I don't know how many times I've heard fellow industry leaders say they couldn't get involved in HSMAI because their boss thinks it's just "a place to look for another job." Although we do offer the Job Bank with Positions Open and Positions Wanted in the newsletter and online, that is NOT all we have to offer.

1. We are dedicated to bringing you quality education to help you be better at your job and improve personally. We've reviewed the Top 10 List of Industry Concerns which was compiled from a survey by HSMAI International, and have also done our own member survey on topics you'd like to hear. All this research has developed into a dynamite list of educational topics and speakers for this year. Just to recap the year so far: January featured Robert Hayward on "The 2005 Hospitality Forecast", February featured Caryl Helsel on "Best Available Rate Pricing: Friend or Foe?", and March featured Renie Cavallari on "The Well's Dry: Where Do We Find New Business?". We also featured links to our members for Power Point Presentations our speakers used. Topics for the rest of the year include: How to Sell a Complete Meeting Package, Key Account Maximization, Essentials of Negotiation, and maximizing eMarketing. We've also secured speakers from HSMAI University and the Incoming HSMAI Americas Board President to cover a couple of these topics. We'll also have a fun, educational summer retreat you won't want to miss. WOW!

2. We also focus on relationship building with opportunities to join committees and work (building skills that relate to hospitality sales and marketing) toward achieving our Chapter and Committee Goals.

3. We make sure you have networking opportunities to give you the chance to meet fellow members that could help you enhance the bottom line. We just had our Annual Spring FunRaiser "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" which offered a relaxed atmosphere, as well as a business-card-swapping game to encourage meeting other industry attendees and their guests.

4. We support the future of our industry by focusing on the Hospitality students that will be following in our footsteps. Our Student Relations Committee has been working diligently with SCC(Scottsdale Community College), NAU, ASU and SCI(Scottsdale Culinary Institute) faculty and students to promote HSMAI as the link between School and real-world education. Bob Gilbert, HSMAI President and CEO, recently stayed over an extra day to help with our efforts at a Student Reception, class presentations and meeting with faculty at two of the colleges.

5. We have so many resources available to our members to help with your job! Check out all the listings on our web site: hsmai-phx.org, under Resources. Also, the HSMAI Foundation recently rolled out their updated eConnect research and resource web site which is a wealth of information on industry news and events, Special Interest Groups, research, papers and documents, HSMAI Update, and industry links and resources. And don't forget how valuable the contacts you've made through HSMAI are!

Those of you that are involved should be proud that you've realized the value of HSMAI as so much more than "a place to find your next job."

Saturday, April 2nd 2005 will be remembered at Hacienda, Inc. as the "day our nursery got a makeover!" Eleven volunteers from both HSMAI and AZMPI attended the 2005 Make a Difference Serve-A-Thon project at Hacienda, Inc., one of seven medical facilities that the Children's Angel Foundation supports.

Hacienda, Inc. is a long-term medical care facility for chronically ill and severely disabled children and adults. Located in South Phoenix, Hacienda, Inc. cares for approximately 65 residents every day. We are so lucky to have volunteers and donors in the community such as HSMAI members who are willing to spend time giving our nursery a fresh coat of paint, new valances, organizing our residents' closets, and sorting through donated books on our bookshelves.

In just four hours, our nursery was transformed into a bright, cheery room where now several babies from our Skilled Nursing Facility will live and receive 24-hour medical care. Volunteers and families can now see all the books we have and share a story with residents more easily than ever with our newly organized shelves. The same goes for several closet spaces of our residents. Simply by taking the time to fold and hang clothes neatly, staff is able to easily access clothes to dress residents to get them ready for each day.

A great big THANK YOU to all HSMAI volunteers for spending your Saturday with us and adding to quality of life of Hacienda, Inc. residents. Thank you to all HSMAI members for your constant support of the Children's Angel Foundation!

Spring FunRaiser A Huge Success!!This event, "Cheseburgers in Paradise", held on April 21 at the Sandbar Mexican Grill in Scottsdale, was a huge success with 140 attendees from several meeting and hospitality indusry organizations, including HSMAI, MPI, AzBTA, AzSAE and NACE. The Special Events Committee did a fantastic job organizing this event and collecting over 28 silent aucion packages. Lead by chair Lynne Wellish, CMP, members included Amber Martin, Diane Huffmaster, Pam Patterson, CMP, Cheryl Street, CHME, Brent Athon, Lisa Rocha, Kelli Fromhold, Janet Hof, Melanie Volkers, Joanne Winter, Christina Kim, Christina Conrad, Michelle Hayes, Alma Pink, Karen Davis, Erin Grannell and Chris Sekosky.

