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Who's better to speak on identity theft than someone who has experienced it? No question it's a hot topic right now. John Sileo is one of our top identity theft and corporate security keynote speakers and the author of Stolen Lives: Identity Theft Prevention Made Simple. He's also a two-time victim of identity-theft. Formerly an executive in software and security, John Sileo now heads up The Sileo Group, which trains firms on how to quickly detect and deter data theft and financial fraud on all rungs of the corporate ladder, from the mailroom to the boardroom. John recently spoke for Convention Connection at the National Electrical Contractors Association event. R. Drew Gibson, the Executive Director of the Midwest Region of the association, reports on Sileo's keynote: "Identity theft is a troubling concern to us as small businesses, families and individuals. John delivered a light-hearted but serious presentation on how we can all take some easy, necessary steps to protect our identity." We've had a great response from companies booking John's highly relevant, content-driven keynote, this review is just one of many lately, and by the way, as a speaker, John and his office are also extremely easy to work with. Check out his full profile here.

-Donny Conn

Brian Beaulieu, who accurately predicted for Clermont County business leaders in spring 2008 the depth and length of the country's recent economic downturn returned to Ohio last week.

"Don't let this recession shape how you think about the future, because you will never see this again," Beaulieu told about 200 gathered for the Clermont Chamber's annual trade fair. "All of our long range research tells us we will not be going through this kind of recession again for 20 years."

What does the future hold for the meetings and conventions industry? According to Rohit Talwar, new business models, radical price incentives, deep personalisation and onsite transactions will shape the industry landscape in 2020. His conclusions are based on the findings of the ‘Future Meetings Experience’ online survey. The research was conducted as part a study on the future of meetings, venues and destinations. The founding survey members are the ICCA and IMEX, as well as Rohit Talwar’s Fast Future Research.

I've just returned from Utah, where I attended CompHealth's Symposium in Park City at the Canyons Resort. The sessions were fantastic and the attendees had so many unique experiences I wanted to share a little bit about the event.

Technology speaker Terry Brock talked about Social Networking and its impact for heathcare recruiters- a most important issue now and likely to remain relevant for years to come.

Adventurer Steve Donahue had us glued to our seats as he told his story of crossing the Sahara Desert, teaching us to follow our internal compasses. His program was longer than the usual hour keynote- he spoke for nearly two hours with an intermission, but he kept the audience enthralled with his unique storytelling abilities and breathtaking desert photographs. Steve recently completed another visit to the Sahara Desert so his program now includes an update on his seminal experiences there.

Tim Gard had all in absolute hysterics teaching us to not take ourselves too seriously- turn the "Bummers" into "WooHoos!".

One of the most unique event details I've seen was Thursday's dinner with former White House Chef Walter Scheib. Walter Scheib coordinated with the Canyons to produce an unbelievable four course dinner featuring dishes prepared for both the Clinton and Bush White House. In between courses, he provided stories galore on the behind-the-scenes details of working at the White House.

Another exceptional event for attendees, and something you can only experience in a meeting venue like Park City- all of us went snow shoeing Saturday morning, bright sunny skies and fresh, powdery new snow!

-Kiela Hine

The annual Comphealth Symposium is coming up this week in Park City, Utah. Speakers include Steve Donahue, Terry Brock and Tim Gard. Look for my updates on the event later this week. CompHealth is one of the nation's largest providers of healthcare staffing services—#1 in healthcare jobs for 30 years, and the largest "locum tenens" staffing firm in the U.S. They offer temporary healthcare job opportunities and permanent positions for healthcare providers of all types. Click here for the website on the event.

-Kiela Hine

What's an excellent indicator of an outstanding speaker, with ever-changing and always customized material? They get invited back again and again- to the same exact group.

Institute for Trend Research Economist Alan Beaulieu speaks today at the the NPES 2010 Industry Summit. His session is titled "From Recession to Recovery: The Road Ahead"- and he's back with the group for the second year in a row- by popular demand. I've read about keynote speakers being chosen by crowdsourcing and I think this is an excellent example of how that concept- speaker choice by attending audience members- can work well when considering speakers from prior years, especially when the data is there to back up the choice to rebook. Last year Beaulieu presented "The Recession...How Deep, How Long?" which was rated 4.8 out of 5, the highest of any session at the entire event.

