CEIR Relevance Where else – but CEIR Predict?

CEIR Relevance Where else – but CEIR Predict?

by BOB PRIEST-HECK, Chief Operating Officer, Freeman
Chairman, CEIR Predict Program Committee

Often, the most significant events are most appreciated in retrospect.  After all the planning, the anticipation and the intensity of producing the actual program – comes that sweet moment of reflection when you realize, something truly wonderful happened!

And so it was at CEIR Predict in New York last week. For those who were there, the event provided an opportunity to fully comprehend just how central the exhibition industry is to the health and well-being of our economy.

Only CEIR Predict offered industry leaders an opportunity to dig deep into the inner workings of economic prognostication  and be uplifted by stories of confidence, innovation and success in “unPREDICTable times.”

Where else but CEIR Predict – could industry leaders benefit from the insights of world-class economic trend spotters like Bain’s Macro Trend Group’s Senior Economist Austin Kim?  Where else could we learn, first hand, how big city mayors are working to make their convention centers and infrastructures meet the ever-changing needs of the exhibition industry?

And where else but CEIR Predict – would you find renowned, new media experts like NYU’s Clay Shirky engaged in a thought-provoking conversation with the president and CEO of the American Society of Association Executives John Graham about how advances in social media and mobile technology are affecting the mission of associations and the very nature of face-to-face events?

CEIR Predict was and will be absolutely essential to providing a valuable forum of interchange to help us understand and transcend the unrelenting forces of change in our industry.

That is why it is so important that industry leaders get personally involved in supporting CEIR and CEIR Predict.  I would like to thank my fellow Program Committee members: David Audrain, CEM, Peggy Daidakis, Steve Moore, Don Pazour and Dennis Slater for their tireless support – and to every industry leader who moderated or participated on a discussion panel for helping to make the 2013 CEIR Predict conference a resounding success.

Because ultimately, it is not about just writing a check and getting your logo placed in a program. Itis about being generous with your time and the benefit of your experience with industry colleagues.

It is about taking an interest in the development and education of the next generation of leaders. And it is about being an active participant in shaping the future of our great exhibition industry.

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