< PreviousINDUSTRY INSIGHT themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESNOVEMBER 2023 For new meeting and event planners entering the associa- tions industry, it can sometimes be a daunting first step. Learn- ing to have the right outlook of the business, how to tap into vital resources and how to avoid making crucial mistakes along the way is critical to their success. Through coaching and mentorship, new planners can learn from others who have paved the path for them and receive knowledge that will stay with them forever. TYPES OF COACHING & MENTORSHIP Today’s meeting planner mentoring is as diverse as the mentors and mentees themselves. Some coaching and men- toring relationships are formal and focus on learning about Coaching & Mentoring Building Relationships, Sharing the Journey with Others By Maura Keller n a very saturated industry, planners do their best to stand out and achieve the goals they desire for their business. For seasoned meeting planners, there is that understanding and perhaps even a sense of duty to share what they have learned along the journey with others, and give back to those who are starting their career as a planner in the association industry. I 30specific components of the association meeting role. Others are more informal and social — allowing the mentor/mentee to share industry knowledge and insights, like how to grow your business, how to get through the “stuck” felling and reach your definition of success. The length of time mentors and mentees meet can range from a certain number of weeks to an ongoing mentoring pro- gram. And while many mentoring relationships are job per- formance specific, others may also include a networking com- ponent whereby the mentor helps the mentee expand their network connections with others in the industry. Karen Hill, MBA, DES, director of meetings, events and engagement at Barcami Lane, Inc., an accredited association management company that provides nonprofit associations with both full-service management and project management services in Westford, MA, said that as someone who was entirely new to associations and the association management industry, when she started in her current role five years ago, being able to have individuals she could reach out at any time for advice, guidance and resources was extremely beneficial. “It provided the opportunity for me to gain new insights and grow my professional network,” Hill said. “As a meeting planner, having the skills and background can carry over from role to role, but having a mentor helped me to gain a better, and quicker, understanding of the role I was stepping into.” The best mentoring creates a positive and long-lasting impact on 31 NOVEMBER 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES DEPOSITPHOTOS.COMthe mentee and it allows the mentee the opportunity to think more broadly about their career path and aspirations, and with guidance be more effective in their chosen path. Hill pointed out that there is so much information and experiences to be shared between experienced plan- ners and those who are just starting out in the industry. Mentoring provides the opportunity to gain those insights from an experienced planner and help another planner grow professionally. In addition, seasoned mentors under- stand that it is not necessarily their years of experience nor their expertise as association meeting planners that greatly impact their mentee’s experience. Rather, it is about how they engage with their mentee, helping them learn to apply certain approaches. “Having a couple key mentors throughout my career has helped me in different ways, as they both pro- vided me with different outlooks and resources,” Hill said. “They pushed me to set goals for myself as a meet- ing planner and think about my future. Depending on the situation, both men- tors have different experiences and networks that I’ve been able to benefit from throughout the years.” Most recently, Hill has found that the challenges that she’s sharing with them are very similar to what they are going through in their role. “It’s become more of a brainstorming session with them, versus a one-sided discussion,” Hill said. “It feels good to be able to share solutions that they may not have come up with within their team.” TEACHING THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE Patricia Foss-Bennie, CAE, IOM, CMP, who has retired from being the director of conferences and publications and editor-in-chief at The Maryland Munici- pal League, in Annapolis, MD, believes that because of its deep roots, mentoring is important for the association meeting plan- ning industry. When her career transitioned from the hotel side to the planner side, there weren’t prestigious universities offering courses in association management, let alone anything as spe- cific as meeting planning. “Cornell had a restaurant and hotel program and maybe a couple others, but even growing up in the metropolitan Wash- ington, D.C. area, few new college graduates like me knew any- thing about association career paths,” Foss-Bennie said. “The way one learned then was through experience and you really had to have mentors to learn how to master all the diverse areas the meeting planning required. I consider that I was lucky to begin on the hotel side, spent three years learn- ing and gaining appreciation for what the hotelier needed to do their job right. I honestly still use some of the tools and skills today, such as the staging guide concept, build- ing in reset time for meeting rooms and certainly in con- tract negotiation.” Foss-Bennie said, “The association member organizations like ASAE and PCMA have provided great tools and forums for information sharing and through these I got my CAE, CMP and IOM credentials. In association and all event planning, we continue