Marcus Buckingham Keynote Speaker at 2005 MPI North American Educational Conference

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Marcus Buckingham Keynote Speaker at 2005 MPI North American Educational Conference
By Press Release
Nov 7, 2004 - 2:10:00 PM

DALLAS - Nov. 4, 2004 - Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announces that Marcus Buckingham, a best-selling author and expert on leadership and management practices, will serve as keynote speaker for its 2005 Professional Education Conference-North America (PEC-NA), Jan. 23-25 at the San Diego Conference Center in San Diego, Calif. Buckingham will share practical steps to increase effectiveness and professional success as well as proven strategies for bolstering leadership skills with, "Learn The One Thing You Need to Know To Be A Great Manager and Leader." He challenges conventional wisdom and shows the link between employee opinions and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover. PEC-NA's "It's all about YOU" approach provides necessary education crucial to enhancing skills to position meeting professionals as leaders and strategic assets to their organization, especially as the economy is improving.

Approximately 90 top-notch learning sessions for professional and personal development include Connecting with Key Decision Makers, Effective Ways to Immediately Improve Your Bottom Line, Marketing and Branding Management, Technology Trends and Strategic Planning: Roadmap to Success.

Inspiring Personal Power Keynotes will be conducted by business and life issues experts, and the popular Give & Take Roundtables will address hot topics. New this year for senior-level planners is a track titled "Influencing
Executive Decision-Makers" and focused on the issues of procurement, supply chain management and strategic meeting management to help meeting professionals articulate the value of meetings to all stakeholders. This track supports MPI's strategic plan, Pathways to Excellence, and highlights ways meeting professionals can form partnerships and prove their strategic value to senior stakeholders, including procurement officers. It is sponsored by Maritz, Inc.

Additional highlights for the 2005 Professional Education Conference-North America

* Conference attendees that book in the MPI housing block will receive a coupon after the 2005 PEC-NA good toward future purchases in the MPI Bookstore, for international conference registration, or MPI's
e-Learning Series. First introduced at the 2004 World Education Congress in Denver, MPI implemented the incentive to reinforce the importance of booking
in the block, and to show its support of Convention Industry Council's (CIC) Project Attrition.

* The PEC Expo, Jan. 24, featuring more than 300 exhibitors, offers a uniquely intimate environment for qualified buyers and industry suppliers to interact and do business together, featuring an incredible planner-to-exhibiting company ratio of nearly two to one. Planner members alone have a combined buying power of nearly $700 million and individually control average budgets of nearly $1.5 million.

* Rendezvous San Diego, benefiting the MPI Foundation, and sponsored by Intercontinental Hotel Groups, will be held Monday, Jan. 24 at the E Street Alley featuring networking, dancing and fun in the heart of San
Diego's Gaslamp Quarter.

* Opening Night Networking Reception, Jan. 23, aboard the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, formally the USS Midway and the Closing Night Gala, "An Evening at the MPI Supper Club," Jan. 25 in the Sails Pavilion of
the San Diego Convention Center.

* The PEC-NA Golf Tournament, benefiting The MPI Foundation, sponsored by Continental Airlines MeetingWorks, will be held Jan. 26 at the Del Mar National Golf Club.

* Also announced at the Opening General Session are MPI's 2003-2004 Chapters of the Year and Awards of Excellence winners, sponsored by Hilton Hotels Corporation.

* American Airlines will offer all 2005 PEC-NA attendees the opportunity to take advantage of zone fares or receive an additional five percent discount off any published fare (including published Web fares) by
calling American's group desk at 1-800-433-1790 with reference number: 4315AN.

* Savings of US$200 are available by registering for the pre-conference value rate of US$550 by Jan. 11 at www.2005pecna.mpiweb.org. Student, one-day and guest registration fees are also available.

Special thanks to MPI's San Diego chapter, the local host committee, and the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. In addition to these partners, MPI salutes its host and key level sponsors for their contributions: American Airlines, the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, the San Diego Convention Center Corporation, the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, Avis Rent A Car, Centerplate Catering, Fusion Productions, the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, Pacific Event Productions, Quantum Productions and Richter Scale. Leading Authorities is sponsoring the Opening General Session keynote speaker.

Headquarter hotels are the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego and the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina.
In-depth information on PEC-NA sessions, speakers and networking events, plus online registration and housing information is available via MPIWeb at .**

Established in 1972, Meeting Professionals International is the largest association for the meetings profession with more than 19,000 members in 66 chapters and clubs. As the global authority and resource for the $102.3 billion meetings and event industry, MPI empowers meeting professionals to increase their strategic value through education; clearly defined career pathways via a curriculum and professional development; and business growth opportunities. Its strategic plan, Pathways to Excellence, is designed to elevate the role of meetings in business via: creating professional development levels to evolve member careers to positions of strategic understanding and influence; influencing executives about the value of meetings; and intensifying supplier business opportunities.