With ISES Eventworld taking place simultaneously 187 miles to the southwest, MPI's 17th annual SEC Conference still managed to bring together nearly 350 event professionals to North Florida's Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa from August 21 to 23. Here's what attendees had to say:
"This was my first time in attendance, and it most definitely won't be my last. I thought the educational content was relevant and the speakers were great. Overall, the local chapter did a great job with scheduling. I have already next year's date penciled in on my calendar." -Susan Relihan, regional director of southeast sales for ConferenceDirect
"Everything was nice, but far from over the top, and the hurricane didn't help either. Overall, it didn't seem that well planned out, and for a bunch of meeting planners, I was surprised by the lack of organization." -Andrea Vigil, account executive at Wizard Connections
"I thought the sessions were great and very educational. The attendance was very good considering the weather. The Kennedy Space Center-sponsored lunch was my favorite standout moment." -Linda McMahon, sales manager of meetings and conventions for the Daytona Beach CVB
"Two things I was particularly impressed with were: one, about a week before, the conference the team sent out a reminder to all attendees with environment-friendly tips to follow; two: the 'Green FAQ' feature on the Web site, which also helped attendees and participants practice green behaviors throughout the entire conference." -Janet M. Cooperman, owner of Green PEAS Events
"I was privileged enough to speak at the conference on emotional intelligence. Appropriately enough, I think it took a great deal of emotional intelligence for the conference leaders to take action during such a crisis with the weather. I didn't witness any panic or disarray, though. and the organizational team was very poised." -Jarik Conrad, president of Conrad Consulting Group, L.L.C.
"I found the conference to be very meaty, with a lot to offer. My favorite part was the general session with keynote speaker Linda Larson." -Judy Thee, national entertainment director for Freeman