to teach one another and share best practices. Now college and university programs do a great job of teaching new generations.” Kristyn McCauley, CAE, CMP, former meeting planner and program manager at Partners in Association Management, in Tallahassee, FL, sees mentoring as a very important compo- nent in the association meeting planning industry since most planners who find themselves in these roles did not have for- mal education or training specific to event planning, much less, planning events for an association. “Many people who work in association management in general will joke about how we fell into this career by acci- dent and I’d imagine that is also true for many association meeting planners,” McCauley said. “Many of us come to this role with- out specific degrees or other train- ing for meeting planning. We have to learn these skills and best practices on the job experience, training we may seek out for ourselves and learning from those that came before us. Having a network of other association meet- ing planners and mentors within the space is invalu- able for those of us who are often learning as we go. It is so helpful to learn from others who may have made a mistake before you so that you don’t have to make that mistake for yourself.” McCauley has had the pleasure of working with many other meeting planners through her time at a cap- tive association and at an association management company. Having this group of professionals to bounce ideas off of, working through roadblocks, asking for their creative input, etc. has greatly impacted her ability to do her job well. “My mentors have also pushed me to seek out additional education for myself, including the Certified Meeting Pro- fessional certification,” McCauley said. “A great perk of working for an association management company versus a small captive association is that you end up having so many peers within your office who are doing similar work as you are but are at different stages in their careers. In my current role, I have the option of plenty of built-in mentors to help me as I grow in my career and knowledge as an association meeting planner.” And while McCauley has not served as a mentor in a formal capacity, she is always happy to chat with association meet- ing planners both within and outside of her organization to work through creative solutions and share best practices — or at least what has worked or not worked for her and the associa- tions she has planned meetings for. “The best resource we have in this profession is each other,” McCauley said. “We have to lean on others that went before us and be available to those coming after us to share the knowledge we have gained. The events industry is evolv- themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESNOVEMBER 2023 Karen Hill, MBA, DES Director of Meetings, Events and Engagement Barcami Lane, Inc. Having a couple key mentors throughout my career has helped me in different ways, as they both provided me with different outlooks and resources. 32ing, and although associations tend to be slower in their evolution than corporations, hearing from others about how they have handled certain situations in the past is still relevant. We rely on each other to get better at what we are doing. Learning from other’s experiences plays a huge role in our own success, so the value of mentorship will not go away.” MENTEE BECOMES THE MENTOR In the last several years of Hill’s career, she’s been given the opportu- nity to mentor new and current team- mates. She admitted that it has been challenging at times, and other times it has been the best learning experience. “Mentoring gave me the oppor- tunity to provide solutions and resources, but also to see my team- mates grow and take on new professional goals,” Hill said. “Being a mentor has also provided me the opportunity to learn from them, get some new fresh ideas that I can implement as a planner with the associations I work with.” In fact, mentoring others has been Foss-Bennie’s favorite part of any work she’s done throughout her career. She said that hearing from people she’s worked with in the past and watching their careers unfold is a joy. “That they still remember me and value what I’ve been able to help them with is giving back the gifts we receive as we build our own careers,” Foss-Bennie said. “It honors those who helped us along by carrying on the tradition of mentoring.” And although the mentee certainly gains valuable insights and education from their mentor, those association planners who go down the path of mentoring also gain considerable benefits including: • Enhancing their career: By mentoring, association planners hone their own skills of listening, influenc- ing, being reflective and asking questions that are thought-provoking to others. • Developing others’ skills: In a mentorship role, committing to another person’s development can have a profound impact on the mentor, as the mentor needs to recognize a mentee’s strengths and weak- nesses, potential skills they need to learn or improve and new behaviors they may need to embrace. • Staying relevant: Mentees depend on a mentor’s ability to share insights and expertise on how to improve their own role within the association meet- ing planning industry. Because of this, mentors need to stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest facets of the meeting planning industry in order to share that with their mentees. For association meeting planners who may be consider- ing mentoring another planner or being mentored them- selves, Hill recommended that those planners take the time to get to know their mentee. Gain a better understanding of their experience, background and what their professional goals are. Get to know them as a person and build that rela- tionship. Be open to sharing