Connections Newsletter

The Connections Newsletter, published several times per year, offers news, trends, case studies, plus strategies and tips for engaging and inspiring audiences at your events. If you'd like to receive this free newsletter, please sign up now!

Current Issue: Spring Newsletter 2009
In this Issue:

Keep Meeting, America

Give Your Team a Boost by Giving Back

Award-Winning Crime Scene

Host Your Own Murder at the Gopher Lodge

The Heat is on with Our New Salsa Making Contest

Go Green by Placing Your Conference Presentations Online

Manage Breakout Session Volume Easier – Visit our Demo to See How

Save on Your Tradeshow with Web-based Lead Retrieval

Lions Clubs International Leans on Expertise for 18,000-person Convention

FCCLA Finds Value in Nationwide Partner for Transportation

Take a Twin Cities Highlights Tour

Woodbury Financial Tells Their Story with Pictures

VENUE FEATURE: Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North

Keep Meeting, America

Now, more than ever, we need to Keep America Meeting. According to the U.S. Travel Association, meetings and events are responsible for 15 percent of all travel-related spending, creating nearly $40 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue, and more than one million jobs. In Minnesota alone, the $11 billion leisure and hospitality industry employs 10 percent of the state's employees in the private sector.

As a Past President of ADME (Association of Destination Management Executives) and a member of the Governor's Explore Minnesota Tourism Council, I understand the importance of meetings and their impact within a community. Two initiatives which metroConnections supports are “Keep America Meeting” and “Meet in Minnesota.” These efforts encourage corporate leaders to hold, and not cancel, their meetings. Without meetings, the industry will suffer and will see a decline in hotel occupancy, dining experiences, and in your case and ours, themed events, conference services and shuttle transportation.

Keep meeting, America. Let's continue to invest in our companies through educational training and teambuilding. Let's continue to provide jobs in our global community by holding our meetings. This April, metroConnections will celebrate 25 years in the meetings and events industry. As we continue to work beside the many talented meeting and event planners, we look forward to the next 25 years with the partnerships we hold dear, and the partnerships we have yet to forge.

Sam Thompson
President, metroConnections

Please visit http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?play=1&video=1084547481

Give Your Team a Boost by Giving Back

In February, metroConnections was named Best Teambuilding Facilitator in 2008 by the readers of Minnesota Meetings + Events magazine at the Reader's Choice Awards Gala. This year marks the seventh year the company has been recognized by the readers; first year in this new category. metroConnections has been creating teambuilding events for both large and small companies, and has traveled with several clients to bring their unique brand of interactive fun on the road. These companies turn to metroConnections to help them boost morale and corporate unity.

In today's economy, our stress levels are elevated as we are doing more work with fewer resources. We are trying to make cuts without cutting staff; yet the unemployment rate rises. And with less disposable income for all, charities have seen a decrease in corporate and individual giving, despite the growing number of those in need. As we are witnessing the ripple effects of the current economy, now is the best time to get a charitable teambuilding event on the office calendar.

What charities do you or your company support? Happily fulfill your corporate giving initiatives while investing in the morale of your participants. Charitable teambuilding activities with metroConnections are on the rise, especially seen in the Garage Wars interactive event, in which teams competed head-to-head to build and donate bikes (and even wheelchairs) to worthy causes such as Toys for Tots and Hope for the City. metroConnections can customize the event no matter the size of the group or the charitable offering selected.

Not only is metroConnections converting its favorite teambuilding activities into charitable giving events, they are creating more teambuilding events to choose from. Picture this: a number of teams from your company armed with detailed lists, surrounded by a mountain of supplies, presented with a series of wacky challenges. Watch for metroConnections' Give Back Challenge coming this spring to a charity nearest to your heart.

