The Professional Convention Management Association's Capital Chapter hosted its annual meeting on Wednesday evening at the Hilton Washington and doled out six awards. Produced by co-chairs Christina Childs and Annette M. Suriani for the third year in a row, the event saw a major format change: Traditionally a lunch, the awards moved to the evening for the first time.
"We thought if ever there was a year to change things up, this was the year," said Childs, whose day job is senior meeting planner for the National Telecommuincations Cooperative Association. Added Suriani, who is the director of meetings for the Meetings Management Group, "We wanted to see if this event is better as an evening event. And apparently it is, as our numbers are up from 300 last year to 340 this year."
Childs and Suriani worked with the Washington Speakers Bureau to land Daniel Pink, author of Free Agent and A Whole New Mind, as the evening's keynote speaker. "We're setting the bar pretty high," said Childs, with Suriani adding, "Hopefully we'll be able to outdo ourselves next year."
The evening took on a Hollywood theme, with a registration and committee fair kicking off the festivities, followed by the award presentation, Pink's hour-long talk, and a buffet reception wrapping things up. PSAV handled the audiovisual production, while AVI provided the organization's branded gobos.
Here are the evening's award winners:
Rising Star Award
Dori Jenson, Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau
President’s Award
Vicki Johnston, Vicki Johnson and Associates
Supplier, Green Leader Award
The Fairmont Washington, D.C.
Supplier, Emerging Green Award
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Planner, Green Leader Award
National Business Travel Association
Planner, Emerging Green Award
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Board Service Awards
Cecilia F. Bell
Karin M. Soyster
Gennice Carter
William F. Reed
Lana Ostrander
Kirsten Olean
Melissa Riley
Annette M. Suriani
Ellen Shortill
Joy E. Womack
Hunter Clemens
Christine M. Klein
Ada M. Phillips
Rebecca Waxler-Ramsey
Vicki Johnson
Emily A. Rademacher
Desiree Bryant
Julie Cupp
Alison LaFollette
Dawn Eagleton
Dori Jensen
Carrie Harris
Kathleen McAdams
Diane Kovats
Lisa Kidder