the good and the bad times you’ve faced in your career, and what you’ve learned from those experiences. “As a mentee, take the time to learn more about your men- tor and what their background and experience has been,” Hill said. “Most importantly, ask as many questions as you possibly can.” Looking ahead, association planners agree that mentoring will continue to play an important role in the meeting planning industry for planners. “It will absolutely play an important role in the industry, as I hope to see more willing to mentor,” Hill said. “This is how you build the interest of the younger generation in becoming planners. It’s all about sharing your experience, getting some- one excited for their role and being that guide or resource.” As association meeting planners, Hill said they bring a lot of knowledge, resources and their own growing networks to the proverbial table. “Being able to share that information to help someone else succeed professionally makes me look forward to what the future holds for myself and other planners,” Hill said. Foss-Bennie said that association meeting planners need to remember that mentoring isn’t just about getting on either side of the practice. It’s about giving, whether mentor or mentee. She said that whether formal or informal, mentoring fosters learning on both sides with open two-way communication helping create valuable lifelong relationships. “Usually, you both get far more than you feel you put in to a mentoring relationship,” Foss-Bennie said. “Look at the CEO profiles in the Wall Street Journal. Every one of these very successful leaders cites at least four other leaders as mentors, and not just mentors from their specific field,” Foss-Bennie said. “There is also great value in talking with and learning from someone in a completely different business than the one you’re in and rarely is good conversation wasted when it is begun with genuine questioning.” | AC&F | NOVEMBER 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES COURTESY OF PATRICIA FOSS-BENNIE The Maryland Municipal League’s summer event’s general session, held in the Ocean City Convention Center’s Performance Arts Center, with Maryland Governor Wes Moore as the keynote speaker. 33themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESNOVEMBER 2023 This partnership has a long history and the reason is simple: Texas is jam-packed with events spaces of all shapes and sizes, vibrant cultural scenes and some great food. Coastal regions like Corpus Christi and Galveston draw groups thatlike to meet near beaches. Dallas and Houston have renowned restaurants, sports teams and airports with easy national and international access. Houston also draws medical conventions with its stellar medical facilities. Fort Worth has renowned museums and the famous stockyards, and every group that meets in San Antonio loves the River Walk, not to mention the chance to explore big ranches and rodeos, the Alamo and other historic sites. Fort Worth The International Parking & Mobility Institute held its IPMI Conference & Expo in Fort Worth during the summer, with 2,400 in attendance. It was a good fit for Rita Pagan, DES, director, events and exhibits in Fredericksburg, VA. “We’re always looking for locations that provide entertain- ment, dining and attractions for our attendees,” said Pagan. “They should be safe, walkable and ideally in a community or destination of interest professionally and personally. We want our attendees to be able to explore outside of our event while they’re visiting the location we’ve chosen.” However, she added, “It can be a challenge to keep room rates within a cer- tain range to ensure that our public and municipal members can easily participate and budget to attend each year.” The 17th-largest city in the United States, Fort Worth has a rich history and atmosphere, and it is one of the premier meeting destinations in the nation, as it has plenty of things to do and see. “You may not always have time to get out while attending a conference, but we were able to bring Fort Worth to them,” said Pagan. “Our opening event at the River Ranch Stockyards provided a taste of the city and its history, and it’s being hailed as one of our best welcome events ever.” It helps to have a good partner. “Visit Fort Worth was the perfect partner in helping us bring this meeting to fruition,” Pagan noted. “They were vital in helping us access experts and PHOTOS COURTESY OF HEATHER SMITH ike the legendary cowboy culture, Tex-Mex cuisine, strong southern hospitality and a profound love for football, meetings are big in the state of Texas. L Texas Lone Star State’s Partnership with the Meeting Industry By Christine Loomis The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Campus within the Learning Hall at the annual ONS Congress as the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX. DESTINATION UPDATE 34information about things our attendees may be interested in. From start to finish, they made the process easy and assisted at every corner of the event process.” The Fort Worth Convention Center has great space and Pagan’s group utilized almost all of it. Being able to take over an entire convention center creates great networking for attendees, without the confusion of other hosted events inter- acting in the same space. “It’s always challenging to plan the smaller details of an event when you’re not local, so the Visit Fort Worth staff were always available to answer my questions and offer solutions — even to questions they had never had anyone ask before,” added Pagan. As for hotels, the group used seven smaller hotels plus the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth as the headquarters hotel. According to Pagan, the beautiful property, restaurants and entertainment helped set the atmosphere for their attend- ees. Her