Two Canadians in New Class of CMM Recipients

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), have presented the Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM) to 26 more meeting and travel professionals including Roberta Dexter of Halifax-based Plan Ahead Events and Cameal Soverall from the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario).

This recent class participated in the program held May 31-June 3, 2015, in Puebla, Mexico, and is the second group to earn the CMM designation since the two associations partnered to update the program.

“We congratulate this new group of leaders on their accomplishments and also celebrate the growing number of more than 1,000 CMM recipients around the globe,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. “Since the CMM was established in the mid-1990s, it continues to be a remarkable program attracting some of the most talented professionals within both the meeting and event and travel industries.”

The CMM program is comprised of three phases:

• a 3.5 day on-site immersion program comprised of rigorous business education courses delivered in a participatory learning format by professors from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia
• a virtual boot camp with on-demand offerings focused in both meeting management and business travel management
• the development and evaluation of an independent work-based, business project

The other graduates of the Puebla class are:

• Corina Balsells-Guillen, Cornerstone Credit Union League
• Geert Behets, UCB
• Clement Butler, Atlantis
• Andrew Campbell, University of Florida
• Kari Fragnoli, Gensler
• Maria Galindo Dib, Tip Tour Operator & DMC
• Sheila Garcia, Natures Bliss
• Angela Hanson, Microsoft
• Tawny Herron, The Standard
• Ronny Hill, Northwestern Mutual
• Amelia Hodges, North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants
• Faith Hubbard, T. Rowe Price
• Molly Hudson, Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School/FLIK Conference Centers
• Sherry Hunt, Applied Systems
• Elizabeth Linn, BCD M&I
• Roberta Meidinger-Johnson, Boston Scientific
• Marilyn Muljat, Pacific Life Insurance Company
• Patricia Neal, Delhaize America
• Samantha Perez, Melia Hotels International
• Monique Rochard, Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
• Arleen Salandy-Cobb, Global Productions
• Maria Solis Trejo, Questex Travel Group
• Winston Welch, HelmsBriscoe
• Maurita Williams, International Baccalaureate

MPI and GBTA previously held a CMM course in Denver in late-August and just concluded another class in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, earlier this week. The last CMM program of 2015 will be held November 12-15 in Anaheim, California. Registration closes Friday, October 9th, 2015. Visit www.mpiweb.org/CMM or www.gbta.org/cmm to sign-up.