Association Forum and Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP®) have joined the board of directors of Meetings Mean Business (MMB), expanding the coalition’s reach in the meetings and association professional community.
Association Forum is the “association of associations” in Chicago. It is comprised of nearly 4,000 members that represent more than 44,000 association professionals from nearly 1,600 Chicago organizations. These organizations serve 27 million individual members, have 9 million donors and generate $10.3 billion annually in economic impact.
FICP is a community of financial services and insurance industry meetings and events professionals dedicated to developing members, and advocating the positive impact and value of their work.
According to Richard Harper, MMB co-chair and executive vice-president at HelmsBriscoe, Association Forum and FICP will work with coalition members to ensure that the full value of face-to-face meetings is well understood.
“Association Forum and FICP will be great partners and add significant value to the work MMB is already doing,” said Harper, “I’m particularly excited to focus on expanding our messaging and framework on the educational aspect of in-person meetings.”
The associations join more than 60 current MMB board members that represent the greater travel industry, major hoteliers, professional associations, destination marketing organizations and more.
“We can’t wait to get started engaging with the coalition,” said Michelle Mason, president and CEO of Association Forum. “We believe that compelling face-to-face experiences drive powerful results for our association members and we’re ready to help MMB advocate for the meetings industry as a whole.”
“MMB’s mission aligns perfectly with our goal of emphasizing how in-person meetings provide the best platform for learning and career development opportunities,” said Steve Bova, executive director of FICP. “While our members focus on the financial and insurance industries, the tenet that great things happen when people come together is applicable to everyone.”
This year, MMB is continuing to generate greater awareness of the industry’s value among policymakers, business leaders and the media by creating new proof points and engagement opportunities for coalition members and supporters and strengthening its infrastructure for communications and advocacy.
“The coalition remains focused on several of its hallmark programs, including Worth Meeting About and Global Meetings Industry Day,” said Paul Van Deventer, MMB co-chair and president and chief executive officer of Meeting Professionals International. “We are looking forward to working with Association Forum and FICP on these programs and MMB’s other initiatives to spread the industry’s value story.”
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