The Conference Publishers

October, 2008
UPDATE

The Conference Publishers Launches Blog

Some of the most fascinating ideas are on The Edge.

The Edge is the new blog that The Conference Publishers launched in early August. In the two months since, members of our team have posted more than 20 articles on subjects from corporate social responsibility to climate change, from the airline industry crisis to the balance between live and virtual meetings.

While the voices, styles, and subjects may be very different, the contributions have a common focus on conferences, content, and the interaction between them.

"For meetings, it all comes back to the essential 'why' question: 'Why bother meeting at all?'" said The Conference Publishers President Mitchell Beer. "We want to build our blog into a continuing conversation about ways of making every conference a success."

Visit The Edge today.


In This Issue

Andrew's Arrival

Andrew Horsfield

On September 2, Andrew Horsfield joined our team as Senior Account Manager.

Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Andrew has worked in communities across Canada. He began his career writing and producing ads for television, and has more than two decades of sales experience—the last eight at hotels in Winnipeg and Ottawa. He worked as the senior account manager at Ottawa's Lord Elgin Hotel from 2005 until joining The Conference Publishers.

Andrew combines his talent and experience in sales with boundless energy, generosity, and a passion for our service.

Account Manager Adam Hardiman says his new colleague has already made an impact in his first few weeks at the office. "Andrew's abilities and experiences give us a whole new perspective on the exciting direction we're taking the company. He brings a level of integrity and professionalism to the position that allows us to grow while strengthening our ties in the community."

Members of Meeting Professionals International may remember Andrew as a former president of the MPI Manitoba Chapter, and most recently, as Director of Strategic Education for MPI Ottawa.

Andrew will serve a range of government and private-sector clients, but his focus will be on the Canadian market.

The most exciting thing about his new job? Andrew says it's the opportunity to really get involved with the overall strategic planning for events. "Now I am speaking to my clients about why they are holding an event, as opposed to just the how."

Partner Profile: Concepts Worldwide

Since our first edition of Update, The Conference Publishers' strategic partnership with Concepts Worldwide of Carlsbad, California has continued to grow. We still report on Concepts' twice-yearly advisory board meetings, and we've covered pharmaceutical meetings on both coasts for Concepts clients.

In November, The Conference Publishers President Mitchell Beer will attend Concepts' 20th anniversary celebrations in San Diego, coinciding with the company's autumn advisory board meeting. And we can claim some responsibility for the fact that Jerry Garcia, the late, great leader of the Grateful Dead, will likely make a surprise appearance onsite.

A few months ago, Mitchell tracked down a Jerry Garcia doll by Gund as an anniversary present for Concepts CEO Terri Breining. Since then, Jerry has been a constant presence, accompanying Terri to Carnegie Hall in New York and the leaning Tower of Pisa.

In June, Woody Huizenga, our Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, joined the Concepts team in Boston, for the 44th annual meeting of the Drug Information Association. With about 8,000 pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and regulatory professionals attending, we were proud to be a part of Concepts' onsite presence.

Measuring our Carbon Footprint

We always specify recycled stock for our print publications. With a batch of new online services, we can help our clients cut back their print runs, saving them money and sparing the environment at the same time.

And we've always done our best to hire local writers for our projects, wherever those projects take place.

But we still incur our biggest environmental footprint when we travel between cities.

That's why we're so pleased to buy carbon offsets whenever we fly or travel by train, under an agreement with Offsetters Climate Neutral Society of Vancouver, British Columbia.

In the coming months, we plan to research the carbon dioxide emissions associated with every aspect of our business, from heating and lighting our office to disposing of the paper we feed into our laser printer. As soon as we can come up with a number, we will begin buying offsets for the full amount.