What a privilege that I have been elected as Chair, MEA ACT Branch for the next year – I am looking forward to meeting our members in Canberra.

MEA ACT was privileged to welcome Steven Bradbury, Olympic Gold Medalist, to a networking breakfast at Crowne Plaza Canberra in August that was both entertaining and inspiring.

November saw the PD session with Kimberlee King and Bernadette Dorahy from EarlyBird Marketing on ‘Public Relations & The Media’ which was a great success. Thanks to the Novotel Canberra for their incredibly generous support which attendees have indicated was well worthwhile for taking away PR tips for 2011.

MEA ACT very proudly hosted the National MEA AGM and welcomed members of the MEA Board of Directors to Canberra on Tuesday 30 November. This was a great opportunity for our members to hear more about the association and was held within the stunning surrounds of Parliament House. This fabulous venue boosted numbers for our annual Christmas party that followed in the Queens Terrace Café and I must say a very big thank you to IHG Catering for partnering with MEA ACT for a successful AGM, EGM and cocktail party.

Plans for networking and professional development events 2011 are underway with Essentials confirmed for 25 March 2011. I would love to hear from you so if you have comments or feedback please feel free to email me at tgoodacre@ama.com.au or 0419 485 781.

Tania Goodacre
Branch Chair MEA ACT

Our networking breakfast in August featured the extremely entertaining and motivating Steven Bradbury, Winter Olympic Gold Medalist. With thanks to Peter Funnell Entertainment, Steven spoke to our 40 attendees and delivered his presentation ‘last man standing’ – a story of the true Aussie battler who overcomes adversity to achieve the ultimate goal. Members enjoyed listening to Steven’s inspiring story and afterwards heard from departing ACT Chair Tim Daly, who provided attendees with details about the 2010 Meetings and Events Industry Awards. All members were encouraged to consider entering the program and emphasized the benefits of becoming a State or National Winner.

MEA ACT plans to continue hosting insightful and relevant breakfasts for our members in 2011 and encourage you to email act@mea.org.au if you have any topic or speaker suggestions.

With thanks to:

When MEA ACT received feedback to host a session on Public Relations, we could look no further than recent new members Earlybird Marketing & Events as our expert guest speakers on this topic. We were delighted to have the opportunity to hear from Kimberlee King and Bernadette Dohary who specialise in writing and editing, public relations, media coordination, marketing, design and event management. Our 20 participants had the opportunity to learn the clear definition of public relations in our Industry, the role PR plays in promoting events, receive tips on writing effective press releases and attracting media attention, and understand how to evaluate the success of PR campaigns. Bernadette and Kimberlee being industry focused were able to provide useful case studies and our member feedback was very positive.

MEA ACT sincerely thanks our host venue Novotel Canberra for their generous sponsorship. MEA plans a variety of valuable PD topics in 2011 such as Budgets and Risk Management. If you have any further suggestions we encourage your feedback.

With thanks to:

Go to www.meetingsevents.com.au and if you are a subscriber to your membership, log in with your member login and password. Scroll down the menu and click on ‘view your PD history.’ Alternatively contact the MEA Office at mea@mea.org.au

MEA Accreditation or Recognition takes into consideration activities undertaken in the 3 years prior to application. If you have accumulated more than 100 points for Associate-Fellow of MEA (AFMEA) or 60 points for Accredited Meeting Manager (AMM) you are encouraged to apply for accreditation and/or recognition.  For more information on how to apply, please visit http://www.meetingsevents.com.au/accreditation/

Make sure to save Friday 25 March 2011 to your diary as MEA ACT hosts the annual Essentials for Successful Meetings & Events Program! This is a full day workshop suited to corporate, association and government personnel, conference and event coordinators, and tertiary students, who have just started out (less than 12 months) or who want to be involved, in the delivery of meetings and events. The aim of the workshop is to equip participants with an understanding of the systems and procedures required in the successful management of events.

All participants receive a copy of the MEA Organising Meetings manual and the topics throughout the one day course follow the chapters within the handbook, making this a very useful reference tool. The course is presented by key industry executives and includes ‘The Budget’, ‘Sponsorship’, ‘Setting the Objectives of an Event,’ ‘Speaker Support & Production’, ‘Themed Events’ and much more. For more information about the Essentials program, please click here.

Add the date to your diary and event details will be sent to members in early 2011.

The Y MEA ACT committee is looking forward to 2011 and hosting educational networking events for our young event industry members (27 years and under). If you are interested in Y MEA or have young staff that are new to the Industry and would like to take advantage of networking with like minded young professionals, we encourage you to sign up to our Y MEA database. Contact act@mea.org.au with your name, position, company, phone and email and we will keep you informed of 2011 activities.

After a record number of entries in 2009, MEA is delighted to announce the opening of the 2010 Meetings and Events Industry Awards.

The Awards Program provides an opportunity for member companies and individuals to showcase their achievements during 2009/2010 and be rewarded for their results.

Becoming a finalist or winner will recognise outstanding performance across 30 different categories at state and national level allowing members to benchmark their performance against other professionals and to review and improve their business.

Finalists and winners will enjoy significant marketing benefits and strengthened profile with the meetings and events industry, suppliers and the buying public.
To view the full range of categories and further information on the 2010 MEA Awards Program, visit www.meetingsevents.com.au/awards

Applications close Friday 21 January 2011. Winners are announced at the MEA National Awards Night on April 19, 2011 during the MEA National Conference.

If you have any questions about the 2010 MEA Awards Program, please contact the MEA National Office on 02 9929 5400.