Comments October: All in One Issue

I JUSTREADTHEOCTOBER issue. Somany ideas—all in one magazine.Where shouldI start? I lovedthe ethics article (“The Appearance of Impropriety”). I’m teaching an industry-relations course this semester, and I include ethics. Myfindings are like yours—today’s world doesn’t particularly see the same ethical issues as I do. So, are ethics not only cultural, but genera- tional? I’m putting this article on Blackboardfor the students, and it will be part of the course next time I teach. I also lovedthe article on Ben

Sherwood(Convening Leaders Pre- view).Andthe story on convention centers (“ShowPlaces”) is perfect for anewcourse I’m in the middle of designing: Festival/Event/Conference Logistics andOperationsManage- ment. Thank you, andkeep up the great

work.

Sandy Biback,CMP,CMM Founder Imagination+ Meeting Planners

PCMA@LinkedIn: Attendee Privacy Data

CATHYVIJEH, SENIORMAN- ager of meetings administration for ISACA,whichserves the informa- tion-systems industry, recently posted this question toPCMA’s LinkedIn group:“Areany associations or cor- porations requiring that clauses about the filing or destruction of attendee privacy data (specifically for guest- roomaudits) be standardin vendor or hotel contracts?” Here are some of the respons-

es she received:

IAMSEEINGMORECORPORA- tions require security policies in their RFPs withregard to attendees’ priva- cy—specifically askingwhat is our policy to protect their privacy in rela- tionship to travel schedule, including

8 pcmaconvene January 2011

individual online purchases for any portion of their travel andpayment. I have not hadthe samerequest from associations, although I expect over time the sameinformation will be requested.We implemented policies several years ago to protect our clients’ ID andpersonal information from falling into the hands of some- one who woulduse this information fraudulently. Policies alone are not enough—each employee must be prescreenedandparticipate in crim- inal-backgroundchecks. KimTubbs Vice President Coach America Transportation Solutions

IHAVEN’TSEENITINREGARD to guest-room audits, but I did come across anRFPfor a corporate group asking ifwe’recompliant (we are) withtheirmandate to safeguard “per- sonal information containedin both paper and electronic records,” and requiring its vendors “to be PCI/ encryption compliant for the trans- mission of all personal information. The definition of Personal Informa- tion(PI) includes: anindividual’s first name(or first initial) andlast namein combination with one of the follow- ing—Social Security number, driver’s licensenumber, credit/debit card number, or a biometric indicator.” David Hughes KeyAccount Director Highgate Hotels

IDON’TKNOWIFYOUHAVE consideredit, butmany venues and companies offer on-site shredding for a very reasonable cost.There are many drop-off points aroundthe UnitedStates, andI knowShred-it has a national agreement with Office- Max. They will also provide you with a certificate ofdocument destruction. Andbest of all, the shredded docu- ments are recycled,making your organization very green! De-de Mulligan,CMP,CMM President Mulligan Management Group

convene PCMA ®

PUBLISHER Deborah Sexton, (312) 423-7210 CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Sherrif Karamat, (312) 423-7247

CONVENE EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Michelle Russell, mrussell@pcma.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christopher Durso, cdurso@pcma.org SENIOR EDITOR Barbara Palmer, bpalmer@pcma.org SENIOR EDITOR Hunter R. Slaton, hslaton@pcma.org ART DIRECTION Mitch Shostak, Roger Greiner Shostak Studios Inc., (212) 979-7981

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Alan Kleinfeld, CMM, CMP; Maureen Littlejohn; Julie Ritzer Ross

CONVENE ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, PARTNER RELATIONS & ADVERTISING Mona Simon, (312) 423-7244, msimon@pcma.org

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

WendyKrizmanic (AK, CT, DC, DE, ID, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, NV, OR, PA, RI, VT,WA) phone: (312) 636-9254; e-mail: wkrizmanic@pcma.org

Mary Lynn Novelli, CMP (AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OH, SC, TN, VA, WV, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, Carribbean) Dallas, TX; phone: (312) 423-7212; fax: (469) 574-5590; e-mail: mnovelli@pcma.org

Albert Pereira (AZ, CA, HI, NM, OK, TX, UT, Canada) 345 Kingston Road, Suite 203, Pickering, Ontario, Canada L1V 1A1; phone: (312) 423-7277; fax: (905) 509-6810; e-mail: apereira@pcma.org

MaryLou Sarmiento (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, SD, WI, WY, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand) 1033W. Taylor Street, Suite 1E, Chicago, IL 60607; phone: (312) 636-0636; fax: (312) 896-7397; e-mail: msarmiento@pcma.org

Ken Torres (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, Caribbean) P.O. Box 9128, Miramar Beach, FL 32550; phone: (850) 837-5177; fax: (850) 837-5277; e-mail: ktorres@pcma.org

MANAGER, PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION Keisha Reed, (312) 423-7246 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Nicole Seymour, (312) 423-7236

PCMA OFFICERS

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Susan R. Katz, True Value Company

CHAIR-ELECT Kent E. Allaway, CEM, CMP, Produce Marketing Association

SECRETARY-TREASURER Johnnie C. White, CMP, Cardiovascular Research Foundation

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Kati S. Quigley, CMP, Microsoft Corporation

PCMA DIRECTORS Willie L. Benjamin II, American Chemical Society

Hunter Clemens, CMP, Association Management Group/Meetings Management Laurie Fitzgerald, CMP, Allstate Insurance Company Ben Goedegebuure, Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre James S. Goodman, CMP, American Dental Association Richard B. Green, Marriott International Christine Klein, CMP, Talley Management Group Inc. RaymondJ. Kopcinski, CMP, Million Dollar Round Table DavidLittle,Western Veterinary Conference Carrie Freeman Parsons, Freeman William F. Reed, CMP, Experient Inc. James E. Rooney, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Randall Tanaka, Hawaii Convention Center ChristopherWehking, CMP, American Society of Anaesthesiologists DonWelsh, Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association

DavidL.Williams, CMP, International Association for Energy Economics

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of PCMA.

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