Nearly 40 Chapter members attended the June 12-14 E3 Conference at the Margaritaville Lake Resort in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.
The two-day conference featured educational panel discussions and networking and a welcomed return to this Chapter’s bi-annual event, after having to be postponed due to the pandemic.
“The panelists did such a great job of sharing their true feelings and being open to answering all the questions thrown their way,” shares Caitlin Condie, who planned and organized this year’s conference with Kristen Kimbrel. She adds, “Kristen and I truly wanted this to feel like a conversation among friends and for everyone to be truly honest. I have always said the Heartland Chapter is special and it’s because of the people. That really showed during E3 and because of that there was some really great information shared and important conversations that took place.”
Those panel discussions included:
- Contracting Post Covid
- CVB State of the Industry
- Suppliers and Planners Tell All
In future issues of The Pulse look for key takeaways from these panel discussions.
Thank you to everyone who served on a panel and to the Welcome Dinner sponsor, Margaritaville Lake Resort and the Networking Reception sponsor, Destination Toronto.
Reflecting on Caitlin’s and Kristen’s E3 Conference planning, Kristen said, “Caitlin and I had numerous conversations during our planning and the education that we wanted to give everyone was a slightly different take on the traditional one speaker/one topic meeting.” She adds, “Utilizing the audience that was already registered seemed to be a no-brainer. We designed these panels to be engaging and feel as though they couldn’t have gone any better with our intimate group. We had planners and suppliers comment how important they felt these conversations were and how valuable taking this time to attend our conference really was. That meant a lot and was extremely rewarding.”
Finally, Chapter president, Vicki Baker shares her feedback about the conference:
What did you like best about the conference?
It was great to see everyone in person and to get to spend some quality time with everyone.
What was your biggest takeaway from the conference?
That in-person meetings cannot be replicated by virtual events. It is good to see people face-to-face. It is how you build relationships with people within the industry.
Why do you recommend Chapter members attend the bi-annual E3 Conference?
E3 is special because you get away from home and actually have a few days as a group to learn and get to know each other better.
Welcome to Lake of the Ozarks, Margaritaville!
Chapter members catching up with morning coffee.
Panelists
Kristen Kimbrel and Caitlin Condie
Thank you to our Chapter Past Presidents, Kristen, and Caitlin for all of your hard work and planning that went into making this year’s E3 Conference such a success!