Please visit http://www.metroconnections.com/newsletter.php?issue=Summer%202008#a3

Award-Winning Crime Scene

Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME) awarded metroConnections with the 2008 ADME Achievement Award called “Best Innovative Event - $50,000 and under” for an event they designed and executed for a national client in April 2008. metroConnections themed a reception and dinner in Miami, Fla. in conjunction with the company's 25th Anniversary. The meeting planner (who wishes to remain anonymous) wanted something different for her event - not the typical “South Beach” theme that often is associated with this Florida city. So metroConnections carefully calculated a crime scene and high-tech laboratory right out of the TV show “CSI: Miami” with the subtitle “25 years of Industry Leadership.” Congratulations to sales manager Pete Gnoza and craftsman Adam Gale for leading the metro team to success. “You guys do a phenomenal job. If you ever need recommendations, be sure to send them my way.” Corporate Meeting Planner | CSI: Miami Event

Host Your Own Murder at the Gopher Lodge

The staff of the Medina Entertainment Center joined the owners of the Gopher Lodge for an entertaining evening filled with mystery and hilarious intrigue. After everyone checked into their cabin, er, table, they mingled with the buffet chef, the room maintenance engineer, and the fishing guide of the Gopher Motel. In the original production of “Mystery at Gopher Lodge - The Case of the Lifted Lure” the Gopher Motel staff presented an Up North mystery with plenty of audience involvement. “It was fun, interactive, and hilarious! The Gopher Lodge owner, Carol Sanders and her very stylish husband kept us guessing “who lifted the lure”! Medina's guests will always remember the finale. We're still laughing!” Alice Sizer | Sales Manager | Medina Entertainment Center

The Heat is on with Our New Salsa Making Contest

What will your team add as your mystery ingredient? Once your company gathers in teams around buffet tables and competes in this salsa making contest, they'll forget they're teambuilding at all! Teams are outfitted with matching bandanas and assigned an official “cocina” with everything they need to prepare a garden fresh batch of salsa...except the ingredients. Teams have to earn “Salsa Bucks” to purchase the ingredients by competing in a game of Ladder Golf. As teams accumulate “Salsa Bucks,” they send their earnings with their head chef to the Flying Burrito General Store. It is there that the chef must barter with the owner of the store and use their “Salsa Bucks” to purchase a recipe and the ingredients to prepare their salsa. But hurry, because supplies are limited! Following the competition, official judges taste all entries and declare the winners for the “Freshest” and “Best Tasting” salsas.

Go Green by Placing Your Conference Presentations Online

The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) is hosting their upcoming conference presentation materials in the newest web-based solution offered by metroConnections. The Presentation Portal is a custom-branded website that allows speakers to easily upload their speaker bio and supporting presentation materials. Then, the site stores and organizes all conference presentations, speaker bios and webinars in one, centralized location for attendee access. This website also includes featured links and workshops. Following the conference, NYLC will send attendees a graphical email and invite them to visit the password-protected website for all information presented at the conference, eliminating the printing costs they've absorbed in the past. “We are taking every measure to go green and in the process, we are keeping organized. We love that our presenters can upload their own materials, and that puts everything in one centralized location for easy access.” Heather Gordon | Conference and Events Coordinator | National Youth Leadership Council

Please visit http://www.metroconnections.com/video/aes-xl.html#imc

Manage Breakout Session Volume Easier – Visit our Demo to See How

Explore the Attend-eSource demo at www.metroconnections.com and see firsthand how planners can manage breakout rooms, attendees and session volume with ease. Experience how attendees can register for all sessions and one-on-one meetings on one personal calendar in minutes. This solution is also GREEN, eliminating the need for onsite printed session catalogs or mailed registration confirmations. “Imation scheduled over 125 meetings in multiple locations during the Computer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas in early 2009. We approached metroConnections to design an automated solution for organizing/planning our meeting schedule. The session scheduler, online registration and reporting was exactly what we needed to streamline this process.” Pat Whaley | Manager, Meetings and Events | Imation

