The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is set to honor outstanding members for their contributions to the organization and the meetings industry from the main stage of the 58^th PCMA annual meeting: Convening Leaders, Jan. 12-15 in Boston.

“This year’s award recipients have made tremendous strides in helping advance the meetings industry,” said Deborah Sexton, president and CEO, PCMA.

She added, “Our behind-the-scenes look at their works will certainly inspire change throughout the entire events community.

Distinguished Member of the Year Award

The recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Member of the Year Award is Mary Gallagher, director, Citywide Accounts, San Francisco Travel Association. Gallagher participates in the Hospitality Helping Hands each year at Convening Leaders, as well as being an active member for the Capital Chapter, serving on the Board of Directors as secretary, she was the chapter’s Sponsorship Committee Chair and has been heavily involved in the PCMA Mentoring Program.

Distinguished Meeting Professional of the Year Award

The recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Meeting Professional of the Year Award is Kati Quigley, CMP, senior director, WW Partner Community Events, Microsoft Corporation. Quigley is a past chairman of the PCMA Board of Directors, the former president of the Capital Chapter and a current member of the PCMA Education Foundation Board of Trustees. Earlier this year, Kati led a group of PCMA senior planners through a behind the scenes tour of her annual meeting.

Distinguished Service Professional of the Year Award

The recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Service Professional of the Year Award is Jim Kelley, director, Global Accounts, PRG Corporate & Tradeshow Services. Kelley isthe volunteer co-chair of the 2013 PCMA Education Conference Committee abd was instrumental to the event’s record-breaking success. Additionally, he consistently supports year-round PCMA education on both a chapter and national level.

Emerging Leader Award

The recipient of the 2013 Emerging Leader Award is Ushma Suvarnakar, meetings manager, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Ushma has been a member of the Emerging Leaders Task Force since its inception in 2011.  She has been instrumental in integrating Emerging Leaders educational content and point of view into Convening Leaders programming. Ushma currently serves as the Emerging Leaders Task Force chair. 

Outstanding Service to a Chapter Award

The recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Service to a Chapter Award is Janeé Pelletier, vice president, Conference & Logistics Consultants, Inc. As the Treasurer of the Chesapeake Chapter she creatively solved administrative challenges and developed processes and procedures to ensure the issues would not arise again. Additionally Janeé designed an effective program to help boost her chapter’s attendance.

Educator of the Year Award

The recipient of the 2013 Educator of the Year Award is Carol Krugman, assistant professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver. Krugman has made educational contributions both inside and outside of PCMA that are felt through the industry. She served as a member of the PCMA Faculty Task Force, Colorado Meeting & Events Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, CIC CMP Board of Directors and was the Chair of the PCMA Student Task Force.

Innovation Award

The recipient of the 2013 Innovation Award is QuickMobile. The QuickMobile platform has been a success on a variety of events and conferences ranging from small association shows to enterprise size shows, allowing organizations to reach a larger audience and expand their event’s brand.

Spirit Award

The recipient of the 2013 Spirit Award is Experient, A Maritz Travel Company. Experient has served the meetings and events community through a number of CSR initiatives; supporting with volunteer leadership, employee participation and sponsorship. Experient has been affiliated with PCMA’s Hospitality Helping Hands Program for 20 plus years, and has donated generously to the Boys and Girls Club, Fight Against Breast Cancer Walk, Cradles to Crayons, and Toys for Tots.

Environmental Leadership Award

The recipient of the 2013 Environmental Leadership Award is awarded to both McDonald’s Corporation and Delta Air Lines.

McDonald’s green thumb was on display during its 2013 Combined Manager Operator Rally by implementing multi-stream recycling stations throughout the event floor and compiling composting reports at the end of the event. The composting initiatives kept 118 tons of waste out of landfills. Additionally McDonald’s internal social and cultural initiatives demonstrated a commitment to environmental sustainability through social responsibility and good ethics.

Delta Air Lines fuel saving initiatives proved the airline is serious about its role as an environmental leader. By lowering fuel consumption through better planning, procedures, operation improvements and aircraft modifications the airline saved 19,200,000 gallons of fuel, $62,592,000 and reduced 189,154 metric tons of CO2e which is equivalent to having over 37,000 cars off the street.