WELCOME
Graeme Dowie

GET TO KNOW YOUR SITE LEADERS
Interviews

SITE INTERNATIONAL UPDATES
Chapter Programs

CHAPTER EVENTS
Upcoming Events

TALES FROM THE FRONT
SITE So Cal and SITE Belux news

MARKETING OPERATIONS
5 Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan

WELCOME

Dear Chapter Leaders,

We recently had the pleasure of Kari Heistad - The Culture Coach - presenting to the SITE Irish Chapter (look out for her details on our website soon) and one of the topics was “Goal Setting”. Interestingly, she taught us to target no more than three goals at any one time. As you can imagine, this produced a laugh from a collection of industry professionals who are very used to juggling many tasks at once!

But “Why three?” you ask. Simple - any more and we lose the concentration and determination to achieve those goals. Once the first three are completed, we can easily move on to outline the next set of three more positively with success already having been achieved.

So what are YOUR Chapter’s three goals for 2006? I’m sure you have many ideas of your own but here are a few examples (they can be simpler than you think!): submitting a full list of your chapter officers to SITE HQ; filling out your Quarterly Reports on time; sending all your new members a local welcome letter; sending SITE HQ the news about your most recent successful event; increasing the chapter membership with a local campaign; taking advantage of an Educational Module presented by Morag Donald, CITE, CMP or Bruce Tepper, CITE, CTC; or to have fun at each of this year’s Board meetings (okay, I didn’t say they’d all be easy!).

Whatever your goals, have fun with them and let me know if the three max rule works for you!

As our friend David Sand (I thank you in advance David for my plagiarism) would say “Keep Winning”

Graeme Dowie
SITE Chapter Leadership Council Chair

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GET TO KNOW YOUR SITE CHAPTER LEADERS

ADAM LAWHORNE
SITE Chapter Leadership Council
Chapters: Costa Rica, Chicago, Florida, Mexico, New York
Meeting Incentive Experts
Oakbrook Terrace , Illinois USA

Who introduced you to SITE?
Norma Furlong my mentor and friend from Puerto Vallarta

Why are chapters important to SITE?
They are the eyes and ears of SITE International which brings everything together

What do you like most about your job / career?
Meeting people- learning and understanding other cultures- traveling to new destinations

If money were no object, where in the world would you go for a vacation?
Mexico - Of Course!

What are you usually found doing on a Sunday?
Spending time with my family and friends and catching up on office work!

DALE HAMAKAWA
SITE Northern California Chapter President
Beyond Expectations Meetings and Events
San Francisco, CA USA

Who introduced you to SITE?
Vera Hollands - back in the 90’s before we had our charter to become a chapter.

How and why did you get involved in chapter leadership?
Jackie Nagy, during her tenure as President, asked me to serve on the Board. I’ve learned a lot from SITE, so I felt that it was time for me to give back.

What do you like most about your job / career?
The variety and unpredictability of this adventure. I don’t see this as a job because I love what I do. No two days are alike and no two clients are alike. And with all of the changes going on in the industry and the world, we constantly face change and challenges. As a Gemini, I’d be bored if things were static!

If money were no object, where in the world would you go for a vacation?
I'd be going to all the Aman resorts around the world.

What are you usually found doing on a Sunday?
Unfortunately, nothing glamorous – you can either find me doing nothing or doing something fun around the Bay Area. Generally, it’s nothing.

NACHO FERRANDO SITE Spain Chapter President Creatur, S.A. Madrid, Spain

Who introduced you to SITE?
I was introduced by my mother when I started in the family business 20 years ago, for her as well as for me the organization has been always a reference in our Industry

How and why did you get involved in chapter leadership?
A stronger presence of Site in our destination was needed and I was asked by the members to help leading the chapter, we believe that one of the biggest MICE destinations in the world deserves a strong SITE chapter.

What do you like most about your job / career?
There are lots of reasons I can think about, but primarily I would say, the challenges, the diversity of our work, the people and that special feeling you have when you finalize with style a difficult piece of business.

If money were no object, where in the world would you go for a vacation?
After traveling around for a while there are three places I carry with in my heart, Australia, Brazil and of course Spain.

What are you usually found doing on a Sunday?
If not on the road, I usually do outdoor sports with my son, maybe our next generation in the MICE industry.

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SITE UPDATES

Online Registration
Is your chapter taking advantage of Online Registration that is being provided by E-vent Central? This program was developed as a direct result of chapters asking for it. Remember, this is free to your chapter and will save your chapter time. Our vendor, E-vent Central, will provide training and maintain the site. It is just that simple! Details can be found online here or contact Christie at Christie_pruyn@site-intl.org.

