Meeting of Like Minds
A partnership that formed between Arrowhead Conferences and Events and DuPage County Convention and Visitors Bureau at the 2009 Rejuvenate Marketplace resulted in a rare FAM & FOCUS trip specifically for faith-based planners to the western Chicago suburb, April 14-17.
Seeing a property in person and becoming acquainted with a region is an important part of site selection, if not a necessity for many planners. “[FAM trips] do exactly what they say they do — familiarize you with properties, personnel, the area,” says Sherri Smith, event operations manager for Group Publishing, who attended the FAM for the church ministry publisher. “They help you decide if it is a good fit for a conference you would bring. It is invaluable being on site.”
However, this familiarization trip had additional advantages. DuPage County showcased its expansive region to Arrow-head staff and 19 of its hand-selected ministry representatives, who would have strong potential to bring a conference to the county. (Arrowhead has more than 400 Christian ministry contacts.)
“There’s a commonality [among the planners],” says Scott Falk, vice president of Arrowhead. “There’s networking on multiple levels. They discussed marketing ideas; partnerships were realized; they use the same speakers and production companies specializing in the Christian market. They are all trying to accomplish the same things by different means — expanding the kingdom of God.”
In addition to seeing a wide range of properties, from those in urban areas near shopping to intimate and secluded lodges, the attendees got a taste of the region, which has convenient access to Chicago and a price tag appreciated by faith-based planners. Highlights of the trip included a visit to the Billy Graham Museum at Wheaton College. Planners also met with area hoteliers during a mini-reverse trade show, modeled after Rejuvenate’s Marketplace.
“A key piece of the whole FAM trip was the alone time with Arrowhead,” Smith says. “The learning time with their viewpoints about how to think through things was very educational.”
The Dupage CVB received benefits as well — RFPs, contacts and a continued relationship with Arrowhead, the world’s largest non-profit religious meeting planning organization. “Working closely with the wonderful staff at Arrowhead has helped us realize the huge potential that this partnership, and the faith-based meeting planner market, represents for DuPage County,” says Skip Strittmatter, DuPage CVB executive director. “We are very excited about what the future may hold as we continue to cultivate the relationship between the DuPage CVB and Arrowhead, and introduce more and more faith-based meeting planners to DuPage.
