Successful Meetings - October 2008 - (Page 6)

Editor’s Note > By Vincent Alonzo vince.alonzo@nielsen.com The Key to Success “Attention to trifles is the key to success—and success is no trifle.” That was the mantra of the first editor I worked for after I graduated from college. He was a veteran journalist who had covered beats on newspapers around the country, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer to New York Newsday. He was a great mentor, but 10 months was all I could take working for him. The man could not delegate. He found it impossible to let go. I’ll never forget the exact moment when I decided to quit. I was conducting a phone interview for a story and he was slumped over my back with his head tilted on my left shoulder so he could hear what the person on the other end of the phone was saying. At the same time, he was reaching over my right shoulder jotting down notes to me on what to ask next. I remember thinking, “It’s time to go.” About a year after I left I bumped into a former colleague who told me that my mentor had just been fired. He was so consumed with doing the jobs of the people he was managing that he wasn’t adequately performing his own duties. The ability to delegate is crucial to the success of any endeavor and finding people you can trust to delegate to is probably the most difficult part of the process. That’s why each year, Successful Meetings and the Association for Convention Operations Management (ACOM) team up to present the CSM of the Year Awards for the best convention/conference service managers. If you’ve worked with a CSM from a hotel, a convention center, or a CVB who is truly someone you can trust to have your back or to fix a problem, here is the opportunity to get them some real recognition—not only from you, but from their employers, and the industry as well. So go to www.successfulmeetings.com, click on the link for the CSM of the Year ballot and nominate a deserving CSM by describing his or her exceptional performance that benefited your meeting or event. Award winners will be honored at a ceremony at the ACOM annual conference in New Orleans this January. All things considered, now more than ever, good CSMs are worth their weight in gold—and that’s no trifle. PUBLISHER: NELLA VELDRAN vice president and group publisher, travel group, (646) 654-7325, nella.veldran@nielsen.com VINCENT ALONZO editor-in-chief, vince.alonzo@nielsen.com KINLEY LEVACK managing editor, kinley.levack@nielsen.com CORRIE DOSH destinations editor, corrie.dosh@nielsen.com ANDREA DOYLE senior editor, andrea.doyle@nielsen.com NANCY LAZARUS research director, nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: ROBERT CAREY, RAYNA KATZ, WILLIAM NG, MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN, TOM MCDONALD NEELAM MATHEWS (ASIA); ED SCHMIDT JR. (FLORIDA); HEIDI WALDROP BAY (WESTERN U.S.) ART (646) 654-7348 DON SALKALN art director, don.salkaln@nielsen.com PRODUCTION (646) 654-7293 GRACE CASEY production manager CUSTOM PUBLISHING (646) 654-7360 MARILYN MOORE editorial director; ALISON GOLUB executive editor; KAREN GINES executive editor (performance); SARAH VEIT associate editor; DENNISTON BROWN creative director; MICHELLE TROPIANO art director; JONATHAN CHANG associate art director; TESSA SESTINA associate art director INFORMATION MARKETING (646) 654-5879 TRACEY associate director, audience marketing, tracey.dwyer@nielsen.com SUBSCRIPTIONS (847) 763-9050 MARKETING (646) 654-7263 JENNIFER PEPPER STAM senior marketing manager, travel group, jennifer.pepperstam@nielsen.com ADVERTISING (646) 654-7327 FOR THE NEW YORK OFFICE REPRINTS The YGS Group, Jenny Kintner, (800) 324-2930, successfulmeetings@theYGSgroup.com. For one-time use of our content: Barbara Grieninger, (646) 654-4675, barbara.grieninger@nielsen.com LIST RENTAL (646) 654-7220 MICHELLE WIESNER EDITORIAL OFFICES: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, (646) 6547361; fax (646) 654-7365; www.successfulmeetings.com DWYER 6 successfulmeetings.com OCTOBER 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS http://www.successfulmeetings.com http://www.successfulmeetings.com http://www.successfulmeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - October 2008

Successful Meetings - October 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Supplier News
On the Record
Calendar
Planner News
Planner Spotlight
Personal Success
Technology Talk
Food &�Beverage
Pre-Event
Tools of the Trade
On Site
Technology for Modern Meetings
A Tale of Two Cities
A Cast of Thousands
Places & Spaces
Mexican Destination Resorts
Spain
Austin
New Orleans
Lake Tahoe / Reno

Successful Meetings - October 2008