2011 has certainly been busy for the Meetings and Events Industry in Queensland. Powerful environmental and economical challenges facing the region stalled proceedings in the very early part of the year, however a strong focus by government, bureaux and industry partners continues to rebuild the focus on Queensland as a Business Tourism & Events destination. Yet another demonstration of this will be the upcoming 2011 MEA National Conference, held in Brisbane for the first time. QLD MEA members really look forward to showing the rest of the industry what we are made of........ Nothing Beats Queensland!

We would like to thank all members who have attended the QLD Awards Dinner, ClubMEA Networking Events and Professional Developments Sessions. It has been a pleasure to partner with a number of our leading suppliers and venues, all of which have generously contributed to the successful events held to date. Exciting events are planned for the remainder of the year with a few surprise ideas in store.

Thank you to all QLD MEA Committee members for their valued ongoing support. The Committee has recently been joined by Pippa McCreery from Business Events Sunshine Coast and Michele Marks from Radisson Resort Gold Coast. Both Pippa & Michelle are very excited to be involved with the Committee, to promote the value of MEA to the business events industry and to continue to making valuable contributions to the industry.

Liz Rivers
MEA QLD Branch Chair

Queensland MEA Chocolate Extravaganza – the secret to bringing people together!

Chocolate, glorious chocolate, sensational chocolate and all things chocolate was the theme for the last Queensland MEA networking evening. The night saw 40 industry colleagues come together for an exciting evening of chocolate demonstrations presented by Brisbane artisan chocolatier Peter Ingall from Mayfield Chocolates in Spring Hill. Guests were treated to a demonstration and tasting of the different styles and combinations of chocolates, one of the highlights on the night was learning about all the different combinations of chocolate in one box, as one attendee describes: ‘it was like hundreds of millions!!’

With thanks to our Event Sponsors

YMEA Queensland gathered recently at the The Sebel & Citigate King George Square for an interactive panel session on ‘Scoring the Event Trifecta’.

The speaker line-up consisted of one representative from each of the three key fields required to manage an event – The Event Manager, The Venue and The Supplier. Questions came through thick and fast sparking debate between guests and speakers answering questions along the lines of ‘what is the best way to brief a client, venue or supplier?’, and ‘at what stage should you involve your stakeholders’.

Guests commented that the speakers provided a ‘great wealth of knowledge’ in a ‘great session with heaps of relevant information’.

A big thank you to our panel speakers - Susan Stewart from Staging Connections, Susan Harris from Absolute Events & Marketing and Andrea Payne from The Sebel & Citigate King George Square.

Thanks also to our gift sponsors for the evening generously donated by Victoria Park Golf Complex and Wok On Catering.

Thanks to our Event Sponsor:

Hosting an event will provide you with an excellent opportunity to demonstrate support for the continued growth of the meetings and events industry, to promote your venue and service and demonstrate its versatility and capabilities.

If you are interested in hosting an event please contact Helen McGowan at events@mea.org.au

The MEA Meetings Industry Accreditation Program has recently been under a significant review with some outstanding outcomes to benefit you. For more details please click here. If you wish to become an Accredited or Recognised member please visit the MEA Website for full details

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

ASV Audio Visual
Angus Warmbath    
Department of Communities
Diabetes Australia
Event Effects   
Hotel Grand Chancellor Surfers Paradise
MSIT Mount Gravatt
Moreton Island Adventures  
PES - Perrys Exhibition Solutions
Queensland Law Society
Rush Entertainment
SMI Knowledge Transfer
Sheldon Sport & Entertainment Centre
True North Learning
VideoData Staging & Hire
Wok On Catering 
j2 ideas & events

You can find details for all members on our online MEA Who’s Who directory – visit www.meetingsevents.com.au/whoswho/search.php

Onstage Entertainment has been a long and valued supporter of MEA not only with the supply of speakers and entertainers throughout the year, but also Andrea Heath their Managing Director, sits on our Queensland branch committee.

The MEA National Conference in two weeks is a big event coming for Onstage Entertainment who is heavily involved as our key entertainment sponsor. Andrea Heath, Managing Director, also sits on the National Conference Host Committee who created the Brave the Rave casual night concept.

Onstage is a leader in bringing new concept shows to the corporate market, being the first to provide a ‘flash mob’ at a conference back in early 2010, the first to bring contemporary dance (break, tap and hip hop) into the mainstream corporate realm, and will be showcasing amazing dancers at National Conference – they’re way ahead of their time. All of the entertainment being provided for the National Conference is brand spanking new and has been designed for the different social events and welcome reception.

Silent Disco, an awesome party concept for corporate, will feature at Brave the Rave along with groovy art and roving entertainment, and amazing new show Guilty Pleasures will open the awards dinner. You’ll be dancing the night away to Groove Elements at the end of the night – a 10 piece all-male-hot-to-trot-brilliant funk line up. These are some of the things to watch out for, with many other surprises install throughout the evening.

We are currently sourcing industry case studies to use in some of the publications we work with as well as to use as professional development tools. If you have a great case study, either one that has been written up, or if you have a case study that needs written up, please contact Kate Duldig at the MEA national office via email kduldig@mea.org.au. We would be delighted to work with you to create a useful educational tool for the industry.