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| C O N T E N T S |
Winter 2007/2008 |
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COVER STORY
Branson Convention Center: 220,000 Square Feet of Hospitality
Seven years after the concept was first suggested, meeting and event planners have an exciting new option, the Branson Convention Center.
Its spectacular 220,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space and the attached Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel allow this popular tourism destination to compete in the mid-sized market, serving up to 4,500 attendees with cutting-edge technology, innovative design and a breathtaking setting.
Meeting planners who have used the facility since it opened in September say the facility and services are top-notch. But the location sets it apart.
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| FEATURES |
| Meetings 101 |
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It’s often said that the human mind processes knowledge via three basic learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. For the meeting planner, understanding these three styles – and how different types of people employ them – can be the key to more effective information retention among
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| Features |
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Finding an event planner is like buying the perfect pair of jeans – fit is the key. When you find that perfect piece of denim, you are ready to rock the night and get noticed for all the right reasons. However, the wrong fit of jeans will leave you uncomfortable snf aggravated and limit your
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Do you believe in magic? That’s not simply a question from a pop song of years gone by. It’s an essential question for meeting and event planners who need some “abracadabra” every time groups gather.
Missouri Meetings & Events Expo 2007 waved a magic wand, rolled up its sleeves and – presto! –
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| Rob's Rules |
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This featured column, Rob’s Rules, is meant to provide you with all the practical advice, tips and rules of engagement you need in the meeting and event planning industry. If you have a question, whether it’s how to dress, how to address your guests or what to serve as the main course, e-mail Rob
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| IN THIS ISSUE |
| Cover Story |
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Seven years after the concept was first suggested, meeting and event planners have an exciting new option, the Branson Convention Center.
Its spectacular 220,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space and the attached Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel allow this popular tourism destination
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| Facility Focus |
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If you’re looking for the most important addition to the Midwest art world, don’t look to Chicago or St. Louis. For now, that honor goes to Overland Park, Kan., just south of Kansas City.
That’s what building a 38,000-square-foot museum, designed by Kyu Sung Woo, does for you – provides clout in
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(Dawn Erickson is a contributor from Branson, Mo.)
“I have laid aside business, and have gone a-fishing,” appears in large letters on the vaulted ceiling of the registration lobby at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, Missouri. Attributed to Izaak Walton, the phrase sums up the reason many thousands of
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Your inner geek will appear when you step into the Saint Louis Science Center complex. It’s been noted as one of the top five science centers in the United States, and named by Forbes Traveler as one of the nation’s Top 25 Most Visited Museums – the only Missouri institution to make the list.
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Its roots Creole, “lagniappe” is a word commonly used in the New Orleans region to mean “that something extra.” Originally, a lagniappe was a special unexpected gift that a merchant would give his customer, for example, the thirteenth bagel in a baker’s dozen. The definition has since been
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| Destinations |
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After the leaves fall and the water turns too cold to swim or water-ski, what’s left for visitors to do at the Lake of the Ozarks? Plenty, as it turns out! Between eagle watching, gallery-hopping, spa pampering, antiquing and golfing (yes, winter golfing), conference planners will find an abundance
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If Missouri were a room, the quiet corner would be the northwest. No Mark Twain or bustling cities, government centers, music stampedes, or roaring rivers in flinty hills. Northwest Missouri is marked by quiet glades, rolling pastures, monastic peacefulness and unpretentious hard work. So it is
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| Meet Over Eats |
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For an event with true St. Louis tradition, reserve space at a J.Buck’s restaurant. Incorporating the broadcasting tradition of the St. Louis Buck family into a classic American venue, the first J.Buck’s opened in 1999 in Clayton. The venture was the product of a partnership between restaurateur
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Celina Tio is not only a remarkable chef, she is remarkably honest.
“I wrestle with this self doubt probably once a year where I think, ‘I know nothing,’” she says, while Colleen Plattner winces. “What am I doing here?”
“Please don’t let that be the pulled quote,” jokes Plattner, sales manager of
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| People Update |
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Noted Hospitality Industry Executive Drew Toth Joins Associated Luxury Hotels As Senior VP
Veteran hospitality industry executive Drew Toth has joined Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) as senior vice president. In this newly created position, Toth will head up ALHI’s Southeast and
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New President Named for Table Rock Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
After a four-month search that included applicants from all over Mid-America, the Table Rock Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors announced a highly respected, local Branson executive named to its top position. Wyli
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Staff Changes Take Place at the
Springfield, Mo., CVB
Several changes have taken place recently at the Springfield, Mo., Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Laura Whisler was promoted to communications director. Whisler, who has been at the bureau five years, is responsible for placing advertising
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Guyton named new GM of BBj Linen
Laura Guyton has been named the new General Manager of BBj Linen in St. Louis. BBj is a national specialty linen company with 17 offices around the country.