Chapter Learning Modules`
FutureSITE funding, including sponsorship by Hilton Hotels Corporation, has created a new chapter benefit, Chapter Learning Modules that broadens our educational offerings to SITE chapters. International Board of Directors Morag Donald, CITE, CMP, and / or Bruce Tepper, CITE, CTC, will travel to your chapter to host an educational session. Each session will last at least 60-90 minutes and can be tailored to your specific regional needs.

The topics include:
• Buyer / Supplier Relationship
• Basics in Incentives
• Role of Service & Quality in Incentives

With the help of Hilton Hotels Corporation, FutureSITE will cover the cost of airfare for Bruce & Morag. Your chapter will be responsible only for the accommodations upon arrival.

What you need to do: Chapters will be scheduled on a first come, first serve basis. Contact Christie at Christie_pruyn@site-intl.org to get scheduled today!

Web Updates
Changes are made to the SITE web site daily. Be sure to visit www.site-intl.org to keep abreast of the latest news and information! Chapter updates are also available at http://www.site-intl.org/chapters.

Student / Faculty Membership
SITE is thrilled to announce that student and faculty memberships are now available. Many chapters are active in their local colleges and universities and SITE now offers memberships for this niche. Details of this new program can be found online at here . There is a PowerPoint online that can be used to help educate the colleges and universities of the program.

Upcoming Chapter Leadership Meeting – ESNEP
The first Chapter Leadership Meeting of 2006 will take place at ESNEP in Dubai on Friday, 21 April.

SITE Academy
SITE is committed to educating the next generation of performance improvement leaders and the mission is to retain, engage and attract future leaders to SITE by providing education and networking opportunities on a level and in a manner appealing directly to those future leaders.

SITE is proud to announce the launch of the first SITE Academy for Young Leaders to be held 15-18 June, 2006. The academy is designed especially for young professionals under the age of 35 and/or with less than five years of experience in the incentive industry.

The academy is designed to teach those new to the incentive industry the basics of what incentives are and enhance the knowledge of those who have been working in the industry for a while.

Details can be found online at http://www.site-intl.org/education/YLP2006.cfm

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IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS FOR CHAPTERS

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TALES FROM THE FRONT

SITE Southern California

SITE Southern California conducted a Tsunami Response Educational Mission in Phuket and Singapore late last year to show their support of the area. The message below was written by Alison McNeice, SITE Southern California President 2005 and President of Genesis Incentives Meetings Events.

In early September 2005, a small group of SITE SoCal members traveled to Phuket and Singapore onboard Singapore Airlines. This was the first time that any of us had experienced the new Executive Economy service on their non-stop flight. This fabulous service made the trip very manageable and we all arrived well rested.

The primary goal for the mission was to bring back a positive message regarding the current status of properties and facilities that would be used for incentive programs and meetings.

Phuket has suffered from the perception that there was much more damage caused by the Tsunami than there actually was. During our stay we saw very little evidence of the Tsunami. In fact the Phuket Council has taken this opportunity to create a master plan to beautify the beachfront promenades. The project will be completed by the time this report goes to press.

Our accommodations were hosted by Le Meridien Phuket. Like many other hotels, they took the down time to renovate and upgrade facilities, even though they didn’t sustain any damage to the actual hotel rooms.

SITE Thailand member Creative Destination Thailand (CDM) arranged a visit to Siam Safari Elephant Camp and sea kayaking with John Gray’s Sea Canoe. It was obvious that the operators are still providing quality tours, all they need now is the income from groups to keep the companies going.

A secondary concern for some planners is that there may be another Tsunami. We met with a representative from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) who gave us an update on the Early Warning System. Here are the facts: It would take a minimum of two hours for the wave to reach mainland after generation at the fault line. A warning can now be issued within 30 minutes. Evacuation routing and procedures are now in place and the estimated maximum time for evacuation is 1 hour and 30 minutes.

So with this good news we continued on to Singapore, where SITE member Pacific World Singapore took great care of us. Likewise The Regent Singapore, our hotel host, treated us like royalty. Although we only stayed two days, we received a very comprehensive overview of the many options available for incentive travel programs including the Singapore Zoological Gardens, Sentosa Island and the grand Raffles Hotel.

Just when we thought we had experienced it all, the Singapore Tourism Board hosted a luncheon and meeting with local SITE members. The key speaker was the manager of the Singapore Red Cross, who updated us on their involvement with the Tsunami Relief effort. We were all surprised to find out that the Singapore Red Cross were also part of an international team participating in the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

Like the Red Cross, SITE SoCal Chapter is a part of global organization. In times of need we all need to pull together and help out our colleagues throughout the world. Whilst relief efforts need cash, and SITE SoCal did donate US $1,000 to the, they also need many other forms of support. Thanks to those that took the time to participate in this mission. Through Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)your actions you have given a sense of hope to suppliers in Phuket and Singapore.

