Manufacture Alabama, an association that represents Yellowhammer State manufacturers in industries such as steel, chemicals, textiles, and pulp and paper, enjoys the Gulf Shores region so much that it has held its Fall Meeting there for three straight years.
“I’ve been going there for a long time with a lot of different associations,” says Rebecca Camerio, vice president of finance for Manufacture Alabama, who organized the meeting, which was held at Perdido Beach Resort. “They like the property, the location, the different aspects of food choices, the things to do—it’s the whole area they like.
“Gulf Shores is growing by leaps and bounds,” she continues. “It’s one of our favorite places to go, and the beaches are beautiful.”
Camerio says the Fall Meeting usually brings in about 150 attendees for a two-day event, and although most of the events are held on-property, the members are given some open time so they can venture off-property for lunch, dinner or to play golf at one of the region’s many top-flight courses, such as Craft Farms.
Like most workers these days, attendees from Manufacture Alabama use the meeting as a springboard for a little rest and relaxation, besides taking care of the business at hand.
“Life has gotten so crazy with most of our members,” she says. “We have one convention per year, so a lot of members include some pleasure time with their meeting because they can’t take a lot of time off of work.”
Apart from golf and wiggling their toes in the white sand, Camerio says many members take advantage of the nearby Foley Shopping Center for a little leisure-time retail therapy.
Besides all of the off-site options, Camerio found that keeping the bulk of her meeting on-property at Perdido sufficed to keep her attendees entertained.
“As a meeting planner, the Perdido Beach Resort is an awesome property,” she says. “They’re very helpful and attentive, and they try to look after every detail—and I’m the worst person in the world for coming up with last-minute things. It also has to do with how good the service we got there was—they’re almost like family.”
Camerio says that the resort’s expansive deck is a good spot for a cocktail reception, and often has live music.
Even though Hurricane Katrina didn’t affect Gulf Shores as much as Mississippi, Camerio says that both Perdido and the Alabama Gulf Coast CVB were instrumental in making sure her meeting there in 2005 took flight.
“We held our meeting right after Katrina,” she says, “and between the CVB and the hotel they did an awesome job of helping us. We didn’t even know if we could get people down there. They told us where gas stations were open for attendees to get down there, and the hotel was in great condition.”
