Strategic Meeting Tech Podcast

Episode three of the Better Meetings Podcast take us in a different direction than originally envisioned.  Still to come will be the delayed interview with Paul VanDeventer of MPI.  That will hopefully be along next week along with some additional episodes recorded in September at IMEX America. This episode is the most personal one thatI have ever done, but I think it's a topic that many of us hide from and are unwilling to discuss because it's uncomfortable and can be misunderstood.  I have been dealing with some depression over the past year to a point that it inhibited my ability to create this podcast, something that I take great joy in doing.  There's a terrible cycle of guilt when you promise something that normally would be an easy task and you're unable to follow through.   My usual reaction is to stay behind a wall and pretend nothing was wrong.  But, as time passed and I was unable to face the simple task of posting a few episodes I reached out for help.  To some friends, to a mentor...even to a c

To continue with the podcast relaunch on our second show, we were able to meet for a second time with Sherrif Karamat, President & CEO of PCMA as well as with Greg O'Dell, Chairman of the 2019 PCMA Board of Directors.  We caught up with them at PCMA's EduCon in Los Angeles.   This time we covered a wide range of topics, but we focused on two important topics in both the world and within the meetings industry today.  First was a discussion of diversity and inclusion, and the benefits of diverse skills and points of view in creating successful events.  The second topic was human trafficking, and how raising the awareness in our industry and can provide a huge increase in opportunities to recognize and stop this serious international issue.   TRANSCRIPT: JON: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Jon Trask, I’m your host and I'm here with Sheriff Karamat, the President and CEO of PCMA, and Mr. Greg O’Dell, the chairman of the 2019 PCMA Board of Directors. So welcome, gentlemen. GREG: Thank you, Jon. SHERRIF:

To begin things on show number one here on the Better Meetings Podcast.  We were able to meet up with PCMA President and CEO, Sherrif Karamat during MPI's WEC event in Toronto.  He shared with us his thoughts on the state of associations, big data in our industry (including news about PCMA's Beam Project) and some inspirational thoughts for all of us about the role that meetings, events and our industry can play in making the world a better place for everyone.   TRANSCRIPT: JON:  Alright, welcome back to the podcast. Today we're at WEC in Toronto. And we're speaking with Sherrif Karamat, CAE.  He's the president and CEO of PCMA.  Welcome.   SHERRIF: Thank you for having me.  It's a pleasure to be here in Toronto, WEC.   JON: We're having a wonderful time here.  And I really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule, because we know how busy you are, to talk with us here.  So, thank you for that.  And let's just dive right into things; I really thought first we could start out with just an overvie