Upcoming Events

Meeting date: May 7, 2026 at 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Trends that Work: Rethinking Meetings, Food, & Events
Today is different than yesterday or last week or last year. How are we handling the changes we face every day? Come to this interactive conversation with your peers on trends, challenges, and tips and tricks that we all face in one way or another. Bring your questions and ideas to share.

Location
The Grand Hotel Salem
201 Liberty St SE
Salem, OR 97301 

Panel Speakers
Kristi Reid, The Grand Hotel Salem
Sarah Verheyden, Salem Convention Center
Greg Heinze, Travel Salem
Kai Henning, Allied Video 

Monthly Fundraising
“Flowers or Plants” is the theme for our May $1 per ticket Monthly Drawing! If you’d like to donate an item to the drawing, bring something spring flower/plant related. Need some ideas? Plants, seeds, bulbs, gardening tools, vases, etc. Who wouldn’t want to win one of these?!

In addition, we are selling tickets for our 50/50 drawing! Tickets are $5 each. The 50/50 drawing began in February and will end in June. Some lucky person will win Summer Escape Cash at our June meeting!

Tickets for drawings can be purchased online when you register or at the meeting. Thanks, and see you SOON!

Register Online

Oregon Meeting & Event Industry Networking & Development Day

Member Pricing extended to SGMP members! 

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Keynote Session & Lunch - Mastering Pushback: A Curious Fall Into the Art of Resistance

Fall Down the Rabbit Hole into an immersive storytelling experience where every moment of pushback becomes part of the journey — and perhaps, the way forward. Through vivid metaphors, humor, and actionable tools, this session explores the dynamics of pushback, decoding the Queens, Rabbits, and Hatters we meet in business and life. By session’s end, you’ll see resistance not as something to fight, but as something that can guide you toward your most creative and collaborative breakthroughs.

Guiding this imaginative experience is Kerry Lee Doehr — former founding CEO of one of the longest-standing event and hospitality companies on the American Riviera, Forbes trained, a former Disney employee (Disneyland Resort), and Disney Institute alumna. Her clientele has ranged from former White House staff to a Disney CEO, and as a newly minted Oregonian, she brings her signature blend of strategy, storytelling, leadership insight, and just a touch of magic to this unforgettable MPI Oregon experience.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will:

1. Identify and interpret the root causes of pushback.
2. Learn strategies to transform resistance into collaboration and momentum.
3. Decode communication styles and resistance “personas” to respond more effectively.
4. Strengthen empathy, patience, and influence in leadership and client interactions.
5. Reframe resistance as a creative and strategic ally rather than an adversary.

1:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Break

1:45 PM - 2:30 PM
Planner/Buyer & Supplier Breakout Sessions - Through the Looking Glass: Real Life Examples of Challenges and Pushback in our Daily Lives

In these thoughtful breakouts, speak with your colleagues about their real-life day-to-day challenges. A variety of topics will be introduced to discussed including budgets, contracting, trends in business travel, working with government groups and more!

2:40 PM-3:00 PM
Closing Session & Final Announcements

Join us as our groups come back together for some key takeaways, real life examples and how our newfound knowledge can bring us closer together in Wonderland.

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Reception & Marketplace

Marketplace Alert:

Reserve your trade show booth and gain access to exclusive education, lunch, and reception. It’s a great opportunity to engage with industry leaders and peers in an intimate setting. Booths are limited – book yours today!

Community Outreach - Book Drive:

Please bring a book or two with you, and all collected books will go to the Children’s Book Bank at SMART Reading.

The Children's Book Bank fills homes and lives with engaging, culturally diverse books because all children deserve to have books of their own. When they do, magical things happen — books ignite curiosity, spark the imagination, and open young minds to limitless possibilities.

BOOKS NEEDED:

• This year, there is a high need for picture books and board books aimed at young students (preschool/Kindergarten and younger). Rule of thumb: board books and picture books with no more than a paragraph of text per page.
• The Children's Book Bank seeks new or gently used books in good condition, appropriate for babies through elementary school students. The Children’s Book Bank strives to provide books to families that are of current interest and of gift-like quality.
• Culturally relevant and books in Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin), and Somali are greatly needed.
• The Children’s Book Bank is unable to find homes for musty or damaged books, magazines, coloring books, encyclopedias, textbooks, ex-school library books, or books for adults.

All donated gently used children’s books are cleaned, restored, and carefully curated by our volunteers and staff. Picture books are thoughtfully bundled to create a home library to help Head Start families build regular reading habits. Books for school-age children are distributed each spring to high-need schools through free book fairs. In addition, thousands of books find their way into local homes via food pantries, community health care clinics, youth camps, and more.

For more information about The Children’s Book Bank

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