Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has announced a dynamic three days of education and networking coinciding with the debut of MPI Member Solutions, an unprecedented initiative to define meeting planning as a recognized profession, at the 2006 Professional Education Conference-North America (PEC-NA) in Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 22- 24.

PEC-NA’s “It’s all about YOU” approach provides education crucial to enhancing skills to position meeting professionals as leaders and strategic assets to their organization.

Over 80 top-notch motivational and educational sessions for all levels of expertise will be offered in key business categories, including meetings management, return on investment, technology, business skills development and more.

Inspiring Personal Power Keynotes will be conducted by business and life issues experts, and the popular Give & Take Roundtables will address hot topics.

Highlights for the 2006 Professional Education Conference-North America:

MPI’s industry-changing initiative, MPI Member Solutions, makes its debut at the 2006 PECNA.

A suite of online and offline personalized products and services to meet the career growth and resource needs of meeting professionals, MPI Member Solutions offers an array of knowledge and professional advancement tools to build the profession and gain the respect meeting professionals deserve in the business world via:

• My MPI: a personalized Web portal delivering education, content and information specific to members’ profiles and preferences
• MPI Professional Pathways: features industry-first standardized job descriptions for corporate, association and independent planners, based on 13 skills families and 160 skills to be a successful meeting professional; as well as a self-assessment tool to evaluate against all skills and compare to a job description that best matches a current job or against a job for the future
• MPI Resource Center: a one-on-one center for career resources, resume building, job searching and posting, research, best practices, and how-tos for meeting professionals via Web and phone.

In lieu of a keynote speaker, the Opening General Session will be a first-ever talk show format featuring Christine Duffy, MPI’s 2005-2006 Chairwoman, and a panel of industry experts discussing how to use influence to impact peers and key decision makers to get a seat at the table.

Also announced are MPI’s 2004-2005 Chapters of the Year and Awards of Excellence winners.

The slate of professional development sessions include new offerings such as Security Issues, Concerns and Challenges for Large Events; Working with Convention Centers: Should Legal Issues or Business Issues Prevail?; Joining Forces with a DMC; and NetWeaving: The Most Powerful Form of Networking.

A two-day ROI track will discuss progress against efforts to track return on investment for meetings and events; the Phillips ROI methodology to determine business impact and ROI of meetings and events; and corporate and association meetings industry case The PEC Expo, Jan. 23, featuring over 300 exhibitors, offers a uniquely intimate trade show environment for qualified buyers and industry suppliers to interact and do business together.

A Sunday, Jan. 22 concurrent session “State of the Industry - Gulf States Update” featuring up-to-date information on the status of the region affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the impact on the meetings and convention industry.

Rendezvous Charlotte, benefiting the MPI Foundation, and sponsored by Intercontinental Hotel Group, will be held Sunday, Jan. 22 at The Forum.

Opening Night Networking Reception is Jan. 22 at Bank of America Corporate Center and Founders Hall. The Closing Night Gala is Jan. 24 at the Charlotte Convention Center. The PEC-NA Golf Tournament, benefiting The MPI Foundation, sponsored by Ballantyne Resort and Continental Airlines will be held Jan. 25 at The Ballantyne Resort, recently awarded as a “Great Golf Resort of the World” by PGA Magazine.

You can save US$200 by registering by Jan. 5. New registration categories have been added for faculty and National Business Travel Association (NBTA) members, with non-member planners, non-member students and non-member faculty registration fees now including a one-year MPI membership. Student, one-day and guest registration fees are also available.

In-depth information on PEC-NA sessions, speakers and networking events, plus online registration and housing information is available at: www.2006pecna.mpiweb.org