INTERCOM VOLUME 109 | May/June 2014
Designed and Edited by Alvalyn Lundgren | Alvalyn Creative
ADVOCACY
THE FUTURE OF MPI’S
By Stephanie Starr, CMM, CMP | namast[E]vents
A
storm has been brewing ever since MPI’s e-mail announcement on December 18, 2013, in an e-mail sent to current holders of the prestigious Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM), that it had partnered with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) to create a new CMM Designation Program. The new program — touted as an evolution of the elite, long-revered original program — was ultimately viewed by the CMM community, (938 strong worldwide) as an abolishment. Reactions were sharp, swift and unfavorable, with the consensus that MPI had devalued the program and sold out to GBTA. This belief was further substantiated when, on January 27, 2014, GBTA members who held the now-defunct GBTA Strategic Meetings Management Certificate (SMMC) were notified in an e-mail from Daphne Bryant, Executive Director of the GBTA Foundation, that they were being awarded the CMM designation as a replacement.
Five days prior to that announcement, 56 CMMs participated in a conference call scheduled by MPI less than 24 hours prior to the call (although the call had originally been requested of MPI executive leadership by the CMM community on January 9), and no mention was made of awarding SMMC designees with a CMM designation they did not earn. The call, was led by MPI President and CEO Paul Van Deventer. Cindy D’Aoust, MPI’s Chief Operating Officer; Daphne Brant of GBTA, and Amanda Cecil, PhD, CMP, Undergraduate Program Director & Associate Professor, Department of Tourism, Conventions and Event Management at Indiana University School of Physical Education & Tourism Management and also the chair of the task force for redesigning the CMM program also took part in the call. They provided a brief overview of the process for redesigning the program, addressed concerns that had been shared to date, and took operator-assisted questions from participants.
One of the questions asked was with regard to the task force and how many CMMs participated on it. The answer was four. The call was not recorded and notes requested that day have not yet been provided. Following the call, the CMM community intensified its persistent urging of MPI to reconsider many of the proposed program changes. Van Deventer addressed the uproar in a video message to CMM designees and MPI members on January 29, admitting that MPI “made some errors in how we communicated and rolled out the changes to the CMM Designation”. As a result of continued reaction, MPI scheduled open forum calls for February 13 and 14, and subsequent CMM Advisory Forum Webinars/Calls on February 20 and 21. With a vested interest in maintaining the integrity of the original CMM Program, and not content to wait for MPI to decide its fate, the CMM community leapt CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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