CIC Announces Influencers Awards Winners

Two Canadians are among the 30 event industry pros honoured in the Convention Industry Council’s (CIC) first peer-nominated Influencers Awards campaign—#CMP30 Influencers.

Tahira Endean, CMP, QuickMobile and Mariela McIlwraith, CMP, CMM, MBA, Meeting Change, received the award for exemplifying the spirit of the CMP credential—professionalism, credibility and excellence.

“As CMP turns thirty, the Influencers program has been a wonderful way to celebrate those industry leaders who have made a difference over the past three decades,” said Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP and CEO of the Convention Industry Council. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive as colleagues nominated their peers and mentors, reflecting on those who have made a lasting impact on their careers. These CMP Influencers are exemplary models of what the CIC stands for—fiercely committed to the advancement of the meetings profession.”

Driven primarily by social media, #CMP30 launched in April 2015, as industry professionals were encouraged to use Facebook and Twitter to nominate a CMP who has influenced them personally and whose work has had an impact on the direction and growth of the profession. More than 75 individual nominations were submitted for deserving CMPs and at the end of the public nomination window, CIC asked industry professionals to vote, among all eligible candidates, for their top #CMP30 Influencer via a Facebook poll.

The final top 30 CMP Influencers were selected by a committee, based on the number of Facebook poll votes, personal influence on peers, and community/leadership presence. The #CMP30 Influencers joining Endean and McIlwraith are:

• Corbin Ball, CMP, CSP, DES, Corbin Ball Associates
• Terri Breining, CMP, CMM, Breining Group LLC
• Carolyn Browning, CMP, CMM, MEETing Needs, LLC
• Dr. Amanda Cecil, PhD, CMP, Indiana University
• Eduardo Chaillo, CMP, CMM, CASE, Maritz Travel Company
• Howard Feiertag, CMP, CHSE, CHA, Virginia Tech
• Dianne Fuller, CMP, CMM, HelmsBriscoe
• Deborah Gardner, CMP, DG International LLC
• Karen M. Gonzales, CMP, Destination Marketing Association International
• La Tayna Greene, CMP, Perdue University Conference
• Tyra W. Hilliard, PhD, JD, CMP, Hilliard Associates
• Joanne Joham, CMP, CMM, International Congress and Convention Association
• Carol Krugman, Med, CMP, CMM, Metropolitan State University of Denver
• Loretta Lowe, CMP, Loretta Lowe Meeting and Event Management
• Dave Lutz, CMP, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
• Mary Jo MacDonald, CMP, Maritz Travel
• Lisa J. Mikita, CMP, CAE, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Kelly Peacy, CAE, CMP, Professional Convention Management Association
• David Peckinpaugh, CMP, Maritz Travel Company
• Katy Quigley, CMP, Microsoft Corporation
• Richard Rheindorf, CMP, Accor Hotels
• Pat Schaumann, CMP, CSEP, DMCP, HMCC, Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
• Christine “Shimo” Shimasaki, CMP, CDME, empowerMINT.com, Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI)
• Adrienne Six, CMP, Visit Orlando
• Janet Sperstad, CMP, Madison College
• Nick Topitzes, CMP, pc/nametag®, Inc.
• Aaron Wolowiec, MSA, CAE, CMP, CTA, Event Garde LLC
• Karen Zimmerman, CMP, Maritz Travel