The "Lost Shakers" ice breaker activity was won by Kelly Riordan of Sacco & Associates. She won a weekend at the Radisson in the Florida Keys. Thank you to our "Lost Shakers": Rich Bardon, Orangetree Golf Resort, Bob Holman, Brede Exposition Services and Corina Wood, Pointe Hilton Resorts.

Many thanks to our sponsors who made this evening such a success:

A portion of the proceeds will go to HSMAI's "Charity of the Year", The Children's Angel Foundation and the HSMAI Scholarship and Education Fund.

Please save Thursday, October 6, 2005 for our next event, a Murder Mystery at the Arizona Science Center. Our committee will put on another outstanding event that will leave you talking for weeks ... unless you are the unfortunate person known as the deceased!

On Saturday April 2nd, eleven able bodied HSMAI and AZMPI members, family, and friends assembled at Hacienda House to volunteer in the 2005 Make a Difference Serve-a-Thon. Armed with paint brushes, rollers, and dropcloths, they rolled up their collective sleeves and transformed the nursery into a place of joy. Kudos to Karen Levy, volunteer coordinator for Hacienda House, on her choice of fabric for the valances and fun color coordinated paints. What a bright, cheerful area for the babies! Other volunteers organized closets and straightened bookshelves. Way to go team!

To give an indication of what can be accomplished if everyone pitches in and does a little, here is an exerpt from the AZ Republic Sunday April 3rd.

BY THE NUMBERS ...
2,000 volunteers
70 projects completed
65 community organizations served
$10,000 donated to the community
$171,900 monetary value of service given to the community

Thank you to our volunteers: Jane Borman, Debbie Brass, Penny Allphin, CHME, Michelle Fulcher, CMP, Donna Masiulewicz, CMP, Paula Masiulewicz, Kathi Overkamp, CMP, Alma Pink, Sandy Rimmer, Cheryl Street and Andrew Waldron. Together, we Made A Difference! On behalf of HSMAI and AZMPI we appreciate your support!

The 23rd Annual Chinese Auction is just seven weeks away!! This signature HSMAI event will take place Thursday, June 30th at the beautiful Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center. The invitation has been mailed to all HSMAI members and 800 other professionals from the meeting and hospitality industry. For more information and to register online, visit www.hsmai-phx.com

We have corporate tables available for $475.00 so register yourself and bring your co-workers, friends and family!! It is an exciting and fun event for everyone. Proceeds benefit the Children's Angel Foundation and HSMAI's Education and Scholarship Funds.

On hand again this year will be Auctioneer of all auctioneers, Bill Morton from The Wigwam Resort, Emcees Dave Rosenbaum, CHME, Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino, Ray Grace, Ray the DJ and Vannas, Alma Rosa Pink, Supershuttle and Yvette Koebke, Sunstone Hotels.

The event will offer guests a chance to win one or more of 150 quarter auction items and the opportunity to bid on more than 50 Silent Auction packages.

If you would like to help volunteer at the event or join us at our committee meetings please contact either Ashlee Ciora, Co-Chair at or Terry McDonald, Co-Chair at .

Mark your calendars now and help celebrate the "Year of the Rooster" with HSMAI!

Renie Cavallari, the founder of Aspire Marketing, a hospitality sales and marketing training company in Scottsdale, gave a wonderful, entertaining session on how, and when, to acquire sales leads. For more than 20 years, Cavallari has presented imaginative and powerful speaking and workshop programs, motivating people to tap in and "step up" to their own potential. Cavallari stressed the importance of being proactive in good times, to do the real work before trouble hits. It is easy to get lazy with current business retention and referrals, but you should be sure to prospect and search for new business every day.

Prospecting does not equal cold calling, and as we know, cold calling does not work. Cold calls are only good for collecting information. These are opportunities for you to be a rapport builder, and build a connection with your prospects. When we think of prospecting and making sales calls, we tend to just move and jump right into it. It is important to follow TPM - Think-Prepare-Move. Think about what you are going to do, have a plan and then move. Look at things in bite-sized pieces so the process is less overwhelming. Instead of dreading sales calls, look at them as opportunities to make new friends and set a goal for how many you would like to retain.

Following through with TPM, it is integral that you have a plan. If you don't have a smart plan, you are doomed. Cavallari provided a few key steps to follow:

1. Get your head in the game - Mindset is huge. What comes out of your mouth is what you are thinking.

2. Set time aside - It is important, but not urgent. Set a time for prospecting and lock into it.

3. Open up your eyes -Take a different way to work, look at what opportunities are out there that you otherwise would not have seen.

4. Discipline (Pipeline) of New Business -The best sales people are disciplined. Sloppy and lazy = low standards.

5. Proposal - After you have built up a rapport with your prospect and determined your prospect's needs, develop a custom proposal outlining how you can satisfy those needs.