Please visit http://www.metroconnections.com/video/aes-xl.html#ss

Save on Your Tradeshow with Web-based Lead Retrieval

Many planners absorb the cost of Lead Retrieval into their tradeshows. But when you incorporate those costs into the exhibitors' fees, you eliminate them altogether. Exhibitors will ultimately see (and appreciate) their return on investment as this web-based solution eliminates onsite sales materials and business card exchanges. Another method for keeping your costs low is to sell Lead Retrieval as a sponsorship. Not only is Lead Retrieval an attractive benefit to exhibiting at your show, but you can generate revenue in the process. “This solution allows our exhibitors to feel great about their return on investment. Thank you to the metroConnections staff, who are always very knowledgeable and professional when working with our valued exhibitors and sponsors.” Ann Rushe | Sales Manager Exhibits and Sponsorship | Institute of Internal Auditors

Please visit http://www.metroconnections.com/video/aes-xl.html#lr

Lions Clubs International Leans on Expertise for 18,000-person Convention

metroConnections was awarded the contract to manage transportation logistics, shuttle services, group tours and special events for the Lions Clubs International Convention to be held in Minneapolis, Minn. this July. metroConnections will provide shuttle services for more than 18,000 people - including 100 international delegations representing six continents. Shuttle services will run between the Minneapolis Convention Center and more than 20 hotels utilizing at least 200 motor and mini coaches throughout the week.

Please visit http://www.metroconnections.com/pr1.php?news_id=262

FCCLA Finds Value in Nationwide Partner for Transportation

In July, the Transportation Team will coordinate multiple motor coaches and transport more than 5,000 students and chaperones for FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) during their national leadership conference in Nashville, Tenn. Past programs include Nashville in 2006, Anaheim in 2007 and Orlando in 2008. “Thank you… for handling all of our transportation needs this past July in Orlando. I look forward to working with you on our 2009 National Leadership Conference in Nashville.” Marla Walls | Director of Conferences | Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Inc.

Take a Twin Cities Highlights Tour

From cosmopolitan downtowns to sparkling lakes, the award-winning Twin Cities Highlights tour shows you the best sights and sounds of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. This tour stops at the legendary Minnehaha Falls - the only urban waterfall in the country, and travels down stately Summit Avenue. Aboard this tour, you'll also travel down Nicollet Mall, a notorious dining and shopping district and one of the longest pedestrian walkways in the U.S. measuring 12 blocks. This tour is offered every Saturday year-round, and an expanded tour schedule begins May 1. Call 612-333-8687 for ticket specials, reservations and departure details. “What a great trip! There were so many times I wanted to add or interject, or have a side conversation with Heidi [the tour guide]. I look forward to doing the same thing every year with my students. Thank you so much.” Prudence Lamar | Teacher | Lake Jr. High

Please visit http://metroconnections.com/pr1.php?news_id=227

Woodbury Financial Tells Their Story with Pictures

Woodbury Financial Services has used the metroConnections Production Services team for a few national programs, like the one pictured above. They were really impressed with the quality of the conference productions - so much so, that they are now using metroConnections for creating and editing their destination videos as well. Regardless of the scale, metroConnections shoots and edits video and sound for outstanding videography used in all aspects of meetings. From employee training videos to lifetime achievement recognition presentations, contact metroConnections today for more information on Video Production and Editing services.

Please visit http://metroconnections.com/video/index.html

VENUE FEATURE: Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North

At home or away, partner with metroConnections and let’s get creative with your available meeting dollars. Meet close to home in one of Minnesota's outstanding venues or break away to the breathtaking Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This five-diamond retreat in the Sonora Desert offers endless opportunities for adventure, recreation and rejuvenation. Discover flexible spaces that adapt perfectly to your goals, and technology that accommodates the most demanding presentation and communication requirements. In April, metroConnections will travel with International Decision Systems and manage meetings and events for their Client Advisory Board. The Board will experience a spectacular venue for social and business gatherings. Let the experienced team at metroConnections plan and execute your next event at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North.

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