(NEW YORK, NY) – April 22, 2013 – At the 32nd IACC-Americas annual conference at Eaglewood Resort & Spa in Itasca, IL, IACC-Americas President, TJ Fimmano presented two major awards that honour significant contributions to IACC education.

IACC Pyramid Award
The Pyramid Award was established in 2000 to shine the spotlight on IACC members who show a true and long-lasting commitment to IACC education.  Only one individual can receive this award each year.


Tom Cole
The 2013 Pyramid Award was presented to Tom Cole, General Manager at the Arden Shisler Center in Ohio.   Presenting the award, According to Fimmano noted that Cole had served for many years on the IACC Quality Committee, the IACC Learning Network, and was a member of the IACC-Americas Board of Directors.  Cole was presented with the IACC Award of Excellence in 2009.

The IACC Award of Excellence
The Award of Excellence was established in 2000 by the IACC-Americas Board of Directors to underscore IACC’s commitment to education and to give heightened recognition and visibility to those individuals who generously give of their time, talent and resources to expand and enhance IACC’s educational offerings.  To be eligible, an individual must have contributed to this effort for at least two years.  This year, the prestigious award was presented to two outstanding champions of IACC education.


Sean Anderson
Sean Anderson has been actively involved in the conference centre industry and has played a significant role with the International Association of Conference Centres for more than 13 years and has served on the IACC-Americas Board of Directors since 2008.  He has served on the Marketing Committee from 2009 to 2011, he was Chair of the Education Committee, has participated in the IACC-Europe annual conference and currently serves as joint Vice President & Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the IACC-Americas chapter as well as serving on the IACC Global Board of Directors.

Sean Sands
Sean Sands is Corporate Director of Quality Assurance & General Manager at FLIK International and has been active on the IACC Annual Conference Planning Committee for the annual conference for three years.   He has served on the Food & Beverage Committee for two years as well as on the Education Committee for two years.  Sean hosted the IACC Thought Leaders Summit in 2010 and served on the IACC-Americas Board of Directors in 2011.

The IACC 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.

The IACC Vision: “IACC is a community of passionate people and organizations delivering innovative and exceptional meeting experiences.”

Founded in 1981, the International Association of Conference Centres is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting understanding and awareness of the conference centre industry and to giving member properties the tools necessary to provide an exceptional IACC meeting experience. Active members meet a set of stringent Quality Standards and agree to a Code of Ethics. Currently, the association includes approximately 400 members from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France, England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Germany and Japan. For more information, visit the website at www.iacconline.org. “There are meetings and then there are IACC meetings.”