The roar of the crowd
Posted by: JoanEisenstodt in PCMA, Awards on Apr 02, 2008
On 2 April, I received an amazing award: lifetime achievement as an educator from the PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association - www.pcma.org) Foundation. Also receiving awards last nite were Charles Ahlers who received lifetime achievement as a supplier partner and Debra Rosencrance who received lifetime achievement as a meeting planner. It was a lovely evening - beautifully decorated tables and ballroom at the Washington Hilton; superb dinner - not the usual chicken some expect at banquets! - and good company.
I was fortunate to have with me good friends and my niece and her husband to bask in this recognition for my passion.
And yet ...
Many companies and organizations hold awards banquets - sometimes connected to annual or other meetings. For anyone to receive a professional award is a special achievement - to be recognized by one's peers means so much.And yet ...
The video testimonials were so great! Each of us asked people we knew to speak about us and about our accomplishments. It was fascinating to see who we each selected and to hear what was said. I was heartened by those given for me - and especially one that was made even more personal by the appearance of a special friend, Opus. (You know .. Opus the penguin, first of "Bloom County" and now starring in his very own named-for-him comic strip.) I cried and I laughed - and I had to wipe away tears as I walked to the lectern (or podium depending on whether you want to say this absolutely correctly) to accept the award.
And yet ...
The audience, about 1200 people I was told, were asked to settle down, a few times, by a few of the PCMA Foundation officers. Well, you know crowds of people in a very social industry, right? They kept talking. I did my 'emergency exit' announcement to try to get people to pay a bit of attention.
It had taken time to finally get the remarks right - I only had 3 minutes to deliver them. I wanted to be sure to recognize the people who have contributed to my life and success.
And people kept talking. Right through my remarks. In fact 'the roar of the crowd' was so loud, there were times I couldn't even hear myself,
My award was first. Then dinner and then the other two. Deborah Sexton, PCMA's CEO, came out and truly admonished the crowd to listen ... and they did ... to the other honorees. Maybe being fed helped. I don't know.
Were you there? Did you talk through my remarks? Did you miss the wonderful quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., two days before the 40th anniversary of his assassination? Did you miss my call to action for education? Did you miss my tributes to my teachers from public high school in Dayton, Ohio? Did you miss the recognition of past educator honorees, Deborah Breiter and Patti Shock? Or the request to remember the late Ed Polivka, an industry educator (and my friend and mentor) who died this past year?
Maybe you did. Maybe you felt socializing was more important.
Next time you go to a banquet where someone speaks and especially where someone is honored, consider this: it could be you; it could be a customer with whom you are doing or may one day do business; it could be a good friend of someone at your table. Maybe you'll find the ability to stop talking for just 3 minutes and listen.
I hope so. In future years, I hope the honorees are accorded the respect due for these great honors.
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Subscribe to this comment's feedwritten by mbiersner, April 04, 2008
As my first black-tie, industry honors celebration, it was a bit surprising - given how close-knit the industry is. I would have expected better from those rude, talking audience members in attendance.
It was an honor and a priviledge to be in the audience supporting three great industry leaders. Thanks for the inspiration, Joan!
-- Mitch
written by pelletier, April 04, 2008
Congratulations on your award! I hope at least most of those in attendance were able to hear your words and celebrate your accomplishments.
written by tyrah, April 04, 2008
It was an important night for the three awardees and I certainly was disappointed that people weren't more respectful.
Tyra
written by Gloria Nelson CSEP, April 03, 2008
I wished I could have been there to applaud personally. You also know I am not timid about asking those seated around me to please listen to the presentation.
Do we need a sergeant-at-arms at our conclaves like this? Your comments about 'it could be you' or 'it could be one of your clients' was insightful, as always.
Congratulations on honors well-deserved!
in General Discussion Topics by JoanEisenstodt, 08-01-09 17:57
Being a part of the North American industry from Canada, it's often more difficult to plan trips to the U.S. for gala events and celebrations. So, Joan, I was cheering for you from here -- loudly, but not loudly enough for the sound to travel across the border.
Not that it would have mattered, apparently.
On this blog and on MIForum, a few people have talked about what we can each do in this kind of situation to express our extreme and, in the circumstances, urgent displeasure at anyone near us who is refusing to tone it down and listen. It shouldn't be necessary. Not ever. But with enough of us doing our bit...suffice to say, I just wish I'd been there.
It's interesting to see Gloria refer to the "clap three times" that some of us learned in school. I spent Saturday at a city-wide event for high school students that ran from about 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM. It took place in a university gym. The presenters each spent about 6.5 hours at their posters, with just a one-hour break for lunch, and they were glassy-eyed with exhaustion by the time it was over.
The bleachers were uncomfortable, much more so for anyone with back problems. The food service was a Tim Horton's doughnut kiosk with two cash lines for about 500 participants. The audience -- in contrast to a gala banquet that brings together industry friends and colleagues, grown-ups all -- consisted mainly of high school students and their parents.
The awards ceremony was scheduled to begin about eight hours after most participants had arrived. The start was delayed, the ceremony was already long, and it was extended by logistical issues that were entirely understandable for a shoestring operation run by volunteers, but would have been pilloried on the blogs if anything like it had happened in the industry.
And y'know what? Everyone listened. Everyone was polite. Everyone applauded. A smattering of families, some of them with babies in carriages, got up to leave after about 45 minutes. But almost everyone stayed to the end.
If hundreds of teenagers could hold it together for an hour to honour a group of award winners they'd mostly never met or heard of, it's incomprehensible to me that a group in our industry couldn't pay attention for three minutes. And, sorry...that they couldn't pay attention to Joan, knowing who she is and what soaring wisdom and inspiration she would have brought to her too-brief appearance onstage?!
And how very like Joan to turn the experience around into an educational opportunity for all. I wish there were some way to get all of this post-analysis into the hands of every single person who registered for the dinner, then somehow measure the learning and (we should only hope) the behaviour changes that followed. It's a change that we need, very, very badly.