Convention and Meetings Manager
National Funeral Directors Association
Brookfield, Wis.
Describe your event.
We had nearly 6,000 people, including members and exhibitors, for our annual convention in Philadelphia last October. We were celebrating our 125th anniversary, and the city was celebrating the 300th anniversary of Ben Franklin’s birth. The anniversaries were great thematic tie-ins.
Why did you decide to host the meeting in Philadelphia?
We were supposed to meet in New Orleans, but after Katrina, we had to move. We did a huge RFP blitz to 20 different convention centers, and Philadelphia was in our top four choices. We need 200,000 gross square feet of meeting and exhibit space. Not a lot of cities can host us. At first, our board was hesitant about Philadelphia, mainly because our association hadn’t been there in 50 years, and they weren’t familiar with the city. We were able to sell it around the history and anniversary themes.
What surprised you the most about Philadelphia?
Without a doubt, the service we got from the CVB and the convention center. Also, the people; it really is the friendliest city. The great service began with the bureau and everything unfolded exactly as we expected, from beginning to end. They flipped our program in a year—a major undertaking.
What did your attendees seem to enjoy the most?
They loved the tours we offered. One favorite was to the burial grounds at Christ’s Church, where Franklin is buried. It also has the graves of about 5,000 people who died during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic. The Eastern State Penitentiary and its crumbling cellblocks was another stop they liked; it has so much history about notorious criminals like Al Capone and others. Center City’s great restaurants were also popular in the evenings—they were full!
Was anybody particularly helpful?
Maria Grasso, director of sales at the Philadelphia CVB, and Philomena Petro, CMP, and vice president of convention services at the CVB, were just phenomenal to us. They were at our convention site almost daily, working with hotels and the city to get whatever we needed. That was the first time I’ve ever had CVB staff stay so close to the program through the whole thing. At the convention center, Director of Sales Chezerah “Chaz” Bowleg with Aramark was also amazing. We had all our events there and you’d think the food would get tiresome, but it didn’t. They were flexible and stayed totally within our budget.
What were some of the unique off-site venues that you used?
Our funeral directors under age 40 went to Finnegan’s Wake, a great Irish pub that is home to the famed Lincoln Doors that have a history with his assassination. The site is a former casket factory—just right for our group!
How does Philadelphia compare to other cities where you have hosted meetings?
Very well. Our people really liked it. Post-convention surveys indicate they want to return. We’ve added it to the short list of cities like Chicago and Vegas, among which we do four-year turnarounds because they are proven draws for us.