All posts by Kelly Sargent

Many professionals — nurses, doctors, dentists, accountants, attorneys, architects, engineers and educators, to name a few — require yearly continuing education to maintain proficiency and remain certified. That list also includes elite meeting and event specialists.

With its abundant beauty, Virginia has always been a tourism hotspot, but over the years it’s evolved into a dynamic destination for meetings.

Thankfully, not every outing features a calamity, but there are enough moving parts at every expo, trade show and convention to provide plenty of opportunities for something to go sideways. That’s what makes it so important to have preplanned strategies in place to deal with the unexpected.

When it comes to dining, attendees now seem to want to get back to basics: food that tastes good and is presented well, and heartier meals prepared with familiar staples.

An additional standard has been added to the checklist of “musts” for planners — authenticity — and industry pros seem to be talking and writing about it often these days.

At the end of the day, networking at in-person events is not only educational and fruitful, it is important for both personal and professional growth.

As economic, cultural and technological issues continue to impact who makes it onto the podium at meeting and events, speakers will be asked to help with pre-event promotion and focus on impactful storytelling.