President's Message
Joe Bedsole
Arlington CVB
I Feel the Need.....the Need to Lead! Well OK, let’s set the scene with a quintessential 80’s moment to quote the now infamous character named Maverick in the movie Top Gun…………….”I feel the need, the need for speed” queue the Kenny Login’s Danger Zone music, the song’s screaming guitars and sounds of F-16s roaring off the aircraft carrier followed by the adrenaline rush. So then is it the speed, the rush, the soundtrack or all of the above that gets the blood going? And the aforementioned “speed”, is that a true need? In the case of top gun I'm guessing yes, but in everyday life….hmmmm….there have been a few times I’ve been stuck on 35 both in San Antonio and Austin- I did have a need for an F-16 to get me out of traffic and back home, no doubt. But setting the speed aside (you can do this while sitting on I-35) let’s talk about that other need, the one that is important to MPI and specifically the Texas Hill Country Chapter – the Need to lead.
What is this need, what is its genesis and why “the need to lead” needs you? When I first joined MPI I was working down in Corpus Christi at the 2 big hotels located on the city’s Bayfront, I was speaking with my boss one day regarding sales trips and being involved in industry associations and I shared a philosophy I was contemplating that I thought for sure would be shot down, but to my pleasant surprise it wasn’t. My thought was if we (my organization) were going to spend the money on being in industry associations like MPI, not only do we as members have to attend chapter events (duh) but also we need to get involved, after all if you are new and you don’t know a soul in the chapter what better way for me to meet folks/potential customers for my organization than to join committees? And as you might have guessed there were plenty of opportunities and plenty of really happy MPI leaders ready to sign me up, what I didn’t know at the time is that even though I was doing this as a part of my job how enjoyable and rewarding on so many levels it would be in the long run, that run now being 20+ years.
So one can ask the question then as to what drives us to sign up, to get interested, to go to that meeting and to be engaged? Did you benefit from meeting those folks at your table at the last chapter event and/or what was your take away from those great speakers at the MPI Texas Education Conference, did you get a great idea or find a new speaker to use at your association’s next conference or did you personally learn something that you can use? Our chapter is many things to many people and the benefits are there for the taking and ……..the leading.
Oh now wait, what’s up with that leading part being a benefit, I didn’t see that coming so please define? What is it to get involved, what’s the value, what’s my take away and how can I apply this…is this what you speak of as the Need to lead? I will ask you right back, is it? If you have ever asked yourself how you can get more from the chapter, if you have ever taken the few minutes to read the “e pub” the MPI THCC Hill Country Spotlight, if you have given a fleeting thought to joining one of those many committee opportunities or the opportunity to become a board member then you have answered that question already.
Come on, I know you’ve thought about it, being tentative is not a bad thing and as a matter of fact it probably means that your concern is valid as you are one who will want to not only step up but will do a successful job and guess what- we have a place for you on our leadership team. That place is today, tomorrow and even down the road.
The very fact that you attend chapter events is a step, the idea that you’re reading this right now can spark that curiosity to call any member of our current or previous boards and ask about getting involved, call it a little “personalized banking for your leadership soul”- we can custom fit any level of your personal “need to lead” with a wide variety of leadership opportunities. Board nominations are taking place right now and there are many opportunities that make the cogs of this chapter click, some require very little time or effort, some are seasonal, and some can be the greatest experiences of your personal and professional lives. So Maverick, take that inner spark of your own “need to lead” fire up and jettison that F-16 right off the carrier and feel the adrenaline.
The future of this chapter is in your hands, so listen for those jet engines the next time they fly overhead and that’s when it hits you ….…you’ve got the need, the need to lead. Countdown to Corpus Christi:
“Back to the Future and Back to the Beach”
TEC 2011 – Keep Texas Meeting! Well the the beginning of fall is upon us and the minds of central Texans are thinking about those great days of autumn when the nights are cool and the daytime temps stay in the 80’s. A trip to the local store right now will begat a major onslaught of Halloween inspired must have items for the home and the weekends will offer some exciting football games to enjoy, this is Texas and we take our football seriously. But there’s another great event to look forward to and one to put at the top of your career development “to do” list and that’s MPI THCC’s Texas Education Conference. In the last week of October 2011, the city of Corpus Christi Texas will be the site of the our annual education conference, a chance to look deeper and get smarter with educational sessions, networking and more covering industry specific learning, trends and skills. The Texas Education Conference is your chance to get invested and engaged in the Business Value of Meetings and to Keep Texas Meeting!
Whether you are a full-time meeting planner, someone who plans meetings as only part of your job responsibilities, a business owner, an association executive, or a supplier to the meeting industry, we invite you to join us for TEC 2011!
What’s In It For You?
