IMEX Awards 2005
Nine industry and academy awards were presented to delighted winners at the IMEX 2005 Gala Dinner.
The IMEX Academy Awards are designed to recognise and reward those who have made major contributions both to their destinations and to the wider meetings and incentive travel industry. In each case the individuals have worked tirelessly within their professions, each going beyond the call of duty to promote change, encourage high standards or simply to serve or represent the industry exceptionally well.
The winners were: Bill Fongivell, Deputy General Manager of the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I, Barcelona; Elhamy Elzayat, Chairman & CEO of Emeco Travel, Cairo; Eduardo Sanovicz, President of the Brazilian Tourist Board, Alan Trotter, CEO of Conventions & Incentives, New Zealand) and Maarten Vanneste, General Manager of Abbit Meeting Support, Belgium.
Conventions & Incentives New Zealand |
Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I Barcelona |
Eduardo Sanovicz Brazilian Tourist Board |
Cairo |
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Abbit Meeting Support collecting the IMEX Academy Award on behalf of Maarten Vanneste, Abbit Meeting Support |
Xiaodong Wu & Rob Davidson (right) University of Westminster collecting the MPI Youth Foundation Award on behalf of Qinghui Qing, University of Westminster (presented by David Dubois, MPI) |
The prestigious MPI Youth Foundation Award was presented to Qinghui Qing from the University of Westminster in Britain. For her Master of Arts in Tourism Management, Qinghui examined her native Shanghai's potential as an international centre for conferences and exhibitions. Her researched findings provided authorities with some intelligent and illuminating recommendations for change.
This year's JMIC Unity Award went to Laure Mouton, of the Palais des Congres de Paris. Laure - who has played an active role in the industry for more than 30 years - won praise for her exceptional level of commitment. She started at the Palais in the 1970s and rose to become executive director of marketing and sales. She became a board member of the International Association of Congress Centres in 1995 and president in 1997.
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presented with the award by Barbara Maple, AIPC and
Ray Bloom, IMEX |
The Boston-based Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions (CERC) was presented with the Environmentally Responsible Meetings Award. CERC was praised for its work during last year's Democratic and Republican political conventions in the United States. The organisation was formed in 2004 by 15 local environmentalists in direct response to the Democratic Convention being held in Boston. CERC also targeted the Republican Convention in New York in its efforts to increase awareness and improve overall environmental education among meeting planners in the United States in general.
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CERC co-ordinator of the New York CERC team for the Rebublican Convention |
Dan Reuben CERC presented with the award by Amy Spatrisano, Meeting Strategies Wordwide and Ray Bloom, IMEX |
Download a case study of the winning Environmentally Responsible Meetings Award
A Mexican bee-keeping initiative was the winner of the Programmes of Purpose Award which aims to highlight the benefits and raise the profile of corporate social responsibility programmes within the MICE industry. The award winner was the San Diego-based Los Ninos in recognition of the ongoing success of its Beehive Assembly Scheme. The initiative was launched in 1999 when Los Ninos, a non-profit making organisation, was approached by a Mexican women's co-operative which wanted to find new ways of contributing to the health and proper nutrition of children while at the same time creating income for the local community.
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Kris Verdeck, Louise Hall Reider & Co, collecting the Programmes of Purpose Award on behalf of David Clemens, Los Ninos |
Download a case study of the winning Programmes of Purpose Award
