CIC Simplifies Decision-making Process
By Gary Tufel -- Tradeshow Week, 10/25/2004
The Convention Industry Council has streamlined its governance procedures by paring its two decision-making bodies down to one.
In a Sept. 30 decision, the previous Council of Delegates, made up of representatives of each of CIC's 31 member organizations, and a smaller 11-member board of directors with its own slate of officers, were merged into a single 31-member board.
Mary Power, CIC president and CEO, said the old two-body system was unwieldy. Agenda items had to be discussed and voted on twice, and sometimes issues addressed at one meeting didn't even come up at the other.
A four-member executive committee was created to handle urgent issues between meetings of the full board. The change, intended to increase efficiency and eliminate duplication of efforts, is part of a long-term strategic plan for the CIC.
By streamlining the decision-making process, CIC is trying to increase member involvement and communication between leadership and members. "The old structure was redundant," Power said.
Member organizations will likely be represented on the board by their presidents or chairpersons. And, in an effort to foster greater participation, CIC is urging each member organization to also appoint an individual to act as an alternate to stand in when the primary board representative isn't available to vote on an issue. Although each organization only receives one vote, both representatives will be involved in meetings and programs. The new structure will provide a better forum for cooperation among the many sectors of the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry represented by CIC members, said Power.
Michael Bandy, incoming board chairman and president of the Trade Show Exhibitors Assn., said his immediate challenge is to make sure that the governance transition goes smoothly and to see that the APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange) initiative to standardize industry methods and practices moves from the just-completed development phase into its implementation phase.
Joining Bandy in leadership roles are Vice Chairman Thomas Mobley, general manager and CEO of the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center; Secretary/Treasurer Colin Rorrie, president and CEO of Meeting Professionals Intl.; and Delegate at Large Brenda Anderson, CEO of the Society of Incentive Travel Executives.
By opening lines of communication to its members, Powers said, CIC hopes that important information will be passed along about the programs and projects it is working on.
No CIC staffers lost jobs as a result of the restructuring, Power noted.
