From the Chair: 6 October 2022
In a moment of reflection recently I realised that I’ve been connected to MEA for nearly 25 years. When I started my career I wasn’t even aware of MEA or knew it existed, but my connection began the day I started in the events industry.
I started my career with a company that provided audio visual and styling, and as a junior audio visual technician working on MEA events, I saw a glimpse into the world of networking, fun and entertainment. In subsequent years, getting a ticket to the MEA conference was revered, everybody wanted a ticket to the party. But more than that, attending MEA events felt like an embrace from friends, colleagues and a community with shared experiences and passion.
For me, it’s always felt like the village to call home, and it takes a village to run an Association that we can call home. For nearly 50 years now MEA has been the village of event professionals in Australia. Within that time, its backbone has been crafted by the hard work and efforts of countless volunteers manning each state and territory branch committee. These branches are essential to MEA’s culture and maintaining our village, not just in each of the states but nationally.
The year 2022 has been one of the craziest years for our industry, it felt like we just crash-landed out of COVID. There’s really been no time to tend to our village, but it seems we have survived.
As we close out 2022 and look forward to a new year, MEA HQ is seeking enthusiastic members of our community and association to join the village. It’s an opportunity for a fresh approach from our future leaders and an opportunity to take charge of your career right from the onset, help nurture the Association moving forward, and along the way build your own network and leadership skills.
So what’s involved in being a branch member?
The committees primarily support MEA HQ in organising and delivering networking and professional development opportunities to the local events community within the state or territory they are based. So if you like organising a party, this could be for you.
Branch members must be financial members of MEA, or work for a member organisation, and have capacity to meet every six weeks.
These meetings provide an invaluable line of communication between the local event professionals that make up the wider membership and MEA’s key decision-makers to influence the way the Association operates and can best serve its industry.
Those who actively participate on the branches get the most out of it, as it is a highly rewarding experience, not just professionally but personally. Having started on a committee myself back in 2010, I’ve discovered lifelong connections that have been forged during time spent on branch. Invaluable networking opportunities have been presented to those who have dedicated their time to supporting the industry through participation in village life.
As Peter mentioned in last week’s MEA Express, special thanks must go where it is most definitely deserved – to those who currently sit on MEA’s branch committees across the country. These volunteers have provided a genuinely appreciated and constant support to the MEA team and the association as a whole, and have seen through the numerous challenges that the last two years have presented.
To those currently serving their industry in these roles, on behalf of the Board and MEA team, we thank you.
As the last few months of the year turn into a sprint, the branches are already working on what’s to come in 2023. A calendar of events is being developed and member venues and suppliers are being sought out to showcase their products and services at one of MEA’s future events.
Wherever you may be in the country, if you find yourself drawn to join the village and are interested in supporting Australia’s leading event industry association, now’s the time to reach out to a member of your local branch committee to get involved.
