CHICAGO—For the first time in its five-year history, the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) is branching out with a local chapter. It will be located in Chicago. It is an outgrowth of a meeting that took place earlier this year at GMIC’s national conference in Vancouver, B.C. It was there that a group of Chicago area meeting professionals got together to discuss the possibility of a chapter and the need for Chicago’s hospitality and meeting community to be more proactive in seeking out and hosting green meetings. GMIC is also pursuing other chapters in the United States and internationally as well.
Leading the effort to form the Chicago chapter are Deborah Popely, founder and president of Green Events Source, a green event consulting and planning firm, Julie Larson, project manager for meetings and events at McDonald’s Corp., Beth Bracco, vice president of business development for Blue Plate Catering, and Rhonda Chesney, regional director, worldwide sales for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. One planning meeting has taken place so far. Approximately 25 people attended that meeting. According to Deborah Popely, dozens of others have expressed an interest in participating in the Chicago chapter.
“Our goal is to put on a stakeholder conference early next year so that we can start to build a more cohesive green meeting environment here in Chicago,” Popely says. “Chicago is known for being green. It should have one of the best reputations for green meetings and events.”
All Sectors of Meetings Industry Invited
Every part of the Chicago meetings industry is being asked to participate in the new chapter—from hoteliers to those involved in shipping and freight, to those responsible for waste management and hauling. Popely says her group is in the process of putting together working committees to help plan the conference and build the chapter.
Tamara Kennedy-Hill, executive director of GMIC, says the organization is excited about its growth and has chapters at some stage of development in cities such as Atlanta, Denver and Portland, Ore. Discussions are also underway for possible chapters in Northern California, Boston, the Washington, D.C. area, Canada, Scandinavia and other locations. None of these areas are as far along as Chicago.
“We are definitely excited about Chicago,” Kennedy-Hill says. “Every day we are getting requests to start to form chapters. It is good for our organization and the meetings industry.”
Contact Deborah Popely at (847) 827-8456 or by e-mail at deb@greeneventsource.com for more information on the Chicago chapter. Tamara Kennedy-Hill can be reached at (503) 332-5739 or tamara@greenmeetings.info.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
