As MPI celebrated its 50th anniversary at WEC in San Francisco, industry and chapter leaders were recognized for their efforts towards advancing our industry and changing the world. MPI has provided many of us with professional development, connections, and most importantly community. I was honored to be recognized as one of the Top 50 Up & Comers in MPI.
AV-CANADA has been a major supporter of the MPI Toronto Chapter and MPI Foundation. As I lean into the next leadership journey, to become the President for the MPI Toronto Chapter, I would like to highlight two previous presidents who have inspired me – Danny Dobriansky (Co-President of AV-CANADA) and Tammy Bradley (Senior Account Executive at AV-CANADA).
Danny Dobriansky started his career by volunteering at the MPI Toronto Chapter. He envisioned the need to celebrate our volunteers and jump started the Awards Gala, by committing his full support as the in-kind AV Sponsor for the event. In the early years of this event, it was hosted at the iconic Fairmont Royal York. As he continued his involvement at the chapter, he eventually become President in 2004. Despite finishing his leadership journey on the Board of Directors, he continues to invite new leaders to join the board while planning the annual Golf Tournament. Before I joined AV-CANADA, Danny had personally called me to apply for the Board of Directors which jump started my leadership journey at the chapter.
During her extensive career in AV, Tammy Bradley worked at several different organizations while constantly volunteering at the MPI Toronto Chapter. In her leadership journey, she always challenged leaders to provide unique solutions to advance our chapter. Despite finishing her leadership journey as President in 2016, she continues to mentor new leaders with her wealth of knowledge in different roles at the chapter. Tammy left her mark on the chapter when she was President, as she implemented a 20% volunteer discount to entice volunteerism within the chapter which has kept our chapter volunteer base strong to this day.
These two leaders have inspired me to continue my commitment to MPI and the meetings industry. With their support, I am able to advance our industry and create new experiences for our clients. Along with being recognized as the Up & Comers Top 50 with MPI, I also had the opportunity to speak at the Future Leaders Forum at WEC. I shared my take on leadership, mentorship, and networking, with the students and future leaders in the audience. As others have guided me, I wanted to provide my insight to young professionals entering the meetings industry, so they may better progress in their future endeavours.
