McLean, VA – Six industry luminaries will be inducted into the Convention Industry Council (CIC)’s Hall of Leaders in a ceremony to be held August 20, 2006 in Boston. They are being recognized for one defining quality: that the industry would not be what it is today without their contributions.
They include Bob Dallmeyer, President, R.D. International (and a columnist for Trade Show Executive magazine), and Frank Poe, Director, City of Dallas Convention & Event Services Department.
The other four inductees include:
- William “Bill” Boyd, CITE, CMP, CMM, President and CEO, Sunbelt Motivation and Travel, Inc.;
- Virginia M. Lofft, Former Vice President/ Publishing Director, Primedia Business, The Meetings Group Magazines;
- Mickey Schaefer, CAE, President, Mickey Schaefer & Associates, LLC; and
- Carl C. Thompson, Executive Director, Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP).
“We are pleased to honor these extraordinary individuals. Their innovation, commitment and energy are inspiring and a credit to the tremendous talent that exists in the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry,” says Mary E. Power, CIC President and CEO.
Inductees are feted at the Hall of Leaders Gala and permanently honored at the Hall of Leaders Recognition Pavilion in the Washington (DC) Convention Center with exhibits that include a short tribute video. A second Hall of Leaders, located in Chicago’s McCormick Place, displays bronze plaques and information on their contributions.
The 2006 inductees will take their place beside 86 past and current industry leaders that include George A. Aguel (2004), Joan L. Eisenstodt (2004), Douglas L. Ducate (1995), Donald S. “Buck” Freeman (1985) and Donald S. Freeman, Jr. (1993), George F. Little (1986), Roy B. Evans, Jr. (1993), Conrad Hilton (1985), J.W. Marriott (1986) and J.W. Marriott, Jr. (1990), Richard K. Swandby (2000), and Gerald D. Sanderson (1995).
Nominations were reviewed this month by a selection committee of 11 members appointed by the CIC. The committee’s recommendations were then approved by the CIC Board of Directors. A maximum of six inductees may be selected biennially.
Reach Mary E. Power, CAE, President & CEO, Convention Industry Council, (703) 610-9030, at mpower@conventionindustry.org.
How They Earned It
1. Bob Dallmeyer, President, R.D. International, was nominated by the International Association for Exhibition Management (IAEM). The work of Dallmeyer’s company spans international exhibition facility representation and marketing programs, international and domestic exhibition/event management, corporate motivational and marketing seminars, convention center development projects, trade show marketing campaigns, and association management. In outside leadership roles, Dallmeyer has created programs that look to the future as well as abroad, and has created destination-marketing campaigns for foreign cities. He currently teaches exhibition management for George Washington University’s Event Management Certificate Program and IAEM’s Certified Exhibition Management program. Bob is also a columnist for Trade Show Executive magazine’s “Trade Show Café,” where he presents a unique perspective on the highly accomplished individuals in our industry who are rarely in the spotlight.
2. J. Frank Poe, Director, City of Dallas Convention & Event Services Department, nominated by International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM). With 32 years of convention center experience under his belt, Poe is known as the man who “makes people feel safer.” He has successfully chaired the IAAM Safety and Security Task Force, creating best practices and protocols, and has worked with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create the IAAM Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS).
3. Mickey Schaefer, CAE, President, Mickey Schaefer & Associates, LLC, was nominated by the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). In addition to 21 years with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) (from which she recently retired to launch her own consulting company), where she was a major influence on the PCMA Learning Center, and has been Chair of CIC’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) since 2000. Her impact on establishing accepted practices and standardizing business processes and procedures is just one reason she is being inducted.
4. Virginia M. Lofft, Former Vice President/ Publishing Director, Primedia Business, The Meetings Group Magazines, was nominated by Betsy Bair, Primedia Business. Lofft’s industry impact began in publishing, where she contributed to the development of several industry associations, such as MPI; championed editorial integrity and set hands-on standards for show coverage; and helped launch Beyond Borders magazine for international event planners. Lofft’s volunteer efforts included the creation of the Meeting Executive Certification program, today the CIC’s Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) program.
5. William “Bill” Boyd, CITE, CMP, CMM, President & CEO, Sunbelt Motivation and Travel, Inc., was nominated by the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE). Through Sunbelt, the company he founded,
Boyd has offered 25 years of high-quality incentive travel programs, merchandise award programs, meeting management and motivation strategies. Additional contributions to the industry include early development of online registration software; leadership roles with SITE and Meeting Professionals International (MPI); and the formation of a post-secondary education program related to the travel industry at Richland College in Dallas, now in its tenth year.
6. Carl C. Thompson, Executive Director, Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP), was nominated by the SGMP. Thompson has been instrumental in the organization’s history, having been a founding member and its first Executive Director. This year will see the realization of one of his dreams: the first training course for the Certified Government Meeting Professional (CGMP) program.
