Agreeing not to hug one another was the most difficult challenge facing the 112 participants at Northstar Meetings Group's 8th Annual Independent Planner Education Conference in Louisville, Ky., last week. Just days before Kentucky Derby Week began, leading up to the storied horse race itself on May 1, Louisville Tourism offered a warm welcome to its first midsize pandemic-era meeting, April 21-24, at the Omni Louisville Hotel.
Video: Watch highlights and comments from attendees of IPEC 2021.
Among other sponsors of the event were the Daytona Beach Area CVB, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, PC/Nametag and Aventri. Sponsors of IPEC's health-safety measures were Safe Access, which managed participants' vaccination or Covid-test documents; and Volan Technologies, provider of the event's contact-tracing service.
Northstar Meetings Group will hold a full slate of in-person events this year. Planners and suppliers can register their interest in attending upcoming meetings at any time.
We invite you to view, download and share photos from IPEC’s photo gallery, with credit to photographer Ketara Gadahn/Studio Alani. Following are some highlights from the event.