FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 13, 2005

CONTACT: Mary E. Power, President & CEO
Convention Industry Council
(703) 610-9030

APEX RECOGNIZED WITH “BREAKTHROUGH AWARD”
at 2005 BizBash M&C Meeting and Event Style Show

McLean, VA – October 13, 2005 – The Convention Industry Council’s (CIC) Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) will receive recognition for its initiative in streamlining processes and reducing inefficiencies in the meetings, conventions, and exhibitions industry. The “Breakthrough Award” will be presented to APEX at the M&C Luncheon, during the 2005 BizBash M&C Meeting and Event Style Show on October 21, 2005 in New York City.

The “Breakthrough Award” has been established to highlight the accomplishments of APEX throughout the industry. The APEX Commission Chair, Mickey Schaefer, CAE, will accept the award on behalf of APEX. Schaefer has been a driving force of the APEX initiative, which has made substantial advancement in the development of accepted practices that are enhancing efficiencies and streamlining processes throughout the meetings, conventions, and exhibitions industry.

A recent APEX tool released in 2005, The APEX Meeting and Event Planning Toolbox from OfficeReady, has yielded great results from those in the meetings, conventions, and exhibitions industry. The APEX Toolbox is a user-friendly toolset containing a collection of more than 200 event management and business templates, as well as name badge and table card templates. It also includes templates developed through APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange) as the industry standard. It is designed to interface with the Microsoft Office suite of software programs, specifically Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

EJ Siwek, APEX Technology Advisory Council Chair, will provide a hands-on demonstration of these tools at the CIC booth. This educational session during the Show will demonstrate how attendees can use the tools that have resulted to date from APEX in their daily professional lives. Show hours are:

For more information on 2005 BizBash, visit the website at www.bizbash.com/tradeshow/

The Convention Industry Council’s 30 member organizations represent more than 100,000 individuals as well as 15,000 firms and properties involved in the meetings, convention and exhibitions industry. Formed in 1949 to provide a forum for member organizations seeking to enhance the industry, the CIC facilitates the exchange of information and develops programs to promote professionalism within the industry and educates the public on its profound economic impact.

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