Planners Moving Forward Series- Mary de la Fe, MCJ Meetings
Mary de la Fe, of MCJ Meetings, brings awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.
Luke Whalin
May 16, 2022
This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.
Name: Mary de la Fe
Company Name: MCJ Meetings
Job Title: Owner
Years of Experience: 27
How do you think you are positioned, after months of persevering with the pandemic, to take advantage of our new and disrupted meetings/events landscape?
At their best, conferences and other gatherings offer opportunities to connect and help people be and do better – in their profession, their community, or just in life. I am excited to see how we take this opportunity to really dive into how we are meeting the needs of our audiences. How we continue to be flexible and adaptable and embrace new opportunities. Change in any circumstance can be stressful, this was, and is, massive. But we have such an amazing opportunity to bring together and serve more people at our events. Not by forcing everyone into the same mold, but by breaking that mold and listening to what our members and attendees are saying they need. I am looking forward to learning from and sharing ideas with others on making conferences more inclusive and accessible. There is always more to learn.
As our community moves forward with planning in-person meetings, what new technologies or processes are you implementing that you may have not looked at before?
I think that there are, and always will be, great new technologies that can help us achieve our goals. And while we absolutely should not be afraid to embrace them and the changes they can bring – online registration, mobile apps, webinar and LMS platforms, for example, have all allowed us to expand our reach and streamline processes. And I am HUGE fan of online gatherings and the technology for this is changing at an amazing pace. But as amazing as it can be, technology is a tool. What I am really focused on right now is how we truly move forward and not just “get back to normal.” The last couple of years have really driven home that there are a lot of issues that many of us were slow to recognize and even slower to confront. Moving forward I plan to focus on processes and policies that improve inclusion and accessibility. For example, we have an opportunity to really look at room sets and schedules. Most traditional room sets, and conference agendas are about getting as many people as possible into the room and cramming as much information as possible into the schedule. We often don’t consider mobility, comfort, or varied learning needs. I hope we can start to be more intentional in how we utilize space and technology for learning and connections.
As we see virtual meetings transition back to face to face, hybrid meetings are beginning to be the vehicle to return to normalcy. What are your thoughts on hybrid meetings versus traditional fully in-person meetings?
“Versus” implies conflict. There shouldn’t be conflict between these options. In person and digital both offer powerful opportunities for connection – and BOTH offer opportunities for face-to-face interactions. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, both should, in some way, be included in how we gather and offer education and networking to our attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. There are many ways this can be achieved. My hope is that by embracing what we have learned from this experience – not to mention improved and continuing to evolve technology – we can broaden the reach and impact of our conferences and events. More engagement is better than less, and one-size has never fit all. A better question may be: how are we re-evaluating our financial resources to accommodate both going forward? What pieces of our pre-COVID conferences are no longer serving the needs of our attendees and how can their budgets be re-focused going forward?
In your opinion, what do you think the biggest value for your attendees is in regards to returning to live events?
I think it is very much about a sense of normalcy and excitement. As much as I am an advocate for digital options, in-person conferences and events are amazing, necessary, and sorely missed. With in-person we can see and engage with colleagues and friends in a way that is familiar, natural, and comforting. And we can’t undervalue how great it is to just go somewhere that is not the small bubbles we’ve been inhabiting for the past two years.
As the pandemic fades away and we return to face-to-face events what do you hope changes, either for planners or hoteliers, in the traditional RFP and proposal process as a result of all of the learnings from the last 20+ months?
I hope, as planners, we consider more than rates, dates, and ease of travel, when we look at options for our meetings. I’d like us to be more intentional in both knowing our impact on the locations we choose and utilizing more of the locations. Encouraging our attendees to explore and patronize local businesses and asking how our hotel interacts with the local community – more than just being an employer. We can be more intentional in asking questions of our hotel, venue, and other supplier partners. Asking about inclusive room set options, asking about more than meeting ADA requirements, but accessibility best practices. I am excited by a story I read recently about the Overland Park Convention Center, adding a new sensory room for attendees with sensory-related issues and I hope to see more venues offering this and similar options in the future. And, in addition to traditional sustainability questions and practices, I plan to ask more questions about things like food waste – both prevention and dealing with leftovers – and staff training on recognizing signs of human trafficking, as well as emergency preparedness training. I’m hopeful that best practices in food waste, local impact of meetings, and accessibility will become the norm. Much like the availability of varied menu options (creative vegetarian and vegan menus for example) have become the norm – they were very much not I began my career
This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.