Greater Midwest Chapter Site

Welcome to the Greater Midwest Chapter's Web Site

On behalf of the Greater Midwest Chapter, we want to welcome you to the Chapter's web site! GMC is one of the largest Chapters within PCMA, and our members are some of the most involved in the industry. Thanks to our volunteers, GMC offers cutting edge educational programs, community service projects, professional recognition, CMP Study Groups, student activities, and many other opportunities for our members. Our web site has the most updated information about the chapter activities, leader tools, volunteer opportunities and the most recent edition of the Pulse - our chapter newsletter - is always online, so that you can keep up-to-date on the latest news with GMC!

Number of Members: 1200 +

Geographic Territory: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin

A Message From the President
Scott M. Romane, Meet Minneapolis

Having grown up on the Southwest Side of Chicago, I regard it a tremendous honor to serve the members of the Greater Midwest Chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association (GMC-PCMA) as your President in 2010, as it in many ways brings me back to my roots and allows me to give back to so many people who have given to me during my time as a member of this chapter. Since joining the chapter back in 1995 I have been able to serve on the Program Committee, the Chapter Leadership Council and Board. All those various experiences provided me insights into the great work our chapter members can do and how we each can individually or as part of a group contribute to the overall success of this chapter.

The past year has been a challenging time for our industry, to say the least. I think we all learned that we had to change the way we were doing things in order to remain vital, relevant and hopefully successful in this "new economic climate", or whatever the buzzword du jour was! I'm sure we can each recall sitting in our own strategy meetings at some point in 2009 in which the big question was "What can we do differently now to move us forward into the future?" At the chapter level, I was proud to be part of those discussions in Board Meetings as we reviewed where our chapter was and what we needed to do - and often what we needed to do differently - in order to remain relevant to you, our members, and successful as a chapter.

One lesson learned was that if we wanted to see different results, we needed to change what we were doing and how we were doing it, or else we were going to get the same results. In other words, if we kept doing the same things in the same way, we shouldn't expect different results.

Your Board and Committee Leaders will not be able to do this alone, though. We all will be looking to you to get involved, whether it by attending one of our educational, community service or networking programs or serving on one of our chapter committees. Committee participation can be a tremendously rewarding experience, and your committee leaders have structured each of their committees with varying levels of involvement to allow you to participate in the way that best matches what your personal and professional schedules will allow. Check out the resources available in other sections of this, your chapter's website, to see where you can best fit your interests and passions with the needs of your chapter. We need your participation to help us accomplish all that we will want to accomplish in 2010 as we move the Greater Midwest Chapter forward and continue to set the standard for other PCMA chapters.

I invite you to join us however you can as we try to change things up for the GMC in 2010. I look forward to hearing your comments on how your chapter can better serve you and help you achieve your professional goals in 2010. I can always be reached at scottr@meetminneapolis.com or at 612-767-8142. I look forward to hearing from you, seeing you at one of our upcoming chapter events, and working with you to advance the work of the Greater Midwest Chapter!

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Scott M. Romane
2010 GMC President

What's New!

Visit The Pulse Blog at www.gmcpcmablog.com.

Winter 2009 - The Pulse: Volume VIII Issue V, sponsored by Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau and Omnipress.
Click here to access the Winter 2009 Issue of The Pulse.

2010 GMC PCMA Special Session - Top Industry Leaders on the Future of Meetings - Where is our Industry Headed Today?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - Click here to download the session handout.

2010 GMC PCMA March Educational Event & St. Patrick's Day Membership Celebration
MONDAY, March 8, 2010
Hilton Chicago, Chicago, IL
featuring an Educational Luncheon, sponsored by the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, Educational Sessions sponsored by the Chicago Area Convention Bureau Satellite Offices and the St. Patrick's Day Membership Celebration in Kitty O'Shea's, sponsored by Peabody Hotels.
Click here to register or for more information, click here.

Want to serve on a GMC PCMA 2010 Committee? The Greater Midwest Chapter is looking for eager volunteers to serve on our 2010 committees. Click here to review the committee descriptions. Once you have reviewed your options, click here to complete and submit the online Commitment to Serve application. All current committee members need to submit an application if they wish to continue to serve on the same committee in 2010.

Should you have any questions about the Greater Midwest Chapter, or suggestions, please contact us at the address provided below.

Contact Information:
Greater Midwest Chapter PCMA
475 S. Frontage Road, Suite 101
Burr Ridge, IL 60527
Phone: 630-323-7413; Fax: 630-323-6989
Email: info@gmcpcma.org