ASAE and PCMA Vie for Dinner Dates

Both associations want Springtime-adjacent foundation banquets

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 7/3/2006

The Professional Convention Management Assn. and American Society of Assn. Executives & the Center politely disagree about which one has dibs on choice dates for their foundation dinner — a disagreement which is leaving a bad taste in some suppliers' mouths.

The PCMA and Center foundations hold annual spring dinners in Washington, D.C., raising a few hundred thousand dollars for education and research. Industry suppliers say they enjoy and support both dinners.

If, however, the events start taking place within a few days of each other, which is possible, supplier backing might diminish.

Historically, the PCMA gala has taken place the night before the May or June Springtime, ASAE & the Center's annual tradeshow where association executives and meeting planners visit booths of convention and visitor bureaus, convention centers, hotels and other industry suppliers.

The Center's annual banquet has taken place in March or April since 1988. This year it was held April 25.

Springtime began in 1977 as a property of the Greater Washington Society of Assn. Executives, which merged with ASAE in 2004. PCMA's dinner on Springtime eve was OK with GWSAE, but ASAE & the Center has other ideas.

"Times have changed," said ASAE & the Center President and CEO John Graham. "We respect the fact that they've had that space for a while," however, he said, "we'd like to capitalize on the opportunity that Springtime affords us, rather than have them (PCMA) capitalize on it."

Graham added, "Since it's our event, we felt like the dynamics have changed. This creates a new opportunity for us."

Both he and PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton told Tradeshow Week that the two organizations have been discussing the matter over the last few years.

Sexton said she has told ASAE that PCMA is keen on keeping its historic date, which, for the last 19 years, "has worked really well ... for both PCMA and Springtime. It's a good thing for the industry."

Graham believes PCMA should understand ASAE's point of view.

"ASAE & the Center would not do a dinner at the PCMA annual meeting," he said. "They feel like it's their spot, and just because (ASAE and GWSAE) merged, it doesn't impact them. We're trying to hammer out with PCMA how it is that we resolve this."

Sexton said PCMA's dinner date is extremely important to her association, because it's the only event the Chicago-based group puts on in Washington, D.C., ASAE's headquarters.

She said PCMA has ballroom space in Washington reserved for June 13, 2007, preceding the June 14 Springtime. Regardless of what ASAE decides, Sexton said, "We're just going to continue to do what we've done."

Graham said ASAE hasn't chosen its 2007 gala dates. However, he said dates within the week of Springtime 2007 aren't being crossed off the list yet, and he would even partner with PCMA on a dinner. "I'm not ruling out anything. ... We have made no firm decisions. We're looking at many options."

Still, he believes it wouldn't be in the industry's best interests to have gala dinners "back-to-back or in the same night."

Sexton concurred: "Hopefully there won't be two dinners (within a close time span)."

Ty Helms, senior vice president of sales for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and a director of the Center's board, also agreed. He said having the dinners too close to each other would "be difficult and probably decrease revenues from both organizations."

Other suppliers that pay $10,000 or so for tables at these galas would like some downtime between the two events.

"There can't be two Dave Scypinskis going to two events," said Dave Scypinski, senior vice president, industry relations, for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "It's a concern for us that both organizations want to occupy (similar dates). Somebody's going to lose, and it's probably both. You compete with each other and get half of the return."

Two partnership dinners the same week as Springtime "could put a strain on both our own Freeman staff resources as well as interest by customers to attend another event that week, since it is already very busy," said Carrie Freeman-Parsons, vice president of marketing for the general contracting firm, which currently supports both annual events.

Scypinski called the dinners "value-added" ways for him to meet with clients. However, if the events fell on the same night next year, they would force him to choose just one.

"We're only going to pick one dinner ...," he said.

Freeman-Parsons agreed. "It would be unfortunate if we, at some point, had to choose between one or the other."

This year, the ASAE dinner raised $125,000; PCMA's May 24 event, $150,000.