Meetings Today contributor Carolyn Blackburn interviewed Jennifer B. David, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager with the Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC), to discuss recent updates to the facility. The GCCC, which features 373,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, wrapped a two-year $140 million renovation and expansion project in July 2017 to improve the overall guest experience, including the installation of an impressive art collection and local F&B concepts.

Planners have many teambuilding opportunities to choose from throughout Southern Ohio, including several that showcase the unique attributes of each destination. Groups can tap into Cincinnati’s brewing and baseball heritage, participate in the arts in Columbus and explore Dayton’s aviation history. Following are details about those and some other standout ideas, including ziplining above Warren County’s wilderness, for groups interested in adding a team-bonding activity to the meeting agenda.

The lineup of beer purveyors across the country is growing every day, including in Northern Ohio’s meetings-friendly destinations, where the following breweries are on tap for group tours, tastings and/or events.

Music of every genre, including rock, classical and jazz, is represented throughout Northern Ohio, where groups can easily include an activity or off-site gathering that incorporates a musical element. From Cleveland’s distinguished Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to music performances staged at Bowling Green State University’s new Wolfe Center for the Arts, the region’s music scene will be a hit with groups that would like to enhance the meeting with a melodic experience.

Dean Jones, CMP, is the director of conferences and events with the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA), in Indianapolis. The RCMA recently held its annual Emerge conference in Omaha.

Neighbors Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, home to CenturyLink Center Omaha and Mid-America Center, as well as a great variety of group-friendly hotels, also offer an intriguing lineup of venues for off-site receptions and banquets.

Unique, booze-infused venues, including traditional bars, speakeasies and distilleries, await groups that would like to toast over delicious handcrafted cocktails after a meeting. Across the country, group-friendly destinations feature standout bar settings with inviting decor, ranging from rustic to industrial, and menus starring world-class wines, microbrews and exquisite specialty mixed drinks.

Planners have a variety of teambuilding experiences to choose from in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, each of which can cater to a group’s makeup and interests.

College towns are happening hubs of activity, where the arts, sports and culinary delights thrive. All that and more is on deck for planners who book a university setting for a conference.

Georgia has a storied music heritage—the iconic song Georgia On My Mind, made famous by Georgia native Ray Charles and designated the official state song in 1979, just about sings it all.