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Dear SGMP Members,
It is with great sadness that I inform you that our former Executive Director, Carl C. Thompson, CGMP, passed peacefully from this life on January 11, 2010. He had been fighting his battle with pulmonary fibrosis for the last couple of years. His contribution to SGMP was absolutely tremendous.
Carl dedicated his entire career to the government meetings industry, beginning with the U.S. Office of Education over 30 years ago. One of his job duties was to plan meetings for government employees ranging from 10 to 3,000 attendees. Carl placed the first meeting ever by a civil servant in the White House and received a proclamation from President Jimmy Carter in recognition of the success of that first meeting.
Carl brought a new level of exposure to the government meetings profession within the hotel sector of the hospitality industry. After 18 years of working for the federal government and planning meetings, he accepted a position as the Executive Director of a meeting planning group called Professional Planning, Inc. His successes there inspired him to form his own business in 1986. Camelot Enterprises, Inc., was dedicated to servicing government agencies in site selection and meeting placement.
These career steps helped Carl shape the future of the government meetings industry with his involvement in the formation of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP). As a founding member alongside Sam Gilmer in 1981, Carl became a proactive volunteer and advocate of our newly-created Society’s mission to meet the needs of the government meeting planner through education and networking. He served on the Society’s national board of directors in several offices, but most notably as our National President and twice as the National Second Vice President. Carl’s significant contributions as a volunteer to SGMP were a key factor that led to his appointment as SGMP’s Managing Director in 2000 and then as our first Executive Director in 2001.
Carl again brought his endless energy and vision and reshaped SGMP for the 21st century by creating the first and only government meetings magazine in 2001 and by developing the Certified Government Meeting Professional (CGMP) designation in 2005. Today, SGMP has over 300 members with their CGMP certification.
In 2006, his keen commitment to, and many successes in, enhancing the professional development of government planners and their industry partners earned Carl the highest honor in the entire meetings industry—induction into the Convention Industry Council (CIC) Hall of Leaders. This induction, in addition to receiving the Sam Gilmer Award—SGMP’s highest honor— in 1987, is affirmation of the hard work, dedication and vision that Carl brought to SGMP and executed with a passion.
Carl has touched thousands of SGMP members with his vision and encouragement. He lived and worked by his personal favorite quote: “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.“ Mr. Carl C. Thompson, CGMP, certainly met his dreams before retiring as SGMP’s Executive Director in April 2008 and before expiring from this life. Please take a moment today to reflect and honor the man who has sparked our passion for SGMP.
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