PCMA EduCon Wrap-Up

Just back from the very successful PCMA 2011 Education Conference in nearby Baltimore. Convene kept busy there -- we produced the show daily for AIBTM, which was co-located with the Education Conference at the Baltimore Convention Center, and also blogged and tweeted while on site. (Here are my and Barbara Palmer's Twitter handles. You'll find Convene's Twitter stream in the righthand column of this blog.) In the interest of housekeeping, here's a handy roundup of the links we tweeted for Convene interviews with some EduCon speakers:

* Vernice "FlyGirl" Armour, the U.S. military's first female African-American combat pilot
* Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronic Association
* Jeff Hurt, director of education and engagement for Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
* Chef Jeff Henderson, convicted drug dealer turned five-star chef

All of these links take you to Convene's digital edition, which requires you to register. But it's totally worth it, because you get to read these articles if not the way God intended then something pretty darn close.

The Buzz in Baltimore

On Monday afternoon, the exhibition floor at the Baltimore Convention Center was filled with the smell of sawdust and the beeps of heavy machinery on the move, as exhibitions staff readied the show floor for the inaugural The Americas Meetings & Events Exhibition (AIBTM). When it opens Wednesday, it will be the first large-scale hosted buyer event in the U.S.

AIBTM show floor under construction

In the sea of wooden packing crates, stacked furniture, and prefabricated walls and ceilings, there were lots and lots of ladders -- of hundreds of booths, many are two-story creations.

Scott Smith, an exhibits technician for Brede Exposition Services, was at work Monday on  the Visit Baltimore booth. The company builds booths of all sizes, Smith said, but was taking the elaborate construction surrounding him as a very good sign of the health of the international meetings industry.

Also noted: the record-breaking attendance at the PCMA Education Conference, co-located with AIBTM this year.

In total, approximately 3,000 meeting planners will be in Baltimore this week. Convene will be here, too -- follow us on @pcmaconvene. If you are not in Baltimore, attend virtually here.