Guyton is a St. Louis native. Prior to joining BBj Linen, she was the Sales Manager of The Aries Company,
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Ameristar Casinos Names Chet Koch VP and Assistant GM of Ameristar Kansas City
Ameristar Casinos Inc. has announced that Chet W. Koch has been appointed Vice President and Assistant General Manager of Ameristar Kansas City. In this capacity, he will play a major role in the management of the
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Tri-Lakes Center GM Has Much to Offer
Thomas Harrison is General Manager of Tri-Lakes Center, a Theater and Event Center, in Branson, Missouri. He has managed major market radio and television stations in Arkansas and Oklahoma, established advertising agencies and worked at the executive level of
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Kemp Auto Museum Announces Staffing Enhancements
The Kemp Auto Museum announced the recent addition of two new event coordinators to its special events team: Jaci Burgess and Lisa Rosell.
Jaci Burgess is a recent graduate of Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, where she received her
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Haney Joins The Aries Company as Director of Sales and Marketing
Cheryl Haney of Webster Groves, has joined The Aries Company as Director of Sales and Marketing. Cheryl will be responsible for the enhancement of current customer relations as well as the development of new business. After her
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AGENDA: Kansas City Announces New Staff
Jenelle Canfield has joined AGENDA: Kansas City as Sales and Marketing Manager. In her role, she will identify new business opportunities for AGENDA: Kansas City and its sister company, AGENDA: USA, while representing the company in the hospitality industry
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| Industry Update |
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Lake Of The Ozarks A Huge Success at the Horny Toad Offshore Super Series National Championship
On September 28, 29 and 30, the Lake of the Ozarks was proud host to this year’s Horny Toad Offshore Super Series National Championship power boat races with events running all week and concluding with
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In Kelley Lamm’s life as the founder of the Chocolate Cafe & Coffee House and as a motivational speaker, chocolate of every variety is a continuing source of inspiration. Lamm believes chocolate can help nourish the soul and enhance awareness of life’s richness.
Susan McGhee is the Culinary
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The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau has moved!
The Jefferson City CVB has moved to a new location in the heart of downtown Jefferson City. The new address is 100 E. High Street, P.O. Box 2227, Jefferson City, MO 65101. If you are in Jefferson City, please come by and visit.
For
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Saint Louis Attractions Association Celebrates 20th Year of Serving the Tourism and Hospitality Industry
The Saint Louis Attractions Association (SLAA) was formed in 1987 as a way for area tourism and hospitality professionals to share ideas, methods and information. Twenty years later, the group
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Cloud Nine is a new dessert shop now open in New Town-St. Charles, MO. It offers a unique variety of cheesecake flavors and more than 30 kinds of cupcakes and frostings as well as brownies, cakes, pies and other weekly specials. Chef/Owner Nevada Baker has created a light yet decadent cheesecake
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FanciFull Gift Baskets, known for its amazing variety of gift basket items culled from around the world, has just released a new line of all natural and organic food and wine baskets, destined to be a hit with companies wanting to say ‘thank you’ to their clients and employees in a distinctively
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First Tour of Missouri Tours Branson
The tension was apparent on the Branson Landing promenade as 120 world-class cyclists fiddled with their helmet straps and flexed their legs, ready to race through the Ozarks.
Branson was the site for the individual time trials of the inaugural six-day,
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On September 28 and 29 the UPS Centennial Global Tour, celebrating 100 years of UPS service, came to St. Louis – or more specifically, to the UPS facility in Earth City.
From its humble beginnings in 1907 as a Seattle messenger company, UPS has grown into a global leader in supply chain services.
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| Organizations & Associations |
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The International Special Events Society (ISES) is a peer-to-peer group that brings together event professionals from a variety of practices including catering, event planning, decorating, audio-visual, convention coordination and hotel sales.
Through monthly meetings, a code of ethics,
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| Faces & Places Captions |
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Missouri Division of Tourism Director Blaine Luetkemeyer with MM&E’s Vikki Matthews at a Branson/Lakes Area Lodging Association luncheon in mid-August.
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On Sunday, August 12, 2007, Missouri Meetings & Events hosted a staff appreciation day at the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. Staff, friends and family all joined together for an afternoon of fun and food in a suite at the new Busch Stadium. The group also celebrated August birthdays.
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. Neil Patrick Harris, star of CBS’ comedy ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ stopped by the ‘Magic of Taylor Reed’ at the Branson Hall of Fame Theatre.
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On September 29, Missouri Meetings & Events debuted its first ever softball team at the St. Louis Area Hotel Association’s 2007 Softball Tournament. Thanks to a great team effort the MM&E team walked away as the champions. From left to right standing are Roger Phillips (Phillips Insurance Group,
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