May 2010 Issue: Live!

The digital edition of Convene's May 2010 issue in now available, with an interesting and fun cover story (if the author does say so himself) that looks at how four cities with outdated, negative reputations have shown the world -- and the meetings industry -- their bright new realities.

Also in this issue, we're proud to debut four new departments: PCMA Planner's Notebook, in which PCMA Vice President of Meetings and Events Kelly Peacy, CMP, CAE, offers a monthly look at the planning process for the PCMA 2011 Annual Meeting; Frame of Mind, a short Q&A with someone connected to meetings (this month: Animal Planet host Jeff Corwin, who in June is speaking at the PCMA Education Conference); Backchannel, an opinion column that replaces Point/Counterpoint, and this month tackles the question "Are big-name speakers worth the money?"; and Other Duties as Assigned, our lighthearted new back-page column, which kicks off with a funny story from Kirsten Olean, CMP.

Other highlights from our May issue:

"Community Services": A Q&A with David Radcliffe -- a veteran destination marketing executive and industry consultant, and co-moderator of the CEO Summit at the PCMA 2010 Annual Meeting -- about challenges and opportunities facing DMOs.

One on One With: Ray Kopcinski, CMP, director of meeting services for Million Dollar Round Table, and an ardent mountain climber -- who explains what his profession and his passion have in common.

Leading by Example: A profile of a week-long medical mission to Port-au-Prince with a nonprofit organization called Healing Hands for Haiti, whose volunteers include seasoned meeting professional Jean Tracy. Senior Editor Barbara Palmer went along on the trip, and the article she wrote -- and the photos she took -- are unforgettable. She's already filed previews of it here, here, and here; you'll definitely want to read them, too.

"Pursuing a New School of Thought": A feature article about second-tier cities that are forging partnerships with the first-class colleges and universities located there to identify new meeting and event opportunities.

Look for the text-only version of the May issue to be posted on Convene's homepage within the next few days.