6. The Close - When it is time to close, do not "jam and slam."

A special thank you to Renie for a wonderful session. to our gracious hosts at the Glendale Civic Center and to Continental Catering for the wonderful breakfast

Happy Birthday to those members celebrating their 50th birthdays this summer: Dave Rosenbaum, Radisson Ft. McDowell, Joanne Winter, HSMAI and Joan Guidry, Paper Crazy by ThunderThoughts

Merestone is the 2004 Sterling Award Winner for Small Business from the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations!

Linda Ruby, CMP, CHME is the new Director of Sales for The Prescott Resort & Conference Center.

Government Relations Chair for HSMAI, Don Prince, recently assumed the position of Vice President of Tourism Strategy for HMI Marketing & Advertising

Goodbye to Allison Reynolds of the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre who recently moved Omaha, Nebraska after she married a dental student. Congratulations Allison … we will miss you!

Felicidades! to Margarita Chiquita Becca McGraw who represents Garduno's and got married in June.

The three "r's" have new meaning with HSMAI's newest version of eConnect! Originally designed to be a "one stop shopping" portal for time-stressed hospitality sales and marketing professionals the latest version now personalizes the site to your specified interests!

The Launch!
Monday, April 4, was the day this new version was launched. A few of the new features are:

• Knowledgebase search engine - search contents based on specific variables
• Streaming Media - Interviews with industry leaders
• Document downloads - Research, conference presentations and more
• Columns - Featuring views and commentaries of 20+ columnists
• Categorized industry news - stay on top of developments and read what shapes today's industry
• Personalization - have eConnect deliver contents that fit your specific area of expertise or interest - creating your own "home" page for easy access to data - or creating your very own "My eConnect"
• Calendar of events - featuring events categorized per specific area of interest
• EConnect In-depth - delivering background information on persistent trends and opportunities in hospitality sales and marketing

The Promotion!
With the launching of this enhanced version of eConnect, HSMAI is making the site available to "everyone" for a 30-day period. Non-members may register to use eConnect including the "members only" areas at any time and once they have registered for this opportunity they will then have access for 30 days. HSMAI is confident that once a non-member utilizes this dynamic resource they will want access 365 days a year! So, HSMAI will offer a 10% discount to any non-member who wishes to join within 30 days of their completed use of the member access capability.

The Results!
The 2004 HSMAI Membership Survey identified (no surprises here) the number one issue our members have to deal with is "time" or lack of it! We are in good company with this issue as even the most efficient professional faces new challenges daily in juggling and prioritizing time utilization! The new eConnect resource, a project of the HSMAI Foundation, is a result of addressing the "time" issue for our members. Your ability to customize your home page for information regarding its six categories is paramount to saving time. Set yours up today! The six categories are: 1) Industry News & Events, 2) Special Interest Groups, 3) Research, Papers and Documents, 4) HSMAI Update, 5) Industry Links & Resources, and 6) Search the Database.

eConnect is "live" research - updated daily to keep you current. We urge you to send comments and recommendations that will make it even more pertinent to your needs.

Connect to the new eConnect on .

Affordable Meetings

As an HSMAI member, take advantage of a great member benefit, a discounted booth package at…

HSMAI's Affordable Meetings® West
    June 15-16, 2005 - San Jose, CA
HSMAI's Affordable Meetings® National
    September 7-8, 2005 - Washington, DC

HSMAI's Affordable Meetings was voted Best Industry Trade Show in a reader's poll conducted by Meetings Media in 2004, AND in an October online poll, conducted by M&C Magazine, HSMAI's Affordable Meetings was voted the most popular industry show to attend, receiving 50% of the votes.

What can HSMAI's Affordable Meetings offer YOU as an exhibitor? A $400 discount per booth for all HSMAI members; three exhibitor badges per booth included in the exhibit fee; an opportunity to come face-to-face with a diverse group of qualified planners of every type and size; corporate, association, independent and government; a complimentary post-show attendee list with demographics; and more than 5 hours of unopposed exposition time over 2 days.

Why do Planners come to HSMAI's Affordable Meetings?
Access to invaluable educational seminars and face-to-face contact with destinations, suppliers and services; an easy to shop floor plan sectionalized by state, hotel chain, meeting service, unique meeting site and international destination; and ... it's FREE to attend.

To reserve exhibit space, or for additional information, visit the website at http://www.affordablemeetings.com.

World Quest

The unique aspects and nuances of international meeting planning will drive the agenda at the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International's (HSMAI) 2nd annual World Quest when it returns this summer for a three-city tour.

Connecting meeting professionals to the international business partners with whom they conduct business, World Quest presents a unique format designed for intensive education and learning. Attendees will find a wealth of information, including new business strategies, best practices and provocative presentations of hot topics important to the arena of international meetings, followed by interactive roundtable topic discussions with planners and international business partners.

