businesses will start to re-hire their employees. However, some businesses will need new candidates to join their team. If your organization is looking for a new team member, click this link to fill out the online job submission form, and we will make sure to
include it in our next MPI Tennessee Newsletter and on social media.
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New to the family in November |
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Congratulations to our members celebrating
an MPI anniversary in December!
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Scott Wright – 28 years
Kara Brooks, CMP – 13 years
Shellye Harrell - 7 years
Molly Carpenter – 6 years
Jeanette Foster, CMP – 5 years
Nathan Honeycutt – 4 years
Vanessa Burse – 4 years
Beci Ruzek – 3 years
Jennifer Turrill – 3 years
Angela Mills – 3 years
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Dwayne Bass – 3 years
Karen Goonewardene – 3 years
Karen Jones – 3 years
Taylor Harrell, CMP – 3 years
Melanie Smith, CMP – 2 years
Tina Gionis – 2 years
Lynda Kelly – 1 year
Jeni Williams – 1 year
Jennifer M. Hansel, CMP – 1 year
Allison Witt – 1 year
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*Note: If you notice that your designation or years of membership are wrong, or you don't see your name, your profile on MPI Global's website may need to be updated! Log in to your profile on www.mpi.org to make changes, or contact us at 615-373-8002 if you have any questions.
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