February | March 2018 | Ignitemag.ca | 3
"We need to tell a better story of what the
business events meetings industry does." That,
in a nutshell, is the mantra of Heidi Welker as she
takes up that mantle as 2018 chair of Meetings
Mean Business Canada (MMBC). "We are a $30-
billion industry. We should have a voice and a
unified approach."
Of course, Welker is no stranger to industry vol-
unteer work. Since joining Freeman Audio Visual
Canada 30 years ago, she's been involved in vari-
ous organizations. "It's a great way to meet peo-
ple, understand the industry and learn new ways
of doing things."
Welker, now senior vice-president, business
development & industry partnerships at Freeman,
was president of PCMA when the Canadian
Innovation Conference (CIC) was launched five
years ago. "The goal was to have a new vehicle
for senior professionals to collaborate about
event strategy and the importance on deliver-
ing an experience that emulates the meeting
goals, objectives and messaging." She's also on
the board of trustees on the PCMA Foundation
and spearheaded the John Maxwell fund, which
recently awarded four scholarships to attend the
PCMA Convening Leaders Conference in Nashville,
TN, this past January.
So what compelled her to take on the MMBC
post? "I am so passionate about this industry.
Everyone wants a legacy. I want to know that I
made a difference and helped make the indus-
try stronger." As we've mentioned previously
in these pages, last year the Business Events
Industry Coalition of Canada (BEICC) transitioned
She
means
business
Laura Bickle, Editor
laura@ignitemag.ca
@LauraIgnite
to Meetings Mean Business Canada (a partnership
with the US counterpart) whose mission is to serve
as a vocal and effective advocate for the meetings
industry in Canada.
Welker believes strongly that "the more people
understand the importance of business events,
the faster MMBC can become the single advocacy
voice for business events in Canada." With that in
mind, she is supporting the production of toolkits
and communication vehicles that help illustrate
the industry's importance as well as promote it
to both domestic and global audiences. Also on
her radar is the message that MMBC must benefit
both large and small business and that it repre-
sent the interests of both groups.
The MMBC is still building support across the
country, having held meetings in Western Canada
last year and doing the same in Ontario and the
East Coast in the coming months.
You can learn more about MMBC at
meetingsmeanbusiness.ca
laura's logic
Me
and
Heidi
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