"Alan’s straightforward assessment of the worldwide economic situation, and recommendations for actions that companies should take to weather the storm, received rave reviews—and an immediate call for a return engagement in 2010." At this year's event, Beaulieu will provide analysis and forecasts for the print industry- giving them a better understanding of where they are in the economic cycle, what the recovery will look like moving forward, and how attending members can prepare their to take advantage of upcoming opportunities.

Here's a little bit more about that event, which takes place today and tomorrow in Baltimore.

Excellent strategy to have a speaker like Beaulieu return, because year over year, you're getting up to the minute information about the economy and how it directly impacts your business. Having the same speaker back allows time to reflect on the past year's growth and changes in your business, and reassess your business plan moving forward. The NPES is just one of many groups with multiple bookings for Alan Beaulieu.

-Christine Johnson

Sandy Shaw brought my attention this week to keynote speaker Dan Buettner, the author of Blue Zones. Who doesn't want to live an extra ten years? You may have seen him on Oprah, but he's also making waves in the corporate speaking world with his message on creating a culture of longevity. That's an issue that can be brought to all types of audiences, regardless of industry.

Dan's presentation combines research, personal anecdotes from his travels around the world, and beautiful National Geographic photographs. As a keynote speaker, he's the total package. As an inspiration- he's got a message that can change all of our lives.

Check out Dan's video here.

-Christine Johnson

Thousands of the country’s top corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum producers and representatives from leading agribusinesses were in Anaheim, California for the 2010 Commodity Classic, agriculture’s premier trade show and convention, March 4-6. 

During the opening general session comedian Mark Mayfield kept the program running smoothly and entertained the crowd.  He also was moderator for a panel made up of the presidents of the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Grain Sorghum Producers discussing what is on the minds of the members of these groups and issues facing today’s growers.

Following the panel we heard from Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, who highlighted USDA's focus on strengthening the U.S. agriculture economy and revitalizing rural communities.

The general session closed with a presentation by Dr. Jay Lehr who passionately urged attendees to become strong advocates for agriculture. He explained that by speaking out about agriculture, growers can dispute the misinformation that is becoming increasingly common.

You can view a few more photos on our Facebook page.

-Barbara Rosenbloom

Last Friday I was able to attend a National Fluid Power Association's meeting as a guest of keynote speaker Alan Beaulieu. Traveled down with Kiela Hine and Sandy Shaw. First of all if you've ever been to Laguna Beach you know it's beautiful, and the Montage resort is stunning. Ok yes, our offices are in Malibu but Laguna is really a special place.

Beaulieu has spoken for the NFPA before, but it was the first time I'd heard him address a group with such specific customization, and it blew me away. Beyond the data for fluid power, his take on China was particularly eye-opening, and of course he touched on the commercial real estate market as well. You can check out a more detailed recap of the talk on Michael Ference's Hydraulics & Pneumatics blog.

If you've read Make Your Move, Alan and Brian Beaulieu's new book, or if you've heard them speak recently, you know that they address the idea of a recovery. That's something a lot of speakers and pundits are discussing right now. What most people are looking for is some direction- how to form a strategy to move forward through the pre-recovery and recovery phases. The best place to look for that strategy: a firm that lives and breathes economic trends and has a track record of 60 years of accurate calls. That really played out for me when I heard their talk last Friday- I took notes, I absorbed the information, and I'm sure the audience is going to be able to use the strategies Beaulieu offered in coming months.

The solutions offered, both in the book and in their keynotes and consulting practice, are actually counterintuitive to the way most people imagine you should handle challenging times- there's no way you'll come up with these steps on your own.

As the book puts it, during "phase A" of the business cycle, the economy is improving, so businesses must become aggressive and make firm plans and commit to expenditures to capitalize on the upcoming boom. However, most will not. They, like most of those around them, will be stuck in recession mindsets: hoarding money, employing skeletal staffs and keeping inventories low. They will be afraid to change and will just sit tight, which will decrease their future profits and affect their very survival.

Highly recommend checking out the book, and if you have an event coming up, Alan and Brian can bring their insight to you with literally up to the minute actionable information and economic research centered on your industry.

Christine Johnson