Thursday, September 30, 2010

Why You Already Love EventCamp HQ

They say they are just everyday people, like you and me.

The EventCamp Headquarters Team includes industry thought-leaders, innovative meeting planners, and knowledge-management heavyweights.

Part of a dynamic, ongoing online conversation using the hashtag, eventprofs; Christina Coster had an idea…why couldn’t a group of event professionals come together for a face to face meeting using all the talents they had for a creative learning experience similar to the social media bar camps she’d attended?

And they did it.

We’ll hear more about the history of EventCamp on Monday when I will have the chance to interview the leaders of EventCamp Headquarters for Social Media Sweet Spot Radio at 11:30 am ET. You can tune in on your computers or by dialing in and there will be a chance for the audience to ask questions. Feel free to tweet about the show using #eventprofs or #sweetspot hashtags.

Monday’s show will feature:

Christina Coster is an award winning special event and meeting planner based in New York City. She is a blogger on Eventcoup.com and is the founder of EventCamp. She's a social media enthusiast, lover of all things tech, and an avid Mets fan. You can connect with her on Twitter at @Mizcity or on LinkedIn.

[Editor’s Note: She is also someone whom others refer to as brilliant, but who doesn’t seem keen to promote herself that way…I’ll love talking with her on Monday!]




Michael M McCurry is a 30 year veteran of the meetings and events industry. McCurry is currently a Strategic Account Manager with Experient and is responsible for oversight of the relationship between Experient and numerous corporate and association clients. He has been an active member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) since 1993 and most recently 2009 President of the Greater Midwest Chapter.

Mike has a special affinity for technology and has become a strong social media advocate and active blogger. Outside of work, he is an accomplished musician, guitarist and songwriter. When he’s not riding his Harley, he’s rooting for the Chicago Bears and Cubs.



Jessica Levin - With a background in marketing and event planning, Jessica’s dual forte is networking and netweaving. She has a reputation as the “Go To” person re: marketing, meeting planning and anything involving trends in technology. Jessica uses social networking tools to build and strengthen both personal and business relationships and teaches others how to embrace social media as a way to create both corporate and personal brands.

Jessica’s professional background includes experience in the professional services arena, association management and industrial marketing. Her strategic approach to marketing includes a mix of both traditional marketing channels and web 2.0 tactics. She focuses on creating, strengthening and maintaining relationships for business and for the people that drive them.

Jessica is the President of the New Jersey Professional Marketers Association (NJPSMG) and the social media moderator for the MeCo list. She is also a member of the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). She was named Planner of the Year by the New Jersey chapter of MPI and is a JASPER Award winner in the special event planning category. Jessica holds the designation Certified Meeting Professional (CMP). She was named New Jersey’s 2009 Top Forty Under 40. a 2010 Planner to Watch by Convention South magazine and was inducted into the New Jersey Social Media Hall of Fame in 2010.



Jeff Hurt has worked in events/nonprofit arena for more than 20 years including Keep America Beautiful as a consultant/trainer/writer; Keep Texas Beautiful as Education Coordinator; Professional Development Manager for Meeting Professionals International; Professional Development Manager for Promotional Products Association International; and Director of Education and Events for the National Association of Dental Plans. He has also served on several board of directors for several North Texas, state and national charities and organizations. Currently he serves as Director of Education and Engagement at Velvet Chainsaw Consulting.

[Editor’s Note: He is also one of my all-time favorite bloggers with his Midcourse Corrections blog.]



Mike McAllen helps companies save time, energy, and money for Meeting Production. The focus is on educating, motivating, networking and smart budgeting. He has a passion for helping meetings and event professionals through production solutions for live events and meetings...also through the internet with his show, MeetingsPodcast.com.

McAllen has been producing events and meetings, videos, and new media for 15 years. Co-founder of Grass Shack Events and Media 8 years ago - A corporate meetings and video production company. Co-founder of MeetingsPodcast.com and internet radio show which is in its 3rd year and more than 135 weekly shows. He is co-founder of EventCamp.org a "wordcamp" style event put together from the Eventprofs Twitter group.

[Editor’s Note: I am still waiting for an official headshot from Mike. So far, I’ve only found shots of him with other people online, including one photo titled, “The Godfathers of Eventprofs” from www.michaelmccurry.net/]

Do you have questions you would like for me to ask this crew of EventCamp leaders? I’ll be happy to include them for you!


Date / Time: 10/4/2010 11:30 AM

Category: Business

Call-in Number: (347) 884-9582






[From NFi's Blog Today] Quick Snapshot of Must-Read Association Bloggers

Quick snapshot of Must-Read Association Bloggers

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Real Housewives of Non-Profits

It's a Sunday night. My daughter is playing with a stuffed rabbit and Barbie on my bed to my right while The Will to Govern Well sits next to me on my night stand, patiently waiting for me to open it again before going to sleep. In the background, the Real Housewives of DC is playing on the television which provides me with another example to add to my ever growing, "Bad Mommy List."



The Real Housewives of Non-Profits would play out a little differently, I think.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Recipe for a Solid Social Media Program, Association-Style

[Disclosure: This is a post telling you to attend Progress U...basically a commercial, since it is a DelCor event and I'm speaking at it. Just wanted to be up front about it...]

I'm a terrible cook. I love good food, but unless it is comfort food, I am probably not the person who should be making it. Ask my boss at DelCor and he'll say, "just keep her away from the salt" (he was able to see my awful cooking in action at a "Cooking with DelCor client event).

But.

Even I know the secret to success is a good recipe. I am good at creating a solid social media program for associations and the secret is in THREE KEY INGREDIENTS.