AprilZ81's AMA: Corporate Meeting Planning/Ohio

[aprilz81]

I just about forgot that my AMA is today...  I need a distraction so this is good! I don't post a lot here, I spend most of my time on TTTC/IVF and lurking all of the other boards.

I live in Ohio and have for most of my life so if you have questions about Ohio I can try to answer them.

My primary AMA topic is corporate meeting planning.  I've worked in trade shows (as the coordinator for an exhibiting/sponsoring company), corporate meetings (as a planner), group travel (making sure people arrive to meetings on time) and currently as a registration manager.  I've negotiated hotel contracts, looked for entertainment for meetings, planned events at Invesco Field (home of the Denver Broncos) and other fun locations.

So if you have questions about what it takes to plan a corporate meeting hit me up!

[icedtea]

Most annoying industry to plan for?

[ladytiffany24]

What part of Ohio are you in? (obviously you don't have to get super specific). I grew up in Northeast Ohio and am in southern Ohio now, so I'm curious!

What do you like most about our lovely state?

[aprilz81]

Mar 2, 2016 13:26:53 GMT -5 icedtea said:

Most annoying industry to plan for?

I don't have a varied experience with specific industries, but the medical industries are annoying.  There are a lot of federal regulations about what you can pay for for doctors going to a training meeting.

For example, if the company I am planning for wants to host a cutting edge training session on the newest gadget available there are a lot of hoops to jump through and paperwork that needs to be done.  

When the doctors register and book their travel they are not allowed to come in earlier or stay later NO MATTER WHAT because the change in itinerary could be considered a "perk" and against regulations.

I'm glad I don't have to deal with it anymore!

[aprilz81]

Mar 2, 2016 13:27:18 GMT -5 ladytiffany24 said:

What part of Ohio are you in? (obviously you don't have to get super specific). I grew up in Northeast Ohio and am in southern Ohio now, so I'm curious!

What do you like most about our lovely state?

I grew up in southern Ohio (close to Huntington, WV and Ashland, KY), went to college at Miami (just north of Cincy) and now live in near Columbus.

I adore fall in Ohio.  Beautiful weather (usually), pretty fall colors and of course, Buckeye football.  

[ladytiffany24]

Mar 2, 2016 13:32:55 GMT -5 aprilz81 said:

Mar 2, 2016 13:27:18 GMT -5 ladytiffany24 said:

What part of Ohio are you in? (obviously you don't have to get super specific). I grew up in Northeast Ohio and am in southern Ohio now, so I'm curious!

What do you like most about our lovely state?

I grew up in southern Ohio (close to Huntington, WV and Ashland, KY), went to college at Miami (just north of Cincy) and now live in near Columbus.

I adore fall in Ohio.  Beautiful weather (usually), pretty fall colors and of course, Buckeye football.  

I'm in total agreement on fall in Ohio! Gorgeous.

And I'm near Cincy now!

[aprilz81]

Mar 2, 2016 13:34:17 GMT -5 ladytiffany24 said:

Mar 2, 2016 13:32:55 GMT -5 aprilz81 said:

I grew up in southern Ohio (close to Huntington, WV and Ashland, KY), went to college at Miami (just north of Cincy) and now live in near Columbus.

I adore fall in Ohio.  Beautiful weather (usually), pretty fall colors and of course, Buckeye football.  

I'm in total agreement on fall in Ohio! Gorgeous.

And I'm near Cincy now!

Cincy isn't really southern Ohio to those who really grew up in southern (south central) Ohio.  

[ladytiffany24]

Mar 2, 2016 13:36:19 GMT -5 aprilz81 said:

Mar 2, 2016 13:34:17 GMT -5 ladytiffany24 said:

I'm in total agreement on fall in Ohio! Gorgeous.

And I'm near Cincy now!

Cincy isn't really southern Ohio to those who really grew up in southern (south central) Ohio.  

I stand corrected!

I guess it would be southwest Ohio to be more specific.

[samanthasays]

I am in Columbus area too! We are relatively new to OH (2 years on Friday).

Do you ever do staycations around here? Where would you recommend having lived in different areas of the state?

[aprilz81]

Mar 2, 2016 13:52:13 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

I am in Columbus area too! We are relatively new to OH (2 years on Friday).

