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ABOVE: Kerri Pottharst tells the audience how to be a winner.
Elite conference organisers were treated to an inspirational showcase of venues, entertainment and guest speakers at Inspirations 2005, hosted by Novotel and Sydney Olympic Park in October. More than 200 PCOs and event organisers from NSW and the ACT attended to sample what was the crème de la crème of conference and event product, providing ideas for some of Australia’s top future events. Proceedings commenced at the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park where guest speakers from sporting, business and literary worlds inspired attendees following a light breakfast prepared by the Novotel’s banqueting staff. Guest speakers, organised by ICMI Speakers & Entertainers, include Beach Volleyball Olympic Gold Medallist Kerri Pottharst; former Wallaby Dan Crowley, author of ‘Undercover Prop’, detailing Crowley’s dual life as an undercover federal police officer and rugby international; leading business futurist Craig Rispin; Super Sales Manager and motivator Robin Daubeny and author of ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’, Li Cunxin. Guests then moved to the Superdome where an array of entertainment took to the stage including singing trio ‘The Leading Men’; ‘String Angels’, billed as “full throttle classical entertainment”; and comedic duo ‘Tan Jose’.
Sydney Olympic Park
Conference manager of Conexion Event Management, Melissa Crowle, is the Stamford Hotels and Resorts MICE Winter Promotion winner. The prize is a trip to London flying Virgin Atlantic and staying in the luxurious Grange Hotel plus a Sony digital camera. Melissa was not the only one to be rewarded for hosting a residential conference with Stamford Hotels and Resorts during the four-month promotion. Depending on the value of the conference, many enjoyed gifts of French champagne, romance and seduction accommodation packages, Sony digital cameras and handycams, as well as accommodation in the luxurious Presidential Suite including a private catered dinner party!
Wollongong Conference and Events Alliance, with the assistance of the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau, has secured the 14th NSW Biennial Noxious Weeds Conference 2007. Sales and marketing director, Donna Kessler, said the conference would attract more than 300 delegates from State Government departments, NSW community representatives as well as interstate and international delegates for three days and inject an estimated $350,000 into the region. The bid was supported by the Illawarra District Noxious Weeds Authority, Wollongong City Council, Shellharbour City Council, Kiama Municipal Council, Southern Tablelands and South Coast Noxious Plants Committee and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The conference will focus on successful weed management through on-the-ground control, planning, education, training and knowledge. It will be the first time the NSW Noxious Weeds Conference has been held on the South Coast.
Howard and Sons Pyrotechnics were delighted to have been selected by the Hobart City Council to provide a spectacular pyrotechnics display in celebration of Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary giving birth to the future Danish King. Howard & Sons lit up the Hobart skyline for 10 minutes with an extraordinary display in October to honour the occasion. Andrew Howard said “organising such a display in such a short time frame has been challenging as usually such requests take weeks to coordinate and arrange the required permits”. The display consisted of predominantly red and white, signifying the national colours of Denmark.
Melbourne trams and the Yarra River have been rated the top ‘icons for Melbourne’ by domestic and international convention delegates. The findings are part of the Melbourne Delegate Study 2004, commissioned by the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) and the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC). Domestic convention delegates voted Melbourne trams as the top icon for Melbourne followed by Southbank, the Yarra River, Federation Square and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. International convention delegates favoured the Yarra River, followed by Melbourne trams, Federation Square and the Botanical Gardens. The study also found that 71 per cent of convention delegates chose Melbourne’s famous trams as their primary means of transport around the CBD. Delegates commented that the City Circle Tram service was both an attractive and effective means of traveling around the city. “Melbourne trams are unique in Australia and help to identify and promote Melbourne both domestically and internationally. Our study found that delegates were satisfied with the transport system in Melbourne and that getting around Melbourne was easy,” said MCVB CEO, Garry Kingshott.
The Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced the appointment of two new board members. ICMS Australasia managing director Bryan Holliday has been elected to the board in its convention category.
He replaces International Conferences and Events (ICE) Australia director Christine Dorner in the only contested position up for election this year. Also, BridgeClimb managing director Todd Coates has been appointed to the board in the arts and attractions category following the resignation of Sydney Opera House managing director Norman Gillespie. SCVB managing director Jon Hutchison welcomed the new appointees and the experience they brought to the board. Mr Hutchison also paid tribute to Christine Dorner and Norman Gillespie, whose dedication to the SCVB had been invaluable.
ABOVE: Jon Hutchison and Bryan Holliday.
Conference and incentive travel specialists, Group Event Travel announced that it was the highest ranking travel company in the BRW Fast 100 2005. CEO of G.E.T., Rick Somerton, said recognition in the BRW Fast 100 “is an endorsement of our growth strategy and further endorsement of the value proposition we have been presenting to our clients. The challenge is to keep up the growth rate. I am confident with the team of professionals amassed at G.E.T. we will be able to do this for the foreseeable future.” Director of Travel Services at G.E.T. David Gool, said “our whole team is excited to be part of a rapidly expanding business. Since bringing in a professional CEO two years ago we have really started to deliver on our potential.”
The Perth Convention Exhibition Centre (Perth Centre) has been heralded the cleanest venue in Western Australia, as the winner of the Golden Service Award (in the Venues category). Sponsored by Kimberly-Clark Professional, the Golden Service Awards are regarded as the
building services industry’s premier recognition of excellence, honouring the state’s best-serviced locations and the cleaning contractors who maintain them. Having only recently concluded its first year of operation (in late August 2005), the Perth Centre, which is managed by Australian company Spotless, adds this latest honour to its growing list of credentials.
ABOVE: Newport Mirage delegates from Ocean Paddlers Outrigger Canoe Club on a teambuilding program on Pittwater. Photo by O’Neill
Photographics.
Outrigger canoes designed on Hawaiian lines may take over sailing as corporate meetings add-ons this summer at Newport Mirage hotel. According to Newport Mirgae general manager, Paul Reitberger, delegates are attracted to the proximity of the property in spring and summer for sailing, especially involving hands-on racing. “On-board teambuilding regatta races aboard outriggers are increasingly popular. The latest vessels from the Sydney northern beaches based Ocean Paddlers Outrigger Canoe Club have also encouraged corporate delegates who prefer paddling in tandem,” he said. The property is continuing to upgrade soft furnishings and landscape gardens.
Moreton Exhibition and Events, Australia’s largest privately-owned exhibition and events company, has moved it’s Queensland headquarters into new premises in Brisbane in a bold expansion to meet growing demand for its products and services. The company has settled into a total 18,000 square metres at Murarrie in the hub of Brisbane’s Australia TradeCoast. The Australia TradeCoast precinct is on the doorstep of major transport routes providing world-class facilities and servicing Australia and the Asia Pacific. The new premises allows the growing business to house all its operations under one roof, including the substantial fabrication and manufacturing facilities that support specialist divisions such as Go-n-Show, which supplies portable displays, graphics and signs to the exhibition, retail, commercial and corporate sectors, and it’s design business which provides fully integrated styling, audio-visual and lighting services to the industry. According to Moreton Exhibition and Events director Neil Morahan the new premises will provide additional efficiencies for the burgeoning events business.
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