Miracle Workers: A Podcast for Meeting Planners by Meeting Planners.

Dear Meeting Planners, We haven't forgotten about you. We haven't left you hanging. We will be back!   We are taking a little break and will be back with new episodes in September.  Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Stay Planning and we love all of you, Amanda and Darryl

We are launching a 3-part series on how, as planners, we can use our meetings and events to call out inequalities and help change the world. We don't always think of our events in the larger community and can easily get comfortable and pigeon-holed into doing things just one way. In these episodes, we want all planners to think in terms of race, sexual identity, and gender identity to find ways to...

Are you hungry for F&B news?  Are buffets dead? Can we make boxed-meals fun? This week Amanda and Darryl talk with food allergy expert and certified meeting manager, Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC, CFPM of Thrive Meetings and Events ( https://thrivemeetings.com/ ) about what we can expect in Food and Beverage when our in-person meetings come back.  As she says, “I’m passionate in he...

We were going to just give you an extra segment on virtual platforms but got so many messages from planners who wanted to share that we turned this into a bonus episode!   This week we interview Nancy and Amanda (another one) who tell us about their experiences with vFairs, Facebook Live, Zoom, and Remo.   Do you have an experience with a virtual event platform that you'd like...

Amanda and Darryl talk with several meeting professionals who have pivoted their in-person meeting to a virtual one and we discuss the platforms they used and how they made their selection. Take-aways: 1. Determine your needs before you start looking; 2. Check out a variety of offerings; 3. Don’t buy more then you need – there are plenty of options out there; 4. Know that there are different ways...

We have gotten some great feedback on the latest episode of the podcast. Many people writing in wanted to see if we could post the interview with Annette Gregg, MPI’s Senior VP of Experience as it’s own highlight. We’re nothing if not receptive to our listeners, so here you go. Take a listen as Annette discusses her perspective on what in-person events will look like when we return.

Amanda and Darryl continue the discussion of getting back to in-person meetings and what they will look like when it’s safe to meet again. They interview Lindsay Gold, CMP Director of Meetings and Events at Associated Builders and Contractors on her group’s move of their annual meeting to September in Nashville and Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Senior Vice President for Experiences, A...

Amanda and Darryl start Zooming for this week’s episode. Now that they can see each other they begin to discuss the benefits, cost, and time of getting professionally certified. Then they welcome Anne to talk about her experiences getting her CMP and another certification. Get ready for some extra letters after your name and some new business cards! Take-Aways: Understand the different types of ce...

Amanda starts off by explaining to Darryl that the show is being recorded virtually, which he eventually comes to understand. Then they go on to talk about how the industry is pivoting to virtual meetings. What are the differences and how should planners take on virtual events? Plus an interview with Heather S. on how she took her client’s event virtual and what she’s learned from the process.&nbs...

Amanda and Darryl talk books, books, and more books as they try to fill their time not planning meetings during this crazy period. They interview Jillian Cardinal of the Eventprofs Book Club to hear how she created an online community of event professionals reading and sharing insights on books for the industry. Take-aways:  1) Use this time for some great reading and professional development...

In this episode, Amanda and Darryl practice social distancing while talking about all the cancellations in the meetings industry. They each share stories of their recent cancellations and Stacey joins to tell the story of canceling her association’s meeting.  During the discussion, we learn some tips for having difficult conversations with your venue and vendors, as well as with your attendees, sp...

Amanda and Darryl head down to Destinations Showcase in Washington, DC to talk CVBs. They sit down with the heads of PCMA and Destinations International as well as several planners to hear about what CVBs can do and how planners like to work with them. Plus there's an update on the great work being done by the PCMA Foundation Industry Fund and a new Win of the Week. Take-Aways: CVBs offer a lot of...

Meeting venue RFPs and the bids that they elicit are one of the things that we, as planners, hate the most. Amanda and Darryl provide some tips that planners can use to make the RFP process better focused and get more detailed bids back. We also launch the “win of the week” feature. This episode’s takeaways are: 1. Be realistic about timing/deadline and concessions 2. Provide as much detail as pos...

Darryl starts by man-splaining diversity until Amand reminds him this is not a “Man-al” We all want to diversify but how do you do it and why is it so important to your event?  Also, are you just looking at the stage or do you consider the audience too? This episode’s takeaways are: Actively try to diversify your speakers Set a good example by diversifying your staff, board, leadership struct...

It’s not easy going green...or is it?  In this episode, Amanda and Darryl discuss some low and no-cost options for greening your meeting and tips for highlighting your sustainability impact. This episode’s takeaways are: Get buy-in from the stakeholders in your organization/team. Start early in the RFP/site/contracting process Try some or all of our low/no-cost suggestions Think about how to...

Have you ever read a quote from an A/V vendor and said, “Huh?” Yeah, we get it. Not many of us like to deal with A/V but it’s a necessary part of many meetings and events. In this episode, Amanda and Darryl break down the world of audiovisual equipment and give you some practical tips for how to better understand your bill and get that final number more in line with your budget. Session Take-Aways...

This is the trailer. This is only a trailer. Had this been a real episode it would have been longer. But stay tuned as we drop the first two episodes before Christmas. Listen for "An A/V Primer for Planners" and "It's Not Easy Going Green".