The “dog days” of summer originated from the Greeks and Romans associating the hot summer months to the sun appearing alongside Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major. They believed the heat from these 2 stars contributed to the intense summer heat. Well, it certainly has been hot in many corners of the world but I also think it’s an analogy to many of our professional tasks coming into alignment… or at least crowded together. We are still juggling many things on our plates and doing more with less. Sustaining such a hectic grind over the course of many months now can be stressful, which is why I think last month’s Sparkler on mental health was so timely.
As Sirius rises next to the sun, our flagship Spark education program, “On Your Mark, Reset… Go” will be held 1:00pm – 7:00 pm, August 16 at the Westin Alexandria Old Town. Our program will focus on the importance of Strategic Planning, now more than ever, and will feature a keynote from Will Curran, Founder and Chief Event Einstein of Endless Events. His presentation will dig into the 2022 event trends that are shaping business events today. From inflation, staffing shortages, new contract clauses, to DE&I and Sustainability, I hope you will join me in what promises to be an engaging keynote session.
The program for the August Spark also includes breakouts on generational diversity, young professionals, sustainability and rethinking how we measure event success. We will cap off the day with a closing supplier panel on labor and supply chain issues. So much continues to change in our industry and this is your opportunity to join your peers to keep abreast of these challenges and better prepare yourself and your organization to overcome these challenges.
I know the “dog days” of summer also includes vacations, family time and summer projects. The commitment to engage with PCMA at our programs and volunteering to produce these programs are big commitments that we do not take lightly. I am so proud of all of our volunteers working hard to develop timely and worthwhile programming for our community! I hope to see many of you at Spark on August 16!
Marcus Eng, CMP, DES | 2022 PCMA Capital Chapter President
