Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) Program

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Emeritus CMPs

WHY CMP CERTIFICATION RENEWAL IS VITAL TO ALL CERTIFICANTS
By William H. Just, CAE, CMP
Atlanta, GA
Originally Certified: 1985 (Founder & Inaugural Class)

My belief in the CMP certification program for meeting professionals was reinforced in 1977 when I personally met in New York City with Bob Letwin and Virginia Loft, key editorial staff for Successful Meetings magazine, and convinced them that their magazine was not the appropriate “home” for such a certification and that we needed to allow volunteers to plan and manage it. Such volunteers would come from all types of meeting management venues – non-profit associations, corporations, government, religious organizations, fraternity/sorority groups, etc. – and we would need to invite their input to make certain our eventual program covered all aspects of the meeting management “world.”

So in 1977, I met at the O’Hare Hilton with LaRue Frye and Leonard “Buck” Hoyle for a couple of occasions, to lay the groundwork for our eventual CMP certification program. We then met in the DC area (usually at ASAE Headquarters since LaRue and Buck both worked there) and included Fred Spilhaus, PhD, of the American Geophysical Union, to help draft the original management/marketing plan and lay the groundwork for developing the body of knowledge which would become the blueprint for the original program.

Some people ask me why I would get involved in such a project. Well, it all started when I worked as the meetings and continuing education director for ACEP (Merican College of Emergency Physicians) from 1976-79 and was helping them develop the first criterion-referenced item examination (multiple-choice questions) in medical association history! I therefore had the experience and know-how, and considered myself a good candidate to help get the CMP program rolling along.

I believe that professional certification programs are truly “voluntary” for the participants – have always been and always will be. No one has ever forced someone to become interested in and seek out a certification designation for personal gain. It’s not about that. Achieving a certification designation is a very personal thing – and it is that from the very start – the interest level(s), the studying and preparation and the actual taking of the examination.

CMP certification is not “label.” It is a personal recognition that one has truly achieved a wonderful goal – a measurement of professional skills and knowledge to perform ones job expertly, efficiently and to one’s personal satisfaction.

One must renew their CMP (or any) certification on a periodical basis, since the knowledge and skills change somewhat over the course of years and must be updated and refined accordingly. This is done by engaging in continuing education efforts, volunteer work, and actual job experience. This will substantiate that the ways in which we do business are constantly updated, renewed and revitalized. It’s because the profession is also persistently moving forward to address challenges and professional changes tat are necessary to make meetings and events more effective and rewarding to and for all participants. Also, the personal contacts and idea exchanges experienced through continuing education activities make professional and personal life much more rewarding and interesting. It’s a win-win for everyone involved!

(Back to all Emeritus CMPs)

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©2004 Convention Industry Council
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Emeritus CMPs

WHY CMP CERTIFICATION RENEWAL IS VITAL TO ALL CERTIFICANTS
By William H. Just, CAE, CMP
Atlanta, GA
Originally Certified: 1985 (Founder & Inaugural Class)

My belief in the CMP certification program for meeting professionals was reinforced in 1977 when I personally met in New York City with Bob Letwin and Virginia Loft, key editorial staff for Successful Meetings magazine, and convinced them that their magazine was not the appropriate “home” for such a certification and that we needed to allow volunteers to plan and manage it. Such volunteers would come from all types of meeting management venues – non-profit associations, corporations, government, religious organizations, fraternity/sorority groups, etc. – and we would need to invite their input to make certain our eventual program covered all aspects of the meeting management “world.”

So in 1977, I met at the O’Hare Hilton with LaRue Frye and Leonard “Buck” Hoyle for a couple of occasions, to lay the groundwork for our eventual CMP certification program. We then met in the DC area (usually at ASAE Headquarters since LaRue and Buck both worked there) and included Fred Spilhaus, PhD, of the American Geophysical Union, to help draft the original management/marketing plan and lay the groundwork for developing the body of knowledge which would become the blueprint for the original program.

Some people ask me why I would get involved in such a project. Well, it all started when I worked as the meetings and continuing education director for ACEP (Merican College of Emergency Physicians) from 1976-79 and was helping them develop the first criterion-referenced item examination (multiple-choice questions) in medical association history! I therefore had the experience and know-how, and considered myself a good candidate to help get the CMP program rolling along.

I believe that professional certification programs are truly “voluntary” for the participants – have always been and always will be. No one has ever forced someone to become interested in and seek out a certification designation for personal gain. It’s not about that. Achieving a certification designation is a very personal thing – and it is that from the very start – the interest level(s), the studying and preparation and the actual taking of the examination.

CMP certification is not “label.” It is a personal recognition that one has truly achieved a wonderful goal – a measurement of professional skills and knowledge to perform ones job expertly, efficiently and to one’s personal satisfaction.

One must renew their CMP (or any) certification on a periodical basis, since the knowledge and skills change somewhat over the course of years and must be updated and refined accordingly. This is done by engaging in continuing education efforts, volunteer work, and actual job experience. This will substantiate that the ways in which we do business are constantly updated, renewed and revitalized. It’s because the profession is also persistently moving forward to address challenges and professional changes tat are necessary to make meetings and events more effective and rewarding to and for all participants. Also, the personal contacts and idea exchanges experienced through continuing education activities make professional and personal life much more rewarding and interesting. It’s a win-win for everyone involved!

(Back to all Emeritus CMPs)