A few weeks ago, two of our ConferenceDirect teams came together for an in-person meeting. Along with my counterpart Mike Ditter, we held a Team Baarman / Team Ditter joint team meeting with simple objectives for our time together: Prove that we could ‘safely’ meet face to face Enable us
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The meetings and events industry is going through incredible changes as we work to emerge from the current health and financial crisis along with the social and political unrest. This has impacted our company, the organizations that we work with and our hotel and industry partners. With these changes, meeting
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I want to thank our team for an amazing 2019. We accomplished great results for our clients, industry partners, ourselves and ConferenceDirect which this award recognizes. Although last year seems like it was a long time ago as so much has changed, it was a success due to our amazing
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As a veteran hospitality industry professional, I was recently asked to serve as a member of an advisory board for Ferris State University in Michigan, my alma mater. It is for the College of Business which is where the School of Hospitality Management resides. During our last meeting, we were
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I got a meeting crush…hopefully this comment does not cause the same stir in the meetings and events industry that it did in country music for Little Big Town when they released their single; Girl Crush. The song made me think about our life in the meetings and events industry.
Read moreOver the dates of April 19-22, 2015, the meeting and event professionals from ConferenceDirect will be gathering in Dallas, TX for their Annual Partner Meeting. The Top 10 Reasons I am looking forward to attending this event are: 10. Becoming more familiar with the Dallas destination and hotels to share
Read moreAfter a long break, I went back to school…the Hospitality Management School at Ferris State University (FSU). I am a proud graduate of FSU and they invited me back to share with the students (primarily upperclassmen) my 25+ year journey through our dynamic industry. I was introduced by a senior
Read moreIt is a new and exciting year in the meetings and events industry. As meeting planning professionals, we need to remain up-to-date on all the new trends and exciting ideas that are being implemented. For 2015, these are just a few of the ideas that will be impacting our meetings
Read moreBy Doug Baarman Every time I fly (which in the meetings and events industry is often), I am amazed with the overall flying experience and our challenge with making improvements. On a recent flight, I read an article about the ’85 Things That Have Made Travel Better’. There have been
Read moreDoug Baarman receives award for top performance and leadership for fourth consecutive year Doug Baarman, Senior Vice President of Sales was recognized for the fourth year in a row as ConferenceDirect’s Team Director of Year. He was honored at the ConferenceDirect Awards Dinner during its Annual Partner Meeting in Anaheim,
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