2011 ISES Northeast Regional Education Conference Recap

A few weeks ago I attended ISES Northeast Regional Education Conference (REC), which was hosted by the New Jersey South and Greater Philadelphia Chapters, for event professionals from throughout the Northeast Region and around the world at the Bally's Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

This was an amazing conference: the education was great, the speakers inspiring and it was wonderful to see and networking with colleagues from near and as far as Sydney, Australia.

All the services and décor were donated by ISES members who all worked very hard to make this conference a success; but again, we never expect anything less from ISES members – we work hard, party harder and put out the best events! Moreover, we cannot forget to thank all the sponsors for all the in-kind contributions.


The opening luncheon was spearheaded by David Merrell, AOO Events who was fabulous and shared the newest design trends, which were all amazing. On Monday night, we enjoyed a fabulous luau with great food and entertainment at the beautiful Harrah’s Resort poolside. The conference concluded with a lavish brunch and a phenomenal presentation by Brett Culp where he shared his award-winning filmmaking approach as an effective and profitable marketing technique. He was brilliant!

Education session topics included:

• Event Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2011
• Catering Events at Hotels – the Inside Information on Negotiating the Best Deals
• The Perfect Event Redefined: Build Your Reputation One “Moment” at a Time
• CSEP Exam Preparation Tips, Techniques and Changes
• Get You “Creative” On The Art of Being Creative & Working with Creative People
• Marketing Trends and Best Practices to Generate Business Success
• But Don’t Green Events Cost More Money? Top Ten Tips for Greening Your Events AND Saving Money
• Is it Possible to Achieve a Design “WOW,” in Today’s Economy?
• Strategic Partners – Making the Connection
• Master Tricky Sales Situations
• How to Get and Stay in The Event Planning Business
• Sexy Tents: A Peek Under The Covers
• Scentertainment®! Celebrating the Senses!
• Branding – What Your Image Says About You!
• Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Fire Marshal?
• Tips to Ensure Your Event is Safe Without Compromising Creativity
• Get in the Spot Light of Social Media
• Dealing with Event Disasters, Are you the Problem or the Solution?
• WWSF…The WOW World of Special FX
• The Facts of Light: An Event Professionals Guide to Understanding Lighting
• The Newest ISES Member Benefit – Learn the “Insider Secrets” of Credit Card Processing

Already looking forward to the next REC in 2013!