PCMA Capital Chapter Rewind

This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend PCMA’s Capital Chapter Rewind event at the Washington Hilton hotel. This event was a celebration of the past year and included talks from major sponsors, a short awards portion, a talk from the outgoing president (who I actually found out I knew) Marry Gallagher, and lots of networking. 

In terms of the event itself, I was slightly disappointed as I noticed some areas of improvement and had higher expectations for an event hosted by an association in the convention management and event planning industry. I had trouble finding the event itself because there was very little signage to promote it or direct attendees. There was signage visible once you went lower than lobby level, however it would have been helpful to have something or a point of contact right when I walked in to eliminate some confusion. The only other thing I would have appreciated would have been more vegetarian options other than fruit salad and coleslaw. Despite this, I was very impressed by their food choices! Slider bars with crab cakes, a french fry and toppings bar, key lime pie desserts, and the signature drink (a margarita) kept on theme and definitely reflected the close relationship between the chapter and their main sponsors — mostly DMOs from Florida such as Miami (shout out to you Stuart). They also made use of glassware and china instead of disposable options which I was impressed by. 

As mentioned above, there was an evident relationship between the event and some of it’s major stakeholders - the sponsors, which I found very interesting. I don’t know if the theme was chosen to showcase the sponsors, but it certainly supported the beachy, laid back feel that major Floridian sponsors projected. 

I also really appreciated the attention to programming. After being present for speeches and awards, as well as talking to some guests and the president, it was clear that the focus of this event was to provide a place to attendees to network as well as celebrate the past year in PCMA. This was evidenced through the minimal seating and scattered tables, as well as short speeches (noted by speakers over and over). As one of the youngest and least experienced guests in attendance, I really appreciated this. Everyone was friendly and willing to network. Many people came up to talk simply because they could or were intrigued by our GW affiliation. 

Also of note, there was a silent auction and I found the bag I made from my workplace - San Francisco Travel! 

All in all, I’m very happy that this event was available to attend and that I could go with others from our class! It gave me a taste of the industry and access to many people within an industry where it is often about who you know. I loved being able to look at this event while taking this class because (except for my notes above) it provides a great example of a well executed event. I learned more about PCMA and am definitely considering joining and taking part in one of there several more focused committees.