This week, more than 100 people traveled far and wide to Irving, Texas, just outside of Dallas, for our first Meetings Today LIVE! event of 2025.
From April 13-16, our participants had the chance to experience firsthand everything that makes this Lone Star State destination an ideal choice for meetings and events of all sizes—from its accessibility (our host hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas, is just a 10- to 15-minute drive from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)) to its Tex-Mex dining scene, warm weather and an abundance of top-tier hotels ready to welcome groups of all sizes.
Feeling the FOMO? Here’s a recap of everything attendees experienced at Meetings Today LIVE! National in Irving, Texas.
[Don't miss a Meetings Today LIVE! event! Apply to attend one of our upcoming events.]
Opening Reception
Participants shuffled in through the doors of The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas, throughout the morning and early afternoon Sunday, April 13, where they were greeted by a brand-new lobby adorned with a striking glass chandelier designed to reflect the natural surroundings of Las Colinas.
Our host property for Meetings Today LIVE! National, The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas, joined The Ritz-Carlton’s collection of over 110 hotels and resorts worldwide in early 2024 following its acquisition in 2022 through a joint venture between Trinity Investments and Partners Groups. The property completed its $60-plus million transformation in October 2024, introducing guests to a new era of luxury at the nearly 40-year-old property in the Dallas area.
Nestled on 400 acres in the scenic Las Colinas hills—and a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, distinguishing its wildlife-focused grassland management—this 427-room hotel provides a natural escape with rolling hills, scenic views of Texas wildlife and the downtown Dallas skyline in the distance.
Guests staying at the hotel can enjoy two PGA-certified golf courses, multiple food and beverage outlets, including Knife Italian, a restaurant concept by Michelin-starred chef John Tesar, and meeting spaces and state-of-the-art ballroom facilities covering 80,000 square feet.
One such space, the Pavilion, served as the site of our Meetings Today LIVE! National Welcome Reception on Sunday evening, where attendees dined on skirt steak, pork tenderloin, brisket empanadas, grilled snapper and crunchy chicken tostadas with sides including rice and smashed black beans—a true Tex-Mex menu.
In between going back for seconds, activations invited participants to brand keychains and luggage tags shaped like the state of Texas with Western-style letters and snap a themed selfie at an AI photo booth that turned attendees into comic book superheroes, pirates, Vikings, watercolor paintings and more.
[Related: Old and New Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Venues That Set the Stage for Group Success]
Day One
As every Meetings Today LIVE! event does, the first full day of Meetings Today LIVE! National kicked off with an education session, this one presented by Jessie States, vice president of consulting for Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and sponsored by Kalahari Resorts & Conventions.
States’ session, “What a Waste: Food Waste Prevention for #Eventprofs” explored the pressing global issue of food waste, its significant environmental, economic and social impacts—and how food waste is a major issue for meeting and event professionals, and their organizations, that value sustainability.
“The surface area used to grow food that’s never eaten is the size of China,” States said.
Pulling on data gathered from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), States shared the impact of food waste on the planet, reasons why conversations surrounding food waste aren’t happening as often as they should be, where food waste happens at events and how planners can be more proactive about preventing food waste—rather than taking efforts post-event to dispose of wasted food sustainably.
Following States’ session, Meetings Today LIVE! National attendees participated in the first half of 20 one-on-one appointments, connecting planners to suppliers ready to host their next event, before boarding buses to enjoy an afternoon sponsored by Visit Frisco.
Our first stop was the National Soccer Hall of Fame, which has honored soccer achievements in the U.S. since 1979 and is located within Toyota Stadium, home to the American professional soccer club FC Dallas. After exploring exhibits and interactive moments throughout the museum, we enjoyed lunch in the Gallagher Club, an open-concept space for up to 700 people with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the soccer field below.
While we dined on corn and crab bisque, sliced ribeye, salmon with sundried tomatoes, lemon butter orzo and more, Dan Irvin, a Frisco-based professional speaker and author with expertise in leadership development, took to the stage to teach us what it means to live intentionally—and why meeting planners may need this reminder most.
[Related: 7 Fun Facts About Frisco, Texas That Meeting Planners Should Know]
“Meeting planners (and let’s be honest: every high-performing leader out there) wear a hundred hats, juggle flaming swords and somehow still smile while doing it—but being busy isn’t the badge of honor we’ve made it out to be,” Irvin said. “In my book Stop Being Busy, Be More, I challenge leaders to trade burnout for impact and hustle for intentionality. One of my favorite lines from the book says, ‘Being busy is a schedule full of tasks. Being more is a life full of meaning.’ Whether you’re planning the next big conference or leading a team through chaos, this message is the reset we all need. The best events don’t just fill agendas, they fill people up.”
After lunch, Visit Frisco invited us to split into three groups for an afternoon of sponsored excursions. One group opted to take a Lone Star Food Tour of the Star District, home to a number of local eateries, retail and The Star, the 91-acre campus of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters. Another group buckled up in Slingshots, or three-wheeled motorcycles, for a police escort through Frisco’s streets and a sneak peek at the site of the future Universal Kids Resort, while the third group practiced their aim at a shooting range.
We reconvened at Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa, located 30 miles north of downtown Dallas on 600 acres next door to the Home of the PGA America. The property has 451 guest rooms, 49 suites, 10 Ranch House Villas and approximately 127,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space including a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 2,225 people.
Our evening ended with dinner showcasing tastes of Texas barbecue at Ice House in the PGA District, offering a wide selection of beers, cocktails, a menu of hearty meals and six live hitting bays with Toptracer technology and views of the fairways.
I guess you could say the first full day of Meetings Today LIVE! National was a hole-in-one success!
Check back here for daily updates from Meetings Today LIVE! National in Irving, Texas!
Thanks to Our Sponsors
A big thanks to the sponsors for Meetings Today LIVE! National in Irving, Texas:
