(St. Louis, MO) – February 2011 – Global President Neil Pompan CMP, (President of Pompan Hospitality Global, Inc. ) announced the formation of a new chapter of The International Association of Conference Centers to be called IACC Europe.  The new chapter consists of 100 existing IACC members in Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, The United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Belgium.  This is consistent with the global association’s restructuring that led to the establishment of IACC Americas last year along with a third chapter, IACC Australia, which began in 1997.

The new chapter has a “Representative Board of Directors” with each nation in the chapter having at least one active member on the board.  The officers of this board include:

Chair, Jeu Bressers             (Conference Center Kapellerput, The Netherlands)
Vice Chair, Philippe Attia    (Dolce Hotels and Resorts, France)
Secretary, Mark Cooper     (The Sundial Group, England)
Treasurer, Lotta Boman      (Sigtunahöjden Hotel & Conference, Sweden)

In establishing the new chapter, members of the Board created the chapter’s mission and vision and agreed to include both in the chapter’s by-laws:

The mission is “to provide a European and global forum for discussion on non-competitive issues and to provide opportunities for global networking, inspiration and education to assist members in their business.”  The vision is “by the end of 2015, IACC Europe shall have reached 200 members, be a valuable resource for communication and networking among members and well-known among meeting decision makers.”

According to Pompan, combining all the European country-based chapters of IACC under one continental umbrella of IACC Europe, “increases our organization’s credibility and exposure around the globe. It also provides the foundation for increasing the value of membership to the facility members of the new chapter.  IACC now has three strong geographic footholds and with it, the ability to promote the Total Meeting Experience around the world.”

Since its founding, the Representative Board of Directors also announced four new members to the chapter:

La Mola Hotel & Conference Centre, Barcelona, Spain -- Set in the foothills of the LaMola Mountains just 25 minutes from Barcelona; features 26 meeting rooms and 186 guest rooms.

Les Fontaines, Chantilly, France -- Ideally situated near Chantilly in the town of Gouvieux, less than one hour from Paris and half an hour from Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport; features 45 meeting rooms and 300 guest rooms.

Hof Van Saksen Conference Centre, Nooitgedacht, Netherlands – With a spectacular rural setting, this conference resort offers the freedom of a holiday park with traditional Saxon farmhouse cottages surrounded by typical Drenthse village greens; features eight meeting rooms and 600 guest rooms.

Chateau Saint Just, Belle Eglise, France –Located just 40 km from Roissy Charles De Gaulle Airport, this 17th-century chateau features 30 meeting rooms and 100 guest rooms.

Founded in 1981, the International Association of Conference Centres is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting understanding and awareness of the conference center industry and to giving member properties the tools necessary to provide an exceptional meeting experience. Active members meet a set of stringent Universal Criteria and agree to a Code of Ethics. Currently, the association includes approximately 400 members from the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France, England, The Netherlands, Germany and Japan. For more information, visit the website at www.iacconline.org.  IACC = exceptional meeting experiences.