LESS THAN TWO weeks before the American Association for Cancer Research was scheduled to hold its 2003 annual meeting in Toronto, the Premier of Ontario declared a provincial emergency due to the SARS epidemic. AACR had signed contracts with 21...

THESE DAYS, it's all about doing it better, faster, and cheaper — every time. You're always on time and on budget, but could you save even more time and money...

CONSULTANT CHUCK MCPHERSON believes that he has the cure for the common meeting: Make it SLURPY...

Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts joined the spa-branding frenzy last year with the introduction of CHI spas, with the first one recently opening in Bangkok. There are plans for 10 more CHI spas in the next few years. The essence of the brand comes...

WE'VE ALL BEEN IN STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSIONS WHERE WE spend seemingly endless hours fishboning and analyzing — without ever developing action steps or achieving results. But it doesn't have to be that way...

CELEBRATING A RECORD attendance of more than 2,700 at the Professional Education Conference in San Diego in January, Meeting Professionals International announced a position paper from its Global Corporate Circle of Excellence, telling members...

IN THE AFTERMATH of 9/11, Toby Brenner, president and CEO of Par Avion Meetings and Conventions in Los Angeles, had a client cancel a series of conferences, which resulted in some serious attrition fee exposure for the client. Through some...

During a new session at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Tampa, Fla., in January, 200 participants experienced a simulated mass casualty disaster, with interaction via an audience-response system. “After the introductory remarks...

Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to make fundamental decisions and take actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it. (For information on ICPA's strategic initiatives, see “Message from the...

The CAN-SPAM Act went into effect January 1, restricting unsolicited commercial e-mail and imposing stiff penalties for violations. The Act defines “unsolicited e-mail” as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial...