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AMERICAN FORESTS’ MEETING RELEAF convn.org/meeting-releaf Launched less than a year ago, American Forests’ Meeting ReLeaf is a carbon-offsetting program for meetings with 1,000 or more attendees. The idea is simple: The hosting organization agrees to pay American Forests one dollar per attendee to plant one tree per attendee. Thanks to Meeting ReLeaf, more than 20,000 trees have taken root in various American Forests restoration projects, including a program to replant forests affected by devastating fires in California and one to repair wind- damaged forests in Minnesota. “Meet- ing ReLeaf makes sense for associations for a lot of reasons,” said Scott Steen, American Forests’ CEO. “It is turnkey for the meeting planner, meaningful for the attendee, because they get a tree planted in their honor, and makes a real difference to a threatened ecosystem.”
STOP HUNGER NOW stophungernow.org/ meal-packaging-program Here’s how Stop Hunger Now describes its meal-packaging program: “an immensely fun, hands-on, and reward- ing experience for anyone of any age. A group of 40–50 volunteers can package 10,000 meals in just two hours.” Just imagine how many of those meals
— “Every dehydrated rice/soy meal is fortified with 21 essential vitamins and nutrients” — a good-sized confer- ence can handle. Terri Crovato, CMP, manager of meetings and events for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), brought Stop Hun- ger now to USCCB’s General Assembly in Baltimore last November. “This pro- cess worked well within our allowable time frame and made it very convenient for everyone to participate,” Crovato said. “We were able to involve local archdiocesan youth groups to work with the bishops toward a common goal. As a result, many bishops have planned Stop Hunger Now programs in their local dioceses.”
Hotel Spaces
BEST
INTERCONTINENTAL PARIS – LE GRAND HOTEL convn.org/intercontinental-paris The Opera Ballroom at the InterCon- tinetal Paris – Le Grand Hotel (which opened its doors in 1862) is one of the most renowned ballrooms in the City of Light. Able to accommodate 450 guests for a seated dinner, conferences of up to 600, and cocktail receptions for up to 700, the space is often used for evening galas, product launches, and fashion shows. Suspended from the room’s 45-foot-high ceiling is a huge chandelier and circle of mirrors, adding to the grandeur of a room that is on the supplementary inventory list of histori- cal monuments in Paris.
THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS cosmopolitanlasvegas.com Spread over three floors, The Cosmo- politan’s meeting and convention space, designed by The Friedmutter Group, allows attendees to easily move through the space by escalator, with direct access from the hotel’s West Tower. “The vertical design allows our con- vention attendees to move from their sleeping rooms to the meeting space by the touch of an elevator button,” said Doug Gennardo, The Cosmopolitan’s vice president of sales. “The ease of access has been a common positive thread in our meeting-planner surveys.” With room to accommodate up to 4,000 for receptions and seven ballrooms, meeting spaces are named after Euro- pean, Latin, and North American neigh- borhoods and feature design inspired
by architect and designer David Rock- well’s work — including small conversa- tional gathering areas for attendees.
THE FAIRMONT SAN JOSE fairmont.com/san-jose “The Fairmont San Jose has been one of my favorite hotels ever since I went there for a site visit in 2010,” said Marie Fredlake, global conference director at ConferenceDirect. Fredlake managed the 2010 Annual Conference of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS), which held several receptions and meetings at The Fairmont. With suites that offered privacy as well as a “VIP feel” for the small meetings of RAPS’ executive team, the property is located just two blocks from the San Jose Convention Center for an easy commute for attendees. Fredlake also enjoyed various other spaces, includ- ing the hotel’s lobby. “After a long day, relaxing on a couch with a cocktail was just what I needed,” she said, “in addi- tion to having one of the best sushi res- taurants in the city located in the hotel!”
DELTA BEAUSÉJOUR HOTEL, MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA deltahotels.com/Hotels/ Delta-Beausejour-Hotel The Delta Beauséjour Hotel, located in downtown Moncton, New Brunswick, in the Petitcodiac River Valley, has more than 23,000 square feet of meet- ing space, making it the largest venue in New Brunswick for events. The hotel’s facilities include a ballroom of 8,540 square feet, the Shediac and the
AUGUST 2013 PCMA CONVENE 51