best advice to planners considering Fort Worth is simple: “Use your partnership with Visit Fort Worth to the fullest. They were amazing!” Dallas There are two types of people in this world. Texans and everyone else. From the city to the beach, the coast is more than their part of the state. In Dallas, planners find one of the largest contiguous urban arts districts in the nation, spanning 68 acres. After work, attendees can take a stroll through the district to visit some of Dallas’ most signifi- cant cultural landmarks, all conveniently located in the heart of Downtown Dallas. The 267-room JW Marriott Dallas Arts District, the first JW Marriott in the city, opened over the sum- mer with 20,000 sf of meeting space, a rooftop pool and a collection of regional art. Also open in the city’s Harwood Dis- trict is Hotel Swexan. As the name suggests, the 134-room fam- ily-owned hotel melds Swiss heritage with Texas hospitality. San Antonio San Antonio hosted the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) over the summer. Heather Smith, CMP, meetings manager for the group calls the city a great destination. ONS met there for its 47th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress during the spring. The event drew 3,000 professional attendees and 1,500 exhibi- tors and others to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. “We rotate our conference among east, west and central cities. San Antonio has proven to be a great destination in the central United States. There are hotels within easy walking distance of the convention center and the adjacent River Walk gives attendees somewhere to go after a busy day of learning. There’s ample airlift and we never have to worry about snow in the spring. The fact that it’s a big city yet still has everything we and our attendees need in a relatively condensed footprint makes it a good fit for us.” Like Pagan, Smith has high praise for the city’s CVB and convention center. Visit San Antonio went above and beyond to make sure they were well taken care of. They led the group on a great planning site visit, helped them find local speakers, entertainment and restaurants, and in general, just made sure they had everything they needed. “The center’s staff and the in-house vendor staff were extremely nice and accommodating, especially with any cen- ter or destination-specific questions or details. It was never hard to reach someone, and it was clear they cared about our event and its success,” said Smith. ONS used the Stars at Night and Hemisfair ballrooms at the convention center, along with the meeting rooms in between and below. “Having our larger sessions in the ballrooms and smaller sessions in the rooms in between allowed for a simple flow for our attendees. It’s always nice when the session rooms can be in one area, for both attendees and staff,” she said, add- ing, “The location of the main dining outlet right outside the exhibit hall and main entrance to the building was also excel- lent. Our attendees and exhibitors were frequently going there to grab a quick bite or drink. The menu and food quality are a step above other centers. We had beautiful weather while there, so we often found people taking their food outside the main entrance to enjoy the sunshine.” Because ONS also holds multiple satellite symposia at the headquarter or co-headquarter hotels throughout each day, Smith said it is important that those hotels have ballrooms large enough to accommodate the group’s needs and be within a short walk of the convention center so attendees can easily walk back and forth between educational sessions. Smith didn’t experience any real challenges, even with the issue of the meeting overlapping with FIESTA, a celebration commemorating the memory of The Alamo, which includes a parade. Visit San Antonio made sure they had the events cal- endar and everything else they needed to prepare. “It did create compression with the hotels, but due to San Antonio’s diligence, we were well prepared for that and planned our housing accordingly,” she said. “They made us well aware of any street closures near our hotels, so we could plan if needed.” In the end, none of the closures impacted the attendees as everything was open to pedestrians and nothing related to the festival happened directly outside the center or their two HQ hotels. As a bonus, the venue offered them a unique opportu- nity to engage in the local culture and partake in FIESTA after conference hours. “Everything from the genuine kindness of the people you work with to the local food and weather makes San Antonio a great destination,” added Smith. The city has several hotels in the pipeline that will be of interest to groups. Kimpton plans to debut its first San Antonio property late next year. Located in downtown, it is a part new- build and part adaptive reuse of an 1850s-original schoolhouse. Bridging the historic buildings, the courtyard and its natural foliage will become an outdoor entertainment and event venue. In addition to the courtyard, the hotel will feature more than 11,000 sf of flexible meeting and event space, inclusive of a 35 NOVEMBER 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES Heather Smith, CMP Meetings Manager, Oncology Nursing Society There are hotels within easy walking distance of the convention center and the adjacent River Walk gives attendees somewhere to go after a busy day of learning. 