Opening the door to education and networking, HSMAI World Quest, a partnership between HSMAI and Association Management Group and its division Meetings Management Group brings qualified corporate, association and government international planners together with international hospitality industry business partners for a day of learning, roundtable discussions and networking.

The World Quest events will be held: July 22, 2005 - Washington, D.C. at the JW Marriott Pennsylvania Avenue; July 25, 2005 - New York, NY at the Millennium Broadway Hotel; July 29, 2005 - Chicago, IL at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel

For more information on HSMAI World Quest, contact Derek Jenks at . You can also visit the web site at .

HSMAI University

Sponsored by HSA
"Fundamentals of Revenue Management"
presented by Mike Hampton
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Hilton Phoenix Airport, Phoenix

For more information and to register for these events, visit the HSMAI website at .

Recently, HSMAI President and CEO, Bob Gilbert, was in town. During his visit, he met with students and faculty members from Scottsdale Community College and ASU. In addition, a small reception was held at Rustler's Rooste at the Pointe South Mountain Resort including Bob, students and chapter leaders.

(L-R) David Landau, Janelle Hoffman, Larry Williams, Bob Gilbert

When you're faced with managing more projects than you seemingly have time for, managing the finite amount of time you do have is imperative. Follow these 10 "Golden Rules of Time Management" and you will make the most out of both your work life and home life.

1. Know how you currently spend your time. The simplest way to do this is to keep a log of what you do each day. While this may initially feel like a time waster, it actually falls under the umbrella of planning. Just like you can't budget your money without knowing where you're currently spending it, you can't budget your time without knowing where it's going either. By keeping a log you'll become more aware of stress times and down times, and will be better equipped to respond accordingly.

2. Identify your "prime time." Many people tend to be more productive in the morning. Some of us take a while to get going. By scheduling your most important tasks for the times you're at your best, you'll be able to get them done faster and more effectively.

3. Do tomorrow's planning tonight. Being prepared for the coming day will enable you to get more work done, and be more effective at what you do. Even if you do nothing more than create a simple, prioritized to-do list, you'll be better able to focus on what needs to be done.

4. Continually ask yourself "Why am I doing what I'm doing right now?" If you cannot answer this question, you are not being as productive as you could be. Make sure that you are doing something for a specific reason, and simply not wasting your valuable time spinning your wheels.

5. Handle each piece of paper or e-mail once. When you have completed a task, either file it away or pass it on to someone else. When doing tasks and making decisions, make the decision and then stick to it. Do not put off making a decision, and don't make vague, wishy-washy decisions. Being more decisive will free you up to move on to other tasks, making you more productive.

6. Plan your work, then work your plan. It is important that you always follow through with what you intend to do, otherwise you are making your plan irrelevant and negating the value of the planning time.

7. Delete whenever possible. It is important that you frequently revisit your plan and task list. Always cross off the tasks and projects you have completed, and eliminate or delegate those that are no longer important.

8. Delegate wisely. When you delegate out a task, make sure the person you are delegating it to has clear instructions on how to complete the task, has enough resources and has the authority to make any decisions that might affect the outcome of the task.

9. Identify your high-payoff items. Make sure that you concentrate on the right tasks, which will generate results for you and your company. Effective time management does not always mean you are frantically busy, just that you are getting results.

10. Work from a prioritized action list. You need to determine what your work priorities are, both short term and long term.

You can now RENEW your HSMAI membership on- line. It's quick ... and easy! Don't forget that HSMAI also offers discounts for multiple members from the same company or property. The first member is $295 and each additional member is $150. What a deal!

Please visit for more information on all areas of membership.

MAY
12 -- MPI Luncheon Meeting, "Meeting Pros Exchange" and Committee Tradeshow, The Caleo Resort & Spa, 11:00 a.m.
17 -- NACE Panel Discusson, "Creative Weddings", Villa Siena
18 -- AzBTA Reception and Meeting, Sheraton Crescent, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
25 -- HSMAI Luncheon Meeting, "How to Sell The Complete Meeting Package", The Caleo Resort & Spa, 11:00 a.m.
26 -- AzSAE Monthly Meeting, Location TBA

JUNE
3 -- IAAP Seminar and Vendor Expo, Chaparral Suites Hotel
9 -- MPI Annual Awards Gala and Installation, The Buttes Resort, 6:00 p.m.
20 -- AzBTA Evening Recepton, Sheraton Tempe, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
23-25 -- SGMP Summer Education Retreat, Flagstaff, AZ
21 -- NACE Meeting, "Increasing Your Sales", Sassi
30 -- HSMAI Annual Chinese Auction, The Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center, 5:30 p.m.

Visit for a complete and up-to-date listing of all International meetings and events.