The Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) announced the winner of the 2010 JMIC Profile and Power Award as Geoff Donaghy of AEG Ogden, Immediate Past Chair of the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA). The award was made in recognition of Mr. Donaghy’s work in helping to shape and guide one of the most successful industry advocacy organizations in the world, and steering their activities through a period of extensive industry-building and government lobbying in Australia.
“I am particularly pleased that the Council has chosen to recognize Geoff and BECA’s work as an industry advocacy organization because I am very familiar with how effective it has been in our country”, said JMIC President Leigh Harry. “It facilitated recognition of the business events industry as a distinct sector and pulled together a coalition of supporters in a way that few other organizations have been able to do anywhere, and Geoff played a pivotal role in making that happen. The extent of industry recognition that was achieved and the long term benefits this will generate will leave a lasting legacy in the Australian industry, and created a model that is a useful guide for others who may be headed down that same path”.
Mr. Donaghy has had a lengthy career in the industry, initially as General Manager of the Cairns Convention Centre and subsequently as Group Director – Convention Centres – with AEG Ogden, where he is responsible for developing new convention centre management business. He was Chair of BECA from 2005 to 2010 through a period of intense government lobbying and industry organization. Throughout his career, he has worked extensively with industry organizations and is currently vice-President of AIPC, the International Association of Convention Centres.
The Business Events Council of Australia was formed in 1994 as a peak industry body, providing a single voice for the business events sector to liaise with the federal government and relevant agencies on matters common to all segments of the industry. The Council provides a formalized umbrella structure for the key industry associations operating in the Australian business events sector, develops industry positions on issues of common interest, and communicates those views to government and relevant agencies. BECA also provides a forum for the industry associations to exchange information and cooperate on appropriate matters, with a view to strengthening and growing the business events sector in Australia.
The JMIC Power and Profile Award was established by the Council as a way of recognizing individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to advancing the awareness and influence of the Meetings Industry in their respective communities. The winner is selected each year based on criteria which evaluate the efforts of an individual or organization in increasing industry profile and bringing about structural or policy changes that reflect that better appreciation. JMIC – the Joint Meetings Industry Council – was established in 1978 as a vehicle for creating a forum for the exchange of information and perspectives amongst international associations engaged in various aspects of the Meetings Industry. It has met annually each year and served as a link between its member organizations as well as a means of reviewing industry conditions and strategies.
JMIC members include
– AIPC (the International Association of Congress Centres);
– COCAL (the Latin American Confederation of PCO and Related Companies);
– DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International);
– ECM (European Cities Marketing);
– EFAPCO (the European Federation of Associations of Professional Congress Organizers);
– EVVC (the European Association of Event Centres);
– IAPCO (the International Association of Professional Congress Organizers);
– ICCA (the International Congress and Convention Association);
– MPI (Meeting Professionals International);
– PCMA (the Professional Convention Association Management Association);
– SITE (the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives) and
– UFI (the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry).
