Are You Certifiable?

Aretha Franklin spelled out what she wanted in a song: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Many Twin Cities meeting and event planners use fewer letters but hope for similar results.

For Dianna Fuller, director of marketing and project management at Minneapolis-based Hoffman Communications, a provider of event and video production services, respect is spelled “CMP” for certified meeting professional. Jodi Collen, senior event planner at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a nonprofit financial services firm in Minneapolis, goes with “CSEP” for certified special events professional.

The meetings and special events industry has experienced phenomenal growth over the past decade, and certification is one way to indicate almost instantly that an individual possesses a high level of experience, knowledge, and professionalism, both Fuller and Collen say.

Despite the growing importance of meeting planning in business, it is offered by only a few colleges and universities as an area of study. Many in the field believe the scarcity of college programs increases the importance of certification.

“Anything that helps make people aware that planning meetings and events is an industry and that we’re not just party planners is important,” Fuller says. In addition to her role at Hoffman Communications, Fuller is the immediate past president of the Minnesota chapter of Meeting Professionals International, a worldwide association for the meetings and events profession based in Dallas.

“The events business is a baby,” Collen adds. “A lot of people are still trying to figure out what it is we do. I believe that some day, CSEPs and CMPs will be recognized just like MBAs.”