I JUST
GRADUATED.
NOW WHAT?
Introducing ILEA Membership for the Emerging Event Professional
The International Live Events Association now offers recent graduates from a two- or
four-year accredited college or university, or those with less than five years of experience,
a discounted membership* to take advantage of all ILEA has to offer.
Learn more and join now at www.ileahub.com
*For U.S. membership only
Just to name a few ILEA celebrations.
ILEA HQ and ILEA Greater Chicago participated
in local activities at Chicago’s McCormick place,
which set the stage for 2017’s GMID celebration,
as Industry Xchange and Choose Chicago
joined together with Meetings Mean Business
to create a truly informative live event. Known
for producing collaborative education and
networking events for professional meetings
and event planners, Industry Xchange worked
with Choose Chicago to offer attendees a
veritable who’s-who of speakers and panelists,
including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and
Tom Ricketts, owner of the Chicago Cubs.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel dove into the
profound impact that meetings and events
have on the city of Chicago. Mayor Emanuel
touched on how Chicago’s sports, theater,
parks and inventive cuisine helped the city
to surpass its tourism goal in 2016 and set
the bar even higher for 2017 to continue
to provide a top meeting destination at an
international level, a goal that many cities
strive for each year. In fact, the live events and
meeting industry accounts for $280 billion of
direct spending; 1.7 million jobs across the U.S.
alone; and brings $28 billion in much-needed
tax revenues for the U.S.
The energy in the room was apparent as Tom
Ricketts, owner of the 2016 World Series
Champions Chicago Cubs took the stage.
Welcomed by a standing ovation, Ricketts
discussed his experience as the Cubs were
transformed from a cursed team to world
champions, citing impressive stats and
referencing the immense power of live events:
• Game 7 of the 2016 World Series was the
most watched World Series in 25 years
• Roughly 10.5 million tweets were posted
during the championship game
• More than 62 billion social impressions
were generated globally by the time the Cubs
claimed their title.
Jim Goodman, VP of Conferences and
Continuing Education for the American
Dental Association, said it best at the Industry
Xchange: “We should be proud of what we do.
To me, we work in the greatest industry there is.”
THE INDISPUTABLE IMPACT OF
LIVE EVENTS
B y K rysten F ischer , M arketing and C ommunications , ILEA
What do you get when you bring together
thousands of the most talented live events
professionals in the country on a day dedicated
to the impact of meetings and events? An
unforgettable celebration of Global Meetings
Industry Day (GMID).
Thursday, April 6, marked the second annual
GMID – a global meetings initiative driven by
Meetings Mean Business, an industry coalition
that ILEA is part of. Designed to rally industry
advocates and stakeholders, engage outside
organizations and unite the entire meetings
industry, GMID is centered on a singular cause:
To promote and showcase the indisputable
impact of live events. At ILEA, this is something
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we feel passionate about as a community.
ILEA chapters around the globe celebrated
GMID with local events, online conversations,
media coverage and photos.
ILEA Vancouver partnered with the PCMA
Canada West Chapter, the MPI British Columbia
chapter and Disney for an amazing day of
activities. ILEA Nashville and ILEA Seattle both
received a proclamation from their state’s
governor recognizing April 6 as Meetings
Industry Day. An ILEA student member from
ILEA Cleveland organized a fundraiser at her
local community college to raise awareness to
students about GMID and ILEA membership.
Photo: Tom Ricketts, Chicago Cubs
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