SITE Belux

The Belgium-Luxemburg chapter of SITE has over the years organized all kinds of workshops, lunches, get-together and other networking activities, of which some were successful, and some others less attended.
The main problem, as most chapters can agree, has always been to find the right date and time, the right formula, venue and audience.

However, it looks like the newly appointed Belux Chapter President, Christophe Verstraete or Euromic, has found the right combination for their chapter.

Under the “SITE Belux Meet & Lunch” title, the chapter held its first event with the new format and it was very successful. About 60 industry professionals from both buyer and supplier side attended this event that was held in the Diamant Conference & Business Center in Brussels.

The formula as it is conceived is quite simple: Keep it short but interesting, easily accessible and make the networking aspect a priority.

This first edition started at 12.00 sharp with a welcome drink, a short introduction by the SITE Belux President at 12.30, immediately followed by the keynote speaker of the day,Etienne Denil, who spoke about SN Brussels Airlines’ group policy.

An excellent lunch was then served and the whole meeting wrapped up in two hours, which allowed everyone to return to their offices afterwards.

On a final note, the chapter relays that part of the success was due to the decision to use the publication of the chapter newsletter as a promotion for the event and also use BBT Online. SITE members and past chapter President, Dominique Andre (OPT) said the following: 'It's the first time for years that I have attended an event where there are so many faces I don't know'.

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MARKETING INFORMATION

Five Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan
By Marerita Passero

All of your projects, events, mailings, and communications should have a marketing plan to support the effort. A marketing plan serves as a roadmap for how you’ll inform members and potential members about your activities, products, and achievements.
Formal marketing plans may be broken into five steps.
1. Conduct a Program/Product Analysis—A successful plan begins with analyzing your existing products, activities, and services. Your analysis should answer these basic questions:

a. What goods or services do people want/need/expect you to offer? (Ask yourself what are your most successful events and activities, your least successful, what new services could be offered, etc.)
b. What will motivate people to continue to want/buy goods and services?
c. What might prevent people from wanting/buying goods or services?
d. Is it cost effective to offer the good or service? (Consider cost of promotions, number of volunteers needed, time to organize/run it, return on the invested amount of money and time, etc.)

2. Set Realistic & Measurable Goals—Clearly define what you want your marketing efforts to accomplish and by when. This step helps you set realistic and measurable goals for your marketing efforts. A good, measurable example would be: “Increase membership by 5 percent by 1 December”.
3. Select Marketing Strategies—Choose methods that will most effectively let people know of our goods or services. When selecting the best promotion methods, keep your target customers in mind—those who are most likely to want or buy what you are offering and choose methods within your budget that reach them. Remember, you may have to use a combination of methods and repeat your promotion several times before people will act on it.
4. Create an Action Plan—Determines the Who, What, When, and How of your marketing plan. Your action plan should detail what will be done, when it will begin and be completed, who will accomplish the tasks, and how much it will cost (in materials, volunteers, hours).
5. Measure and Evaluate Results—Decide how you will measure success and what you will do with those results. This step is often overlooked in the planning stages, and is invaluable in helping your company determine what worked and what didn’t, and what could be improved.

These steps can help reveal what your company does best, and help determine if a program or service should be improved or discontinued. Recognizing and letting go of unsuccessful programs or activities is one of the hardest things for a organization to do. Try to identify your best projects and put your energy and resources behind them—it is better to do a few well-organized projects than many poorly attended or under-funded events.

Marketing Strategies

• Concentrate resources and efforts on the top-rated programs; each event/activity also provides a means to renew and recruit members.
• Use membership ads as a part of a coordinated campaign effort; create letters, membership forms, posters, and other items with the campaign theme: “Become part of something that works. Join ABC.”
• Hold business meetings in combination with other regularly scheduled events or offer special seminars on topics of interest.
• Ask each member to bring one potential new member to next event; ask each volunteer to recruit one additional volunteer for each event.
• To gain understanding and support for paying dues, distribute organization proposed budget to members and nonmembers with date of meeting where it will be approved ($XX for each project, $XX for insurance, $XX for state and national service fees, etc.); create a fact sheet with proposed budget on one side and descriptions, benefits, and highlights of the top-rated programs on other side.
• Coordinate in monthly newsletter other communications sent to prospective members (e.g., mailings, website, e-mail, etc.); include highlights of member participation to acknowledge volunteers and encourage others to join.

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