5,000 sf ballroom. An existing downtown hotel will soon trans- form into the boutique Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa with 21,171 sf of indoor meeting space. It is slated to open next year. The 121-room Artista San Antonio is a new build on River Walk and may possibly open by next year. Also coming to River Walk late next year is the InterContinental San Antonio, a 391- room hotel with 40,000 sf of meeting space. Austin Austin offers amenities for work and play, with new hotels, growing flights and unique meeting spaces. Within a few walk- able blocks you’ll also find the Lady Bird Lake Hike & Bike Trail, legendary live music venues and some of the best mar- garitas in the country. Meeting spaces like the Austin Convention Center, the Palmer Events Center and the Travis County Exposition Cen- ter round out Austin’s large-scale meeting facilities. The CitizenM Austin Downtown is scheduled to open with 344 rooms less than a mile from the convention center, and the 129-room EVEN Hotel Austin Uptown plans for a December opening. A Hyatt Centric opened on Congress Avenue with 246 rooms and the unique Recording Lounge, which can accommodate a six-person group in a space inspired by the city’s rich musical heritage. Finally, starting in 2025, the Austin Convention Center will begin its much-anticipated expansion. The AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, located in a culturally rich and innovative neighborhood, offers luxury accommodations in a sustainable setting. Everything from the concrete in the walls to the soap in their dispensers was reviewed and evaluated based on its environmental impact. The hotel is near many restaurants and museums. Planners and their attendees can experience the energy of being on The University of Texas campus, in Downtown Austin, and near the football stadium and Texas Capitol. Galveston TCEA, a nonprofit association of educators working to advance learning with technology in Austin, TX, held its Elementary Technology Conference on Galveston over the summer. After virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021, the group returned to fully in-person events. For them, registra- tion hasn’t yet reached pre-pandemic levels, but 950 attended this year’s conference. Lori Gracey, CAE, executive director, said her group loves Galveston. “There’s a range of housing options (both quality and price) that are close to the convention center. Our attendees are educators, and this location allows them to attend the confer- ence and also bring their families for a summer beach vaca- tion. Galveston Island offers many different types of activities appealing to our attendees,” said Gracey. The group was based at San Luis Resort, Spa & Conference Center and used the Galveston Island Convention Center at the resort. “The convention center looks directly out at the beach and so provides a wonderful atmosphere,” Gracey said. “It has enough meeting space to accommodate our multiple sessions, a large exhibit hall that can house both our meals and exhibitors in the same space and a pre-function area where we have adequate space for registration and other activities. The only thing that doesn’t quite work for our event is host- ing large presentations or featured speakers in the exhibit hall. The convention center doesn’t have carpet in the exhibit halls, so the sound quality is poor for these types of sessions in those rooms.” Sammy Unberhagen, director of exhibits, sponsorships & events for the group, said the hotel was chosen because of its proximity to the convention center, attractions, restaurants and the beach. Everything their attendees needed was a walk or a short drive away, he said. “Visit Galveston was very helpful. They provided our attendees with a savings pass that contained discounts on din- ing and other attractions around the area,” said Unberhagen. “They were onsite at our conference to ensure attendees were themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESNOVEMBER 2023 Slated for completion in 2028, the re-envisioned Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas will include 800,000 sf of exhibit space, 430,000 square feet of breakout space, and a walkable entertainment district with new retail, hotels and restaurants. COURTESY RENDERING 36CommunitySupport For more information: www.austinconventioncenter.com “We’re so pleased to support the Austin Convention Center and the City of Austin as they move forward with the redesign project.” Michele Flores SXSW Chief Logistics Officer “This announcement is an exciting one for the Austin hotel community. Not only will a new and redeveloped convention center bring more meetings and events business to Austin, but create more jobs for our industry and further positively impact the Austin hospitality community at large. This project has long been in the works and we are happy to finally see this come to fruition.” Nenad Praporski General Manager of Fairmont Austin and Chairman of the Austin Hotel Lodging Association “To give the community, visitors, and attendees the true authentic Austin experience, we want the new Austin Convention Center to be an iconic, innovative, and symbolic meeting location.” Trisha Tatro Austin Convention Center Department Director The Austin Convention Center is preparing to make its mark on the ever-changing Austin skyline with a vertical approach to expansion and redevelopment, beginning in April 2025, that will nearly double the amount of rentable space by 2029. Vertical Approach In using a vertical approach to deliver a larger, more efficient facility, the goal of the Austin Convention Center expansion and redevelop- ment is to transform the southeast corner of downtown Austin into a community-centric destination for attendees and the community. Signature Design Along with providing more rentable space, the Austin Convention Center expansion and redevelopment will provide a signature design, featuring state-of-the-art technologies and an industry-leading facility that is ready to exceed future clients’ needs. The Austin Skyline is About to ChangeThis news is too exciting not to share: In 2028, Dallas will unveil a new convention center and entertainment experience. Get an