Event Service Professionals Association Announces 2021 Virtual Conference

Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA) has announced that registration is now open for the 2021 annual conference, which will take place January 21-22.

ESPA’s conference will put leadership skills on centerstage “virtually,” providing a forum for hotel, convention center and CVB event service professionals to collaborate in preparation for face-to-face events. Topics will cover current challenges and solutions unique to event service professionals amid the era of COVID-19, as well as innovative ways convention services managers can power the planning process and satisfy planners’ goals.

Breakout sessions and think tanks will cover topics unique to event service professionals, such as  the return on investment of event services, safety issues, corporate social responsibility initiatives, hybrid events, communications skills, and innovative and creative ways that CSMs can service groups.

The conference will feature keynote presentations, breakout sessions, programs for those in leadership-level positions at member organizations, networking lounges, interactive roundtable discussions and wellness activity breaks. Attendees will also have an opportunity to earn Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) credits for services-centric education.

“After considering the full scope of where our members are amid the pandemic—some are now a department of one while others have been laid off or furloughed—it was clear that a virtual event would be the best format to deliver the educational and networking opportunities that our members rely on,” said Jamie Huckleberry, ESPA president and director of event services at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. “ESPA members can expect a robust event that is just as valuable as our annual in-person conference. Right now, everyone really needs inspiration, and we are using our event to reignite that spark, energize our members and get them excited for brighter times ahead.”

Keynote speakers will discuss leading with confidence in the new event landscape, creating a strategy to take organizations to the next level and cultivating a positive mentality to reach new goals.

Simon Bailey will deliver the opening keynote, SPARK: Act like an Employee and Think like a CEO. The industry keynotes will be presented by Larry Perkins, CFE, CPP, CMP, vice president/assistant general manager, PNC Arena, who will deliver Reflections: Buck Seventy-Two: A Destiny of Will, and Jessie States, CMP, CMM, director, MPI Academy Meeting Professionals International, will present, WEC Grapevine: Pandemic Meetings, Considerations and Lessons Learned. Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo will deliver the closing keynote presentation, Creating the New Normal: Optimizing Your Mindset is Integral to Your Success in the Present and Future.

Nominations are currently being accepted for ESPA’s Leadership in Services Award, which recognizes event service professionals who have demonstrated leadership and creativity in proactively navigating new challenges amid the pandemic. The deadline for nominations is December 18. The recipient of the Leadership in Services Award will be announced on January 21, during ESPA’s conference.

To register for ESPA’s annual conference, visit espaonline.org