Nationwide: The Meeting Specialists It's noon, and Jodi Woerner has been on the phone since 9 a.m. negotiating a hotel contract for an incentive meeting. For some time now, she's been talking about whether or not children under four will be able...

"Eating in great restaurants, shopping, going to North Shore for big waves, and walking Waikiki." That's Mary Charles' short list for the perfect pre- or post-meeting stay on Oahu. The CEO of one of Hawaii's largest destination management...

Holly Hilliard, who organizes software training seminars, recently had an inspiration. Why is it, she wondered, that meeting rooms don't have an SOS device for when something goes wrong? Sure, you can pick up a phone or leave the room to hail...

The Boca Raton Resort & Club, in Boca Raton, Fla., opened its new $40 million meeting and conference facility, the Mizner Center, in January. The 128,000-square-foot center features 34 meeting rooms and can host meetings for up to 1,800 people...

One of the cardinal laws of meeting planning is that there should be no surprises. A major step toward that goal for lighting, projection, and sound in your general session is to begin with clear and concise Requests for Proposal (RFPs). AV...

* www.iacconline.com The International Association of Conference Centers has enhanced its Web site. In addition to a searchable database of 300 IACC member centers worldwide, visitors can consult the "virtual concierge." This feature offers links...

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has negotiated the management of the new hotel/residential tower being built at the Wall Centre in Vancouver for its Sheraton brand. The 45-story tower is scheduled to open in the spring of 2000. The Wall...

After a one-year hiatus while National Life of Vermont went through an extreme cost-cutting initiative in an effort to stay independent and stay in Montpelier, Flatlanders Weekend, the industry's only "reverse fam," returned in September...

Unity--an admirable meeting theme and goal. How to make it happen? Lots of hard work. Lynne Scheueler, meetings manager at the Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, describes what corporate executives hope to accomplish at the 1999...

Atlantic City is maturing as a destination, and as a result, is drawing more corporate meetings and incentive groups, according to Marshall E. Murdaugh, executive director, Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority...