Successful Meetings - December 2007 - (Page 8)

Editor’s Note > By Vincent Alonzo vince.alonzo@nielsen.com Reaching the Pinnacle The difference between great and merely good is like the gap between reaching the peak of Mount Everest and just making it to the base of the summit. Reaching the base is noteworthy but going all the way to the top, now that’s really impressive. That was why Successful Meetings created the Pinnacle Award in 1984. Recognizing hotels, conference centers, and CVBs that provide outstanding venues and service for all kinds of events, from small board meetings and training sessions to large city-wide trade shows and conferences encourages future excellence in the meetings industry. Spotlighting properties and organizations that have bridged the distance between good and great sets a standard to which everyone in the hospitality and meetings community can aspire. Being a part of the process to set that standard is one of the perks that comes with creating this magazine. Uncovering the success of both planners and the companies that service their meetings might even be the most rewarding part of this whole endeavor. We write about a lot of great companies in this magazine from month to month, and each one has something to teach us about the difference between being simply good and being great. But the Pinnacle Award takes that to a higher level. Last year, 183 meetings industry suppliers received the coveted award. We can’t discover and evaluate all of that excellence without your help. Just like scaling Everest, this is a project that requires a true team—and we need you to be a part of it. If you’ve held an event at a great hotel, resort, or conference center, or received outstanding service from a CVB that you feel is worthy of an award, visit www.mimegasite.com and click on the 2008 Pinnacle Award Ballot and nominate them. The three award categories are broken into six regions: Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, West, and International. The ballot enables you to rank the nominees in four categories designed to reveal the quality of the product and the organization’s commitment to service. Ranking will only take a few moments of your time, but the result will make it much easier for everyone in the meetings community to view the landscape of excellence in our industry—as if they were standing on the pinnacle of Mount Everest. EDITORIAL and EXECUTIVE OFFICES: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, (646) 654-7381; fax (646) 654-7367; www.mimegasite.com VINCENT ALONZO editor-in-chief, vince.alonzo@nielsen.com SUZIE AMER managing editor, suzie.amer@nielsen.com TERRI HARDIN destinations editor, terri.hardin@nielsen.com KINLEY LEVACK senior editor, kinley.levack@nielsen.com JENNIFER LEVEY online editor, jennifer.levey@nielsen.com NANCY LAZARUS research director, nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: ROBERT CAREY, RAYNA KATZ, MARSHALL KRANTZ, MARIANA LEMANN, WILLIAM NG, MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN, TOM MCDONALD CORRESPONDENTS: 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; PHYLLIS JEFFERSON production director special projects INFORMATION MARKETING (646) 654-7256 KWAFO ANOFF group director, audience marketing, kwafo.anoff@nielsen.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: (847) 763-9050 MARKETING (703) 488-2739 JOHN TOLER marketing manager, travel & performance group, john.toler@nielsen.com ADVERTISING (646) 654-7327 FOR THE NEW YORK OFFICE REPRINTS For advertising/editorial: FosteReprints, Heather Dubie, (866) 879-9144 x134, e-mail: hdubie@fostereprints.com For one-time use of our content, as a full article, excerpt, or chart: Barbara Grieninger, (646) 654-4675, e-mail: barbara.grieninger@ nielsen.com LIST RENTAL (845) 731-2731 JULIUS SINGLE Vice President, Manufacturing and Distribution: Jennifer Grego Vice President, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley Vice President, Marketing Services: Drew DeSarle 8 mimegasite.com DECEMBER 2007 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS http://www.mimegasite.com http://www.mimegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - December 2007

Successful Meetings - December 2007
Contents
Editor's Note
Special Report
Research
Industry Trends
2008 Meeting Events
Planner Spotlight
Websites of the Month
Mouth for Sale
Technology Talk
Food & Beverage
Pre-Event
On Site
Pre-Event
Tools of the Trade
Goodbye, Booth Babes
Five Tips to Improve Your Golf Events
When Crime Pays
Office for Hire
More Miles for Your Money
Places & Spaces
South Florida
Biloxi / Mississippi Gulf Coast
Fort Worth
Monterey
Beijing
Gurus
Special Supplement: Hawaii Island-by-Island Guide

Successful Meetings - December 2007