Joanne's Meeting and Event EGuide
August 5, 2020
What would help? I appreciate the feedback I am getting from people as I take a wild shot in the dark as to what would be useful, interesting or amusing to you in this changed world and industry. Two words I promised not to use except this once: pivot and unprecedented. They go the same place curate did.

Is your email changing? And do you still want to get this? Let me know.

Just in case you missed the last edition, here is a link to it for you
 
Got a question? Want me to find something for you? Did you get this forwarded to you? If you would like to be on the list, text MEETGUIDE to 22828. Or just sign up here online.

Thanks to all of my Marketing Partners
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List of What's in Here

  • Things that interest me
  • Travel—Road trips!
  • Attending my first Virtual Convention
  • CMP
  • Virtual Magic


Wow! Somewhat on a whim, and with a short time frame, I offered the session “Please ---ANYTHING but the Budget!” on July 17.
I am happy that 128 people chose to take this 1.5 CE hour free class. Why did I do it?

I feel one of the most important things I can do is support people. I always feel that way, but now more than ever. Most people are uncomfortable with Budget and Finance, and I want to change that---no one moves forward and up, if they can’t demonstrate some knowledge on the topic. It was also an additional way to help people who are preparing for the CMP exam.
Interested? Keep your eyes open for this to be repeated in September!  



Upcoming presentations: 
I will be offering from The Guidance Counselor for Grown Ups side of my brain (and business) one on "Transferable Skills" and another one on “The ROI of You”. More information in the next EGuide on both, and also on LinkedIn and other social media .


Next Issue also--- "Decision and Indecision" and the impact it is having in this industry. Soapbox coming soon.

Job searching?
I no longer include actual postings here because I want to make sure I get them out ASAP. Follow me on LinkedIn to see any I uncover.


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Things that interest, and probably amuse me



I felt like Goldilocks with the three bears…


We will be seeing a lot more of how to solve this problem, with sites closing restrooms, and more outside living. More to come on this subject! Do you have pictures or information on portable toilets that you have used or seen? Please let me know---it’s good to know there are options! 


I have no idea who this guy is, or who he thinks he is!
The NERVE!!!!


AVFX Quiz Show on Virtual Meetings—follow up
Miss the show? They have created a great resource that answers the 75+ questions they received—check it out here.

What have you done during your time at home?
Very cool…
Travel

Today we are going to talk about ----Road Trips. It’s August and it seems everyone is trying to create at least one thing that resembles summer the way we knew it. We are too!
Many—probably most, are not jumping to get on planes right now. I took a lot of road tips when I was a kid. My father believed we should travel everywhere in a station wagon, packed to the roof. We seldom stayed in hotels, he made my mom have a cooler with most of our food, and my sister was eternally car sick.

This is not the stuff dreams are made of.

Since I entered my grown up life, it has been interesting relearning how road trips can be. How can I be safe (even pre COVID-19) especially traveling alone, and as a woman? Learning how to be more comfortable. Learning that if you choose to travel with someone, you really better be in the same mindset.
You probably know by now, a LOT of people are doing this, including celebrities.
ROAD
TRIP !!!
Even though these posts are more about personal travel, as we look to what our next 12 months will be, my question is “How can I adapt this information to meetings and events?”


Here is one of our favorite websites/emails/apps, that we use even when we are going on day trips - “Roadtrippers”
And here is an article from there How To Plan a Road Trip

Here are a number of different articles on how to plan a road trip---and yes they overlap, but I also saw something different in each one, so if you are serious about going, take a look at all of them. Might make your life a lot easier in the short term and the long term.

Here’s another from Redbook on how to plan a socially distant road trip.

One from AAA on how to make sure it’s not boring (especially with kids –“Are we there yet?? How ‘bout now? NOW?”)

Conde Nast complete guide 

Here’s an article for Travel Advisors on how to plan one for clients---always interesting reading their publications. From the Travel Advisor point of view and maybe an interesting way for some of you to expand your businesses.

But where??
Top 10 Road trips according to Google searches

And Conde Nast has lists for everywhere in the US---and other countries too. Here are some examples:

Fourteen Iconic US Road Trips

Best East Coast Road Trips Conde Nast Traveler

Southern US

West Coast 

Midwest US

Or maybe you are just going home…

RVs and Trailers
You may have heard this is one of the popular new ways to travel and/or stay! Considering buying? Renting? Staying in one without driving it?

Don’t be intimidated

More expensive than you think

But you can rent!

RVing for the first time?

Planning a RV Summer 

Public Restrooms
One of the biggest concerns for road trips! What’s open, what’s not, and how can you be as safe as possible when using them. 

And also from one of my faithful readers, Heather Eick, CMP:
"I saw in the newsletter 'Next Issue – Road tripping'. I just got back from a road trip to South Carolina (yes, I am crazy). Someone gave me the advice to stop at the state Welcome Centers instead of the rest stops for bathrooms. They are cleaner and less crowded. Just a little road trip tip I thought I would pass on!:
(Thanks Heather!)

Motor Courts
Ever want to stay in a vintage (but updated) motor court? They are beginning to grow in popularity even pre-pandemic, and now have some additional advantages.

Food
Lots of prior mentions on all the reasons to bring your own snacks so here is the Best Road Tip Snacks to Make

Would love to hear about, and see pictures from your road trips!
I Attended my first Virtual Convention this past weekend…

Not as a planner, not as a speaker, but as an attendee. I "sat in the attendee’s chair", which will make me a better planner and speaker. What did I learn?

First it was excellent, and I know the staff and volunteers worked very hard to make it happen. Fortunately it was to be a hybrid this year, so certain things were in the works already. I was disappointed at first that most of the keynotes were recorded.
Although they were excellent, I can watch a video any time. And I discovered I didn’t like them as much when they were edited. The unedited, but recorded, keynotes still had more of that “live” feel.
That being said, the one that was supposed to be live, there ended up being a technical issue, so they switched to a recorded keynote from another year (which depending on your contract with your speaker, might or might not work).

For me I feel if I was making the decision I would go live, but with a pre recorded back up of that presentation, in case something went wrong. I would want to do that as a presenter also.
CMP

By now you have probably heard that as of August 1, testing is now 12 months a year. Also there is a remote testing option, instead of going to the Prometric Centers which is good, since many have had to close down again as COVID-19 cases have spiked. The requirements for remote are quite stringent, and actually have cause a lot of stress for people having to choose it. EIC and Prometric are very clear on cheating, even before this. If caught cheating, you are banned from taking the exam.

Upcoming Class:
September 22- 25, 2020
3 pm – 7 pm Eastern Time.


More information to come and registration will open August 10. Look for the announcement on LinkedIn this week!

And remember---if you have ever taken one of my classes through my company---you can take it again at no charge. Pick the registration option that says “Take Again”. You will have to complete questions about where and when you took the class. You can take as many times as you want to hang out with me, even if you already got your CMP.

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Attended my first Virtual Magic Show and really enjoyed it! Check out Denny Corby at 

One on One

Any questions you want to ask others or even the entire group? Let me know and we will get it out there. Joanne@JoanneDennison.com
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The Ordinary Success Project LLC is a CMP Preferred Provider. The program(s) identified with the CMP Preferred Provider logo meet the requirements to receive continuing education (CE) credit for the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) credential. The use of the CMP Preferred Provider Pre-Check logo is not an endorsement by the Events Industry Council of the quality of the session. For more information about the CMP credential or CMP Preferred Provider Program, please visit www.EventsCouncil.org.
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