Tag Archives: Government Meetings

What happened with the GSA in Vegas stymies federal workers

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on washingtonpost.com By Lisa Rein

When federal employees get together for training and meetings, fancy lunches aren't on the menu anymore. In fact, food of any kind -- tuna fish sandwiches, green salad, oatmeal cookies -- can no longer be served by the government. Even coffee is off-limits.

Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies say they can no longer travel to academic conferences to present their research.

And mental-health workers at military hospitals say they are in danger of losing their licenses because they can't attend refresher courses.

Three years after the Obama administration clamped down on travel and training in response to the uproar over a Las Vegas conference where hundreds of federal workers partied for four days at taxpayer expense, the restrictions are taking an unanticipated toll. Employees at a wide range of agencies say the rules are gumming up the machinery of government. Continue reading →

Firefighter, Soldier, Police Officer…Event Planner?

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Forbes recently released its annual summary of the most stressful jobs and coming in at number eight was event coordinator.[Tweet "Most stressful jobs... Number 8: Event Coordinator"] Those of us who have planned events, whether every day or once in a while, know there is a lot of pressure in making sure everything goes just right on event day. While errors are not life threatening as in the other professions listed, the adrenaline rush that comes from knowing you only get one chance to make it right is considerable. Add in the stress leading up to the event - are enough people registered? Why haven't all of the speakers sent in their slides? What if a giant storm hits right before the event? - and the ranking of the profession starts to make sense.

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7 Creative Ideas to Attract New Attendees to Your Event

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on BizBash.com

Check out these strategies focused on getting first-timers to your trade show or conference.

Smart planners know they can't rely on the same database of attendees year after year to fill their events. But how do you reach new people? Consider using some of these practical strategies from other trade shows and conferences.

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It’s Time to Stretch Into Hybrid Government Meetings

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Extending a meeting over the internet ("online" or "hybrid" conference/meeting extensions) means broadcasting meeting content in a way that remote attendees - in the U.S. and potentially worldwide - can securely access the presentations, interact with the presenters, discuss the topics online,  chat & network amongst themselves, and access archives of the conference/meeting sessions afterwards.

Here are the top "myths" I hear from government meeting planners:

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2014 FOSE Blogger & Speaker Meetup

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March 20, 2014 - Vienna, VA - 1105 Media Group, organizers of the FOSE and GovSec Conferences & Expos, hosted a FOSE 2014 Blogger and Speaker Meet-up on Wednesday, March 19 at the 1105 Media Group offices in Vienna, VA. In its 6th year, this invitation only event was held specifically for government technology influencers, FOSE speakers and bloggers. Held as an open forum, round table discussion, attendees were given an opportunity to discuss key elements of the upcoming FOSE Conference. The conversation moved from government events and the obstacles that continue to challenge them, along with the uprising of mobile and social media and how they are influencing the way government interacts with the public, cybersecurity and more.

Attendees at this meet-up included influencers; Jack Gates, Open Source Leadership blog, Dick Davies, SalesLab, Tom Suder, President at MobileGov, Ghadi Ben-Yehuda,  Director of Innovation and Social Media for IBM Center for The Business of Government, Tammi Marcoullie, Program Manager for Challenge.gov - GSA, Lovisa Williams, Sr. Policy Advisor at U.S. Office of Management & Budget, Guy Timberlake, Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of The American Small Business Coalition, LLC, Penelope Parker, Vice Chair of the Woman in Technology Communications Committee. Representatives were also present from CSFI, Tuvel Communications, LLC, 1105 Media Group and GovEvents.

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