Do you ever do staycations around here? Where would you recommend having lived in different areas of the state?

Welcome to the Buckeye State!

I've actually not done a lot of staycations in Ohio (sad to say).  I fall into the trap of the day to day stuff that I don't think of all the different activities Ohio actually offers.

King's Island (Cincy) is fun...  I've never been to Cedar Point (Cleveland area).

I've heard wonderful things about Hocking Hills (about an hour from Columbus I think).  

I've wanted to visit the Dayton Air Show and we almost went this past summer, but we found out the dates too late to make it work.  The Ohio State Fair is always fun for an evening (the people watching is amazing, even better than the fried food).

[littlelion]

When I think of trade shows/exhibits I think freebies. Any cool freebies you've gotten?

[aprilz81]

Mar 2, 2016 14:00:24 GMT -5 littlelion said:

When I think of trade shows/exhibits I think freebies. Any cool freebies you've gotten?

I very quickly became jaded to the swag at trade shows.  When I attended them I would always go through and check out everyone's promo items to see where we ranked.  We usually had some of the more fun/unusual items.

We always gave away pens (and good ones!).  Depending on the target market we would do stress balls (boring) or notebooks (practical but boring).

We would have golf balls for VIP visitors sometimes.  We would give away travel coffee mugs (those were usually pretty popular), including one year where we had color changing graphics.  When it was empty/room temperature you could just see our logo, when it had hot liquid inside it was the graphics on our exhibit booth.

This thing was always popular:  www.trainerswarehouse.com/Tangle-Fidget-Toy/productinfo/fitan/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Feed&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NB_PLA_Shopping_GOOG&utm_content=xTPF2dL3_pcrid_42953018418_pkw__pmt__pdv_c&&gclid=Cj0KEQiAu9q2BRDq3MDbvOL1yaYBEiQAD6qoBsg9DGPJ2Bq3LPwbfjk6p-nVTWrlQuwYH_sCxVZu5M8aAog28P8HAQ

It doesn't look like much, but once you start playing with it you can't stop.  

One of the coolest things I picked up from a competitor was a travel kit, it had a travel blanket and inflatable neck pillow.

I always tried to be creative and practical (like making sure you  could keep it in your carry on and not have it confiscated by TSA) and if it was a gadget it had to actually WORK.  When I'm given a budget of $3/item there aren't a lot of options out there.

[ladytiffany24]

Mar 2, 2016 13:59:11 GMT -5 aprilz81 said:

Mar 2, 2016 13:52:13 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

I am in Columbus area too! We are relatively new to OH (2 years on Friday).

Do you ever do staycations around here? Where would you recommend having lived in different areas of the state?

Welcome to the Buckeye State!

I've actually not done a lot of staycations in Ohio (sad to say).  I fall into the trap of the day to day stuff that I don't think of all the different activities Ohio actually offers.

King's Island (Cincy) is fun...  I've never been to Cedar Point (Cleveland area).

I've heard wonderful things about Hocking Hills (about an hour from Columbus I think).  

I've wanted to visit the Dayton Air Show and we almost went this past summer, but we found out the dates too late to make it work.  The Ohio State Fair is always fun for an evening (the people watching is amazing, even better than the fried food).

Cedar Point is a must if you like roller coasters!

I will also second Hocking Hills! You can rent cute little cabins and do some nice hiking.

[aprilz81]

Mar 2, 2016 17:21:04 GMT -5 millimeter314 said:

All you buckeyes need go to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Zoo.

The Columbus Zoo is the best I've been to. And CSO is amazing. The New Years Eve concerts are awesome.

Oh yeah, I forgot our zoo!  It is great and every Christmas they do the "Wild Lights" where they put up Christmas lights EVERYWHERE.

We also have an NHL team, the Columbus Bluejackets.  We've been sucking this year, but going to games is still really fun.  We have a 6 game package.  

We get a fair amount of touring Broadway shows and top tier concerts.  I've seen Wicked and Lion King here and Bruce Springsteen last year and we have tickets to Garth Brooks in April.

I've not explored downtown much, but there are some neat neighborhoods with a nice urban atmosphere.  Short North immediately comes to mind.