Connect, IAEE to Partner on Women’s Leadership Forum
March 5, 2019
Connect (formerly known as Collinson Media & Events) will partner with International Association of Exhibitions and Events to host a Women’s Leadership Forum for the first time this year, to continue in 2020 and 2021.
Known as a leader in the meetings, events, travel and tourism industry, Connect will co-locate the forum with its largest reverse-style trade show event, also named Connect. This year’s event will take place Aug. 26-28 in Louisville, Ky.
Programming for the Women’s Leadership Forum will provide the knowledge, strategies, motivation and inspiration needed to help participants take the next step in their careers. Attendees can expect active discussions on communicating with different personalities, taking on new challenges, enhancing decision-making skills and balancing work and personal life.
The programming is curated for all women, regardless of age, title or position.
“The objective of the forum is to focus attention on the women professionals of our industry and the challenges they continue to face,” said IAEE President and CEO David DuBois. “Through partnerships like this, our industry will be able to finally provide a level playing field for all professionals who aspire to lead the exhibition and events industry irrespective of their gender.”
IAEE, the largest association in the exhibitions and events industry, also produces the Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C.
There’s never been a more important time to create a space for the industry’s top women leaders to come together, according to Steven Hacker, executive director of Connect Expo (Connect is also owned by Tarsus Group, TSNN's parent company).
“Women in our industry are by no means immune from the highly evident issues that have proven to be so confounding to so many for so long,” Hacker says. “The Forum will drill into practical, non-confrontational and effective strategies and tactics designed to remove as many of the hurdles and obstacles that still confront women professionals virtually everyday of their professional careers.”
He continued, “The Women’s Leadership Forum is not a magic, nor instant, prescription or remedy. It is, however, a vitally important aid those women who aspire to achieve all they are capable of achieving.”
Men are also welcomed, and encouraged, to attend.
To learn more, go here or reach out to Hacker at shacker@connectmeetings.com. Registration will open in the coming weeks.
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Water Stewardship Efforts
MGM Resorts understands the importance of using water efficiently, especially in the desert destination of Las Vegas. Conserving water has always been part of the mission, but MGM Resorts has expanded its ambition into water stewardship.
In 2022, MGM Resorts President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle signed the CEO Water Mandate—a UN Global Compact initiative mobilizing business leaders to advance water stewardship. MGM Resorts International was the first gaming company to take this important step.
MGM Resorts replaced 200,000 square feet of real grass with drought-tolerant landscaping in Las Vegas.
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From 2007-2021, use of more than 5.6 billion gallons of water was avoided because of conservation efforts.
Caring for One Another
MGM Resorts’ Food Donations Program collects and preserves unserved food from conventions held at MGM Resorts properties, then safely donates to food insecure people in the community. Since the program’s launch in 2016, more than 3.7 million meals toward a 2025 goal of 5 million meals have been donated into the community. Donations include:
Unserved perishable prepared foods from events
Perishable unprepared food from MGM Resorts’ kitchens
Nonperishable food items from minibars and warehouses
The collaboration with Southern Nevada’s primary food bank, Three Square, has developed the infrastructure needed to safely collect, transport, and store food from MGM Resorts properties in Las Vegas, reducing food waste while serving the community.
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MGM Resorts understands its responsibility to contribute to the social and economic progress of the communities in which it operates. HERE, we embrace humanity.
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