Page 23 - BEYONDGLOBAL MAR 2024

BEHIND THE SCENES OF SELECTING, PLANNING

AND ORGANISING A WAD MEETING.

Report from the Conference and Midterm Site Recommendation and Management
Committee Midterm Board of Directors Meeting – W Hotel Panama - April 12, 2024

Members, WAD MEETING

It has been a busy year since our last Midterm Board Meeting in Prague. After Lisbon was chosen for our 2025 Midterm, I traveled there
on the way to Prague and looked at 5 available hotels. I felt the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade was our best option in terms of quality and
charm and the proximity to Old Town. Our 2025 Midterm will be held April 29 to May 4, 2025.

It took 3 trips to France to explore an assortment of options in Paris, Versailles, and Cannes. Jean Schmitt was present at all 3 meetings,
and Wes Bearden and Mike LaCorte joined us in Cannes. After a lot of discussion we eventually determined that France was not going
to work out for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason in Paris and Versailles was the eventual cost. We just could not find the perfect
hotel. In Cannes we found a hotel with a reasonable overall cost in the Village of Mandelieu. But, although we felt the Pullman Hotel
offered most of what was expected for a typical Annual Conference, the consensus was that it did not have the 5 start quality we were
seeking for our Centennial Celebration. We did feel it was potentially worthy of consideration for 2026.

Ultimately it took 2 trips to Chicago for Wes, Mike, Chuck, and Bob, but we found the perfect Hotel with a very favorable contract. The
Drake Hotel is just over 100 years old and has the 5 star experience and old world charm we were looking for. Joel Michel also made
some calls to help grease the wheels. WAD last held a conference at this property in 1999, so it is familiar to some of us. Plans are
already underway to make this a great experience. We already have over $37,000 in sponsorships for the Centennial. The Conference
will be September 2 – 7, 2025.

Let’s not forget our upcoming 99th Annual Conference at the Hyatt Grand in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Siti Naidu has been doing most
of the planning there. We will be there September 24 through 28, 2024. You will start seeing promotions shortly after our meeting here
in Panama. It’s bound to be a wonderful conference. Siti first helped arrange a WAD Conference in Singapore in 1986.

At this meeting we need to select a location for our 2026 Annual Conference. Our rotation takes us to Europe. Our selection has been
delayed because of the uncertainty of the location of our Centennial when we met in Vancouver. The Conference Committee discussed
some possible locations and eventually voted for their top 3 favorites. The desire to be in France and the Pullman Hotel in Cannes did
weigh on our minds. Here is how the vote went giving 3 points to the top choice, then 2 points, and then 1 point to their 3rd choice.

Cannes – 30 points
Dubrovnik – 13 points
Budapest – 7 points
Innsbruck – 5 points
Munich – 5 points
Poland – 3 points

We are asking the Board to approve “Cannes” for the 2026 Conference, but we do not know if the Pullman is available at this time. We
suggest that we simply say the French Riviera between Mandelieu and Monte Carlo in order to give us a better chance at hotel options.
If for any reason we cannot find a suitable hotel in that region, I would suggest we be allowed to explore other options in France with
the help of Jean so that we can honor our desire to be in France. The international airport there is in Nice, which is about 20 to 30
minutes from the Pullman depending on traffic.

Thanks to the commitment of our Conference and Midterm Site Recommendation and
Management Committee we have the opportunity to travel, meet and connect with our WAD
members throughout the world. Miss NOT our Mid-Term Meetings, time to have a little fun
and break from work and our Annual Conference, where WAD’s business is conducted and
seminars to be updated with latest techniques and technology.

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