early look at ConventionCenter.VisitDallas.com Kimpton Pittman Hotel, Deep Ellum Start planning your meeting or event at VisitDallas.com If you’re looking for something fun to do in between your meeting or event, Dallas boasts twenty entertainment districts with walkable access to live music, boutiques, art and, of course, amazing food. VDAL24006 - Media Insertion Trafficking CORP-TRADE- 8-125x10-875_r2v1_gm.indd 110/6/23 12:24 PM signed up for the pass and to answer any questions about the area. They’ve been an excellent resource for things happening on the island and services for our event.” Gracey praised both the hotel and convention center’s staff as being friendly and informative. According to her, the ban- quet team at the convention center did an amazing job attend- ing to their guests. Some of the most positive feedback Gracey received from their attendees was about the quality of the food served and the service from the in-house AV team at the con- vention center from the San Luis Resort. “Utilize Visit Galveston,” said Unberhagen. “They’re a great resource for everything Galveston-related. They truly want each organization’s event to be a tremendous success and will do everything they can to ensure that happens.” The Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO) in Austin, TX, also held its summer conference on Galveston over the summer, based at Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa & Convention Center, which encompasses all of the above, as well as a golf course and attractions all in one spot. The con- ference draws more than 1,000 attendees. After the pandemic, the group returned in a hybrid format but soon went back to face-to-face meetings, said Tracy Ginsburg, CAE, Ed.D., execu- tive director. While high flight costs have impacted some groups, Gins- burg noted that TASBO staggers meetings and holds them across the state, “so that members who can’t travel long dis- tances will have an option close to home if not this year, in the future. We have a variety of academies, conferences, etc., and there’s something in every part of the state for members to choose from.” As for why Galveston is a good fit, Ginsburg said, “Our sum- mer conference is family friendly and there’s no place more family friendly than Galveston and the beach.” Moody Gardens is also an easy choice, she said. The group uses the resort’s hotel and the convention center. “Truthfully, Moody Gardens is the only facility on the island large enough to host our meet- ing. We don’t like being spread across venues as it makes the experience more difficult for members.” Ginsburg sees many positives in the resort. “The staff is wonderful and willing to help members. We had to be very agile with walk-in registrations and room assignment, and they were quick to respond when we realized we needed to flip rooms. The food was excellent.” Houston Not far from Galveston, the city of Houston has much to offer groups and soon it will have one more option. The new Great Wolf Lodge Texas Gulf Coast will open fall 2024. This is a good choice for meetings at which attendees can bring family along. The resort will have 532 rooms, the usual expansive water and adventure parks and nearly 16,000 sf of conference and meeting space. The city is also looking forward to welcoming the Republican National Convention in summer 2028. Ranked 9th as the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States, Houston is an international city often described as a melting pot of different cultures. The lushness of Hous- ton can be appreciated in 366 city parks with more than 200 green spaces and over 125 miles of trails. Facilities focusing on nature include Discovery Green, the Nature Center, the Hous- ton Arboretum and the Downtown Aquarium. Corpus Christi Another Texas beach town offering plenty for groups and attendees is Corpus Christi, where the Solid Waste Association of North America Texas Chapter (TXSWANA) met this sum- mer for its annual conference. The group of 250 was based at the Omni Corpus Christi, a short walk from the water. Vanessa Burnett, executive assistant of solid waste services for the city of Corpus Christi, said putting the conference together is always a group effort. She noted that they’re also back to pre-pandemic registration levels. The group worked with the CVB, which “assisted with the hotel contract, the pub- lications we were able to send out to the TXSWANA website and they gave us swag for our attendees,” said Burnett, who also used the convention center, including classrooms and the event- center area. “The whole convention staff worked well with us and exceeded our expectations.” The price point was fair and economical, and the location was convenient to where their convention and social events were located. As most groups that meet in Texas, they found a wealth of area amenities and that super-sized Texas hospitality to help make their event a great success. | AC&F | themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESNOVEMBER 2023 The 2023 Elementary Technology Conference held during the summer for elementary school teachers, administrators and librarians. The International Parking & Mobility Institute Board of Directors enjoying live music and outdoor games at Second Rodeo Brewing in Fort Worth, TX. COURTESY OF LORI GRACEY / TCEA COURTESY OF RITA PAGAN 38This news is too exciting not to share: In 2028, Dallas will unveil a new convention center and entertainment experience. Get an early look at ConventionCenter.VisitDallas.com Kimpton Pittman Hotel, Deep Ellum Start planning your meeting or event at VisitDallas.com If you’re looking for something fun to do in between your meeting or event, Dallas boasts twenty entertainment districts with walkable access to live music, boutiques, art and, of course, amazing food.Next >