HSMAI�s Affordable Meetings® West show will offer 25 educational seminars covering key subjects of importance to planners at all levels of experience.  Qualified meeting planners from across the country can attend HSMAI�s Affordable Meetings® West free-of-charge.  This comprehensive educational series allows attendees to acquire expert insight, new ideas, and inspirational advice, helping them to produce more successful, cost-effective meetings.  Also, as an added benefit, attendees will receive a complimentary bound book containing handouts from all of the seminars.

The show program begins with the following five seminars, which will be offered on Wed., June 9, between 9 am � 10:30 am, and then repeated on Thurs., June 10 (during the same time):

• The Basics of Meeting Planning (Part I) / Joan Eisenstodt, President, Eisenstodt Associates, Washington, D.C.

• Negotiating for the Life You Really Want and the Rewards You Deserve / Ed Brodow, CEO, Ed Brodow Seminars, Inc., Monterey, CA

• How to Get Your Ideas Accepted More Often by the People Who Matter / Doug Smart, CSP, President, Doug Smart Seminars, Roswell, GA

• Buyer Be Prepared: How the Proper Meeting Contract Can Save You Money(Part I) / James M. Goldberg, Esq., Principal, Goldberg and Associates, Washington, D.C.

• Creativity:  The Secret Weapon of Successful Planners / Jim Pelley, President, Laughter Works, Folsom, CA

Wed., June 9 (10:45 am � Noon)

• Communicating with Anyone, Up, Down and Sideways, to Get Things Done More Effectively / Alan Ovson, President, Ovson Communications, San Francisco, CA

• On-Site Management:  The Final Stretch to Meeting Success / Marilyn Hauck, CMP, President, The Complete Conference, Inc., Sacramento, CA

• ROI and Meeting Metrics:  A Guide to Measuring the Value of Your Meetings / Jim Daggett, CAE, CMP, President, JRDaggett & Associates, Las Vegas, NV

• Exceptional Thinking Under Pressure / Janelle Brittain, MBA, CSP, President, Dynamic Performance Institute, Chicago, IL

• Growing Your Meeting in Cyberspace / Philippa Gamse, President, CyberSpeaker, Santa Cruz, CA

• The FUNdamentals for Creating Your Meeting Budget / Bonnie Wallsh, CMP, Chief Solutions Officer, Bonnie Wallsh Associates, LLC, Charlotte, NC

• If You Can Talk, You Can Write / Joel Saltzman, President, Shake That Brain, Thousand Oaks, CA

• Secrets for Spectacular Meetings:  How to Infuse Your Events with Fun and Excitement / Jack Singer, Ph.D., President, Psychologically Speaking, Laguna Niguel, CA

• Champagne on a Beer Budget:  Food & Beverage Cost-Cutting Techniques / Vicky Betzig, CMP, Vice President of Operations, JRDaggett & Associates, Chicago, IL

• Creating a Targeted Marketing Strategy to Help Your Independent Meeting Planning Business / Sheryl Sookman, CMP, President, The MeetingConnection, Novato, CA

• Working with Hotels:  How to Create Win-Win Partnerships / Gary Hernbroth, President, Training for Winners, Danville, CA

• The ABC�s of Site Selection / Reggie Sears, CMP, Owner/Meeting Planner, Sears Enterprises, Sacramento, CA

• Raiders of the Lost Spark � Controlling Worry and Avoiding Dejection / Connie Merritt, RN, PHN, Head Lion Tamer, Connie Merritt Productions, Laguna Beach, CA

• Creating High Energy Web Sites and PR Material / Jerry Teplitz, J.D., Ph.D., President, Jerry Teplitz Enterprises, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA

• Stop Procrastinating:  Master the Art of Doing It Now / Rita Emmett, President, Emmett Enterprises, Inc., Des Plains, IL

Meeting planners can shop the show and collect information on a huge variety of venues and services, peruse the HSMAI�s Affordable Meetings® Bookstore for material specific to meeting planning (printed materials and audio/visual resources as well as a complete line of CMP study materials), talk with experts in all areas of meeting planning at the Speaker�s Corner, and win cash prizes and exciting trips.  The expo will be open each day of the show from noon � 3 pm.

Providing an excellent opportunity for liaising with fellow planners and other industry professionals, a reception on Wednesday, June 9, from 5 � 7 pm at the Queen Mary will feature great food and drink plus fun-filled entertainment.

Approximately 800 planners are expected to visit this premier exposition and educational conference.  This impressive group represents meeting and event planners from a variety of organizations, with a majority from corporate, association and independent sectors and the balance from government, non-profit, education, religious, medical/health care organizations, travel agents, trade show management and the military. 

HSMAI�s Affordable Meetings® is owned and presented by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International and managed by George Little Management, LLC (GLM).  The other remaining show for 2004 is HSMAI�s Affordable Meetings® National, Sept. 8-9, 2004 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

For exhibitor information, contact Beth Petersen, show manager, GLM, Ten Bank Street, White Plains, NY 10606-1954, or call (914) 421-3377; fax (914) 948-2918; e-mail: [email protected].  Attendee information is available by calling 1-800-272-SHOW.  Additional information and a complete program schedule can be obtained by visiting the show�s web site at www.affordablemeetings.com.

HSMAI is a leading organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry.  With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales and marketing management disciplines.  Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprised of over 7,000 members from 35 countries and 60 chapters worldwide.