Lunch & Business Meeting ~ 11:45 am - 1:30 pm
Breakout Sessions ~ 1:30 - 3:30 pm 

Breakout Sessions:

Influencing Public Policy: PAC Best Practices

Raising money for political action committees is never easy and these economic times make a hard all the more difficult.

This panel of association execs will share with us their years of experience in raising PAC dollars. What’s worked, what hasn’t worked and what ideas they have for trying to raise funds in the future.

In addition to discussing PAC money raising ideas, we have also asked our panel to share with us the decision making process they use internally to review candidates and determine who they will support and at what level.

Panel includes: Brenda Neville, Iowa Motor Truck Association; Gary Thomas, Iowa Automobile Dealers Association; Sharon Presnall, Iowa Bankers Association 

Taming the E-mail Beast

By Randall Dean

Every day, managers and professionals are getting buried under a continuing stream of both useful and useless e-mail. Without a system for getting “control of the beast”, professionals spend much of their work (and personal) time spinning wheels and feeling highly unsatisfied. If you would like to get control of your e-mail “beast”, you should attend this program led by Randy Dean, MBA, author of the Amazon bestseller, Taming the E-mail Beast. Randy shares strategies for effective e-mail management, organization, and prioritization that have helped literally thousands of business professionals regain control and sanity with their e-mail activities.

At the end of this program, attendees will be able to:

• Understand the nature of e-mail & information overload in today's workplace
• Have a strategy for "splitting" work, personal, and junk/spam e-mails for greater efficiency
• Usa a very simple "rule" for managing all incoming e-mail that allows for both greater speed and prioritization of those messages and embedded tasks
• Learn how to convert e-mails quickly into tasks, contacts, and calendar items
• Use embedded functions inside your e-mail that allow you to "automate" certain common activitites/messages
• Build a personal "infrastructure" that can assist in achieving greater organization and possibly even "e-mail ZERO"!
• Better manage both sent and received CC's, Forwards, and Replies, to reduce confusion and increase communication capabilities.

 Fun With Food at Your Events: Unique Options, Trends & Tips for Success

Food and beverage are nearly as important to an event as the purpose of the event itself. And as the event planner, you will select each item for your group. Whether you're working with a private caterer or the catering manager at the venue itself, there are ways to make your food a WOW. Learn from the experts what the trends are in food. Our panel of chefs and caterers will share some unique menu options and provide tips on how to get great food on a budget.

Panel includes: Stacy Schoop, Director of Catering, Gateway Market; Jack Wenz, Chef, Ovations Catering, Iowa Events Center; In the Bag  Corporate Cuisine