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convene PCMA ® PUBLISHER Deborah Sexton, (312) 423-7210
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Sherrif Karamat, CAE, (312) 423-7247
PCMA@LinkedIn: International Attendees
JENNNIFERCOY,DIRECTOR of meetings for the National Contract Management Association, recently posted toPCMA’s LinkedIn group:“Can anyone share [their] experience with poten- tial meeting attendees who are coming from international locations to attend a national event? I have a request from an attendee who’s looking for a travel visa. They have already paid and registered for the conference, but now need a voucher or letter to grant them access for the meeting.” Here are some ofthe respons- es that she received:
INMYEXPERIENCE, IHAVE written a simple letter inviting the person/group to attendthe show. Your letter shouldcontain: show dates, short description of the show, anda sentence or two outlining that they are responsible for any andall charges incidental to their trip (i.e., hotel, airfare, meals, fees, etc.).Your letter should also include their full name, company, title, andpassport
number (put this under their com- pany info or in your first sentences). They usually ask you to send/fax/ email the signedletter to the invitee or directly to a consulate office. That should do it. Michael J. Duffy Event Manager Source Interlink/Motor Trend Auto Shows
WEHAVEASTANDARDTEM- plate that we use that includes everything mentionedabove, and also this: “The association is not able to
send letters of invitation directly to any U.S. consulate or embassy. We advise scientists traveling to the UnitedStates to apply for a visa as early as possible (at least three months before visa is needed). Please visit http://travel.state .gov/visa/visa_1750.html, the offi- cial website source for information about U.S. visa policy and proce- dures. Use this site to learn about the visa application process, to understand current requirements, and to get updates on any recent travel developments.” The website info is important,
“Start early. Countries like Brazil and India and several others have an insane waiting period to get visas, and some countries also have a cap that they cannot go over.”
because so much is dependent on where they are coming from and they shouldreview their own requirements.We create the letter andemail it to them as a PDF. DebbyTucker President Debra Tucker Associates
RECOMMENDSTARTING early.We hadsome who were refused entry and/or not granted “exit” from their country because both countries needed more time to process paperwork. Katherine Manfredi,CMM Principal Consultant Manfredi&Associates
6 pcmaconvene October 2011
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 Jennifer N. Dienst; Maureen Littlejohn
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 Kathleen Mulvihill, (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, International Reading Association
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 Mary Pat Heftman, National Restaurant Association Christine Klein, CMP, meetings and business development consultant RaymondJ. Kopcinski, CMP, Million Dollar Round Table 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 Anesthesiologists DonWelsh, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau
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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