Strategic Meetings Management Certification Program Launches Next Month

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. September 22, 2009

ALEXANDRIA, VA, September 23, 2099 - The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) -- the leading provider of corporate travel education and professional development - announced that enrollment is now open for Core Week 1 of the Strategic Meetings Management Certification (SMMC) education program, an industry-first certification program in strategic meetings management. After a year of development and a successful beta test at the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition last month in San Diego, NBTA is accepting applications for SMMC Core Week 1 to be held November 2-6 at Emory University in Atlanta.

"The business community has enthusiastically adopted the concept of strategic meetings management, first developed by the NBTA Groups & Meetings Committee more than five years ago," said NBTA President & CEO Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.M.P., CMM. "When NBTA members and meeting planners came to us seeking a professional development program to help advance this maturing concept, we listened and got right on it. Now, after much dedication from the SMMC task force and industry thought leaders, the program is complete and ready for its first registrants."

The SMMC program consists of two core weeks and elective classes. The curriculum is designed to drive further development of accepted best practices, lead to creative new "next-practices," and enhance communication and leadership skills in developing and implementing meeting policies, workflows and technologies. Upon completion of the course, graduates will earn the SMMC designation, indicating a proficiency in strategic meetings management.

Banikowski continued, "This new industry designation will set meeting planners apart from others. Carrying SMMC behind one's name will highlight the individual's expertise, proving the meeting planner's value to his or her company, clients and supply chain partners."

NBTA pioneered the body of thought around strategic meetings management with a series of papers launched in 2004. The NBTA Groups & Meetings committee that writes the papers continues to publish new installments in the Framework for Success: Strategic Meetings Management Programs series. The most recent paper, A Strategic Approach to Small Meetings, offers strategies and solutions relating to small meetings. These resources have served as how-to guides for companies around the globe as they look to maximize value and minimize risk by developing standardized meeting programs and deploying them across a company or division. The papers are available at www.nbta.org.

The SMMC designation course expands NBTA's role as the leading provider of professional development in the corporate travel industry. NBTA also offers the Corporate Travel Expert (CTE) designation, which can be earned upon completion of the Fundamentals of Business Travel Management course, and the Certified Corporate Travel Executive (CCTE) designation, which is carried out in conjunction with The University of Houston Conrad Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management, is earned after completion of two core weeks and five one-day electives. The NBTA Foundation, in conjunction with The Wharton School, offers the Global Leadership Program (GLP) master's level executive education program, and the NBTA Government Travel Group now offers the Certified Government Travel Executive (CGTE) designation, designed for government travel professionals.