(St. Louis, MO) – January 2012 – IACC Americas President Peter J. Stockmann announced the appointment of Sarah Vining of Bethesda, MD as IACC’s sixth Board Associate following a comprehensive process through which member properties in the United States and Canada could nominate exceptional staff members under the age of 30.
 
“We were thrilled with the quality of applications we received this year,” Stockmann stated, “and Sarah Vining really stood out as someone with passion and vision who could build on the great work of those who have held this coveted position before her.”
 
Vining, who currently serves as Marketing Manager at The National Conference Center in Leesburg, VA, will represent Generation X/Y on the IACC Board of Directors with a focus on identifying and advising the Board on emerging trends.
 
At The National Conference Center, she manages the property’s media relations and advertising, social media activities, hosts social media training workshops, is a frequent speaker at industry-related panels and has written four comprehensive white papers for the quarterly series Meeting Discoveries on topics relating to meeting industry trends and helping meeting planners develop more productive meetings.
 
She served as Co-Chair of the IACC Emerging Trends Committee which represents the perspective of the incoming generation on issues that may have an impact of IACC and/or the conference centers industry such as sustainability and corporate social responsibility.  She also generated an extensive case study on eco-friendly hospitality practices for the Green Seal which was featured and published in the book, Greening Food and Beverage: A Guide to Going Green, July 2011.
 
Vining, who at age 24 is the youngest Board Associate yet, is a member of Generation Y, defined as the generation born in the late 1980s and early 1990s and regarded as increasingly familiar with digital and electronic technology. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston and holds a B.A. in Corporate Communications and received the Distinguished Service Award.
 
The term of the board associate extends for 18 months, starting on January 1and ending with the annual conference in the following year.   The Board Associate service includes six Board of Directors meetings and two annual conferences.  Sarah will attend and participate in IACC’s 31st annual conference at La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa in Texas this March and will report to the Board on her observations and experiences at the end of her term.

Mission Statement:  The International Association of Conference Centres is the thought leader on the meeting experience.  IACC represents its members by defining and promoting the IACC Meeting Concept and providing learning opportunities.
 
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.  “There are meetings and then there are IACC meetings.”