- The MPI Texas Hill Country Chapter is leading the charge in Texas to make meetings and events, and those who produce them, a key strategic component of every organization’s business. We are committed to your success. TEC 2011 will focus on offering the best in education opportunities in an efficient 24 hour format……including some great networking events!
- TEC 2011 will provide education customized to your level and position, opportunities to build professional relationships, and the opportunity for further professional development for all that attend.
- For employers, TEC provides you/your company’s attendee with the education, contacts, and tools you need to execute more effective meetings that further the organization’s overall strategic goals and demonstrate ROI.
 - For suppliers, TEC means business via exposure for your company to numerous planners from all over Texas- planners with a need to place multiple conferences and events in the state of Texas and beyond.
Our chapter’s theme this leadership year is Back to the Future: Building on our chapter’s DNA and this year’s Texas Education Conference in Corpus Christi Texas is right in line with our current leadership charge. As many of our long term chapter members know the TEC event has had many incarnations. Prior to being renamed the Texas Education Conference the event was known as CAMP MPI and prior to “camp” the chapter had a few other incarnations as well and in the summer of 1991 THCC held it’s chapter’s education conference in……Corpus Christi! I was working in the city at that time when this conference was held there that summer and everyone had such a great experience. Recently I uncovered a photo from that THCC conference in 1991 and if you look closely you will see some current and former chapter members from Austin & San Antonio. So let’s fast forward Back to the Future from 1991, 20 years to 2011 and go Back to the Beach for TEC 2011 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Register today via the links on our website’s education calendar.
Get involved, get engaged and let’s Keep Texas Meeting!
Joe
July 2011
Globally Locally Hill Country Roads Imagine the familiar song with different lyrics? Perhaps a somewhat central Texas version like: “Take me home, Hill Country Roads”? MPI is a global community and we are central Texas - it does make one think, how does this pertain to what roads have brought us to where we are today in the Texas Hill Country chapter of MPI? What causes us to think, to react, to inspire, to lead and to appreciate what we have today and what we hope to have tomorrow and to be grateful for the yesterdays of our shared environment?
For those of you not able to attend this year’s awards banquet/family day in June, our chapter theme this year is “Back to the Future: Building on our Chapter’s DNA.” Now is truly the time to take a step back and to consider what roads originally led us to MPI THCC and what keeps us each a part of our chapter.
We are a professional association for the meetings and conferences industry. Just as this country is different so are the many reasons we join and participate and, for some, the reasons we commit to being part of the leadership team of the chapter. Consider what central Texas was like in the early 80’s and what our industry community was like on February 22, 1983, when the chapter was chartered - the genesis of our chapter’s DNA. I was living in Austin and going to UT at that time and I can tell you that many of our cities such as Round Rock/Georgetown, Austin, Buda/Kyle, New Braunsfels and San Antonio were actually separate from each other. You actually left each of those towns before you arrived in the next one - obviously times have changed! But, it must have been obvious to a core group there was the need for an association in this part of Texas for the meetings industry. They felt an organization was needed to provide members with education, with the means to advance a career and the opportunities to network locally and to take advantage of MPI’s offerings on an international scale. We will be forever grateful for those leaders who began our chapter in 1983, those individuals who laid the groundwork for what we have today, what we have to build upon and what we can take into the future.
Let’s take a moment to wrap our brains around our geography again and let’s venture down those Hill Country Roads. Consider this, can you think of a more ambitious undertaking than what MPI THCC does from a geographical perspective and what we strive for each year? Not to take anything away from other large geographical areas and MPI chapters in the USA such as DFW, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Potomac or Chicago, but let’s consider what MPI-THCC does on an annual basis:
• We offer educational events in the two major cities of San Antonio and Austin and many surrounding cities
• We host over 30 chapter events in a 12 month period
• We have 2 major charity/philanthropic events each year in both Austin and San Antonio
• We offer the additional statewide educational opportunities - MPI-THCC Texas Education Conference and Southwest
Showcase
• We publish our chapter e-newsletter and send it to your inbox 24 times a year
So, all of this is ambitious? Yes! Impossible? No! Go “back to the future” and check out the chapter’s DNA. The Texas Hill Country Chapter of MPI has been embracing our membership geography since 1983. We have a solid foundation to build on thanks to the chapter’s members and leaders over the past 28 years.
So the next time you drive that picturesque winding road through the Texas Hill Country and see that beautiful sunset over the hills take a moment to breath, relax and consider those members who have come before us, think about your current fellow chapter members and leaders of today and be thankful for what they do. And as that sun sets and the sky is ablaze with the beautiful red, yellow and orange hues of twilight, think about what the future holds for all of us: your families, your significant others, your friends and the roads that led you to today and the ones that will lead you to tomorrow. Your chapter embraces you, serves you, depends on you and is ready to grow with you.
So join us in building on the chapter’s past and let’s go Back to the Future together. |
