It’s spring and outside our office window the whole world has finally woken up after a long winter sleep. We’re busy, too.

This issue we introduce our two new city partners -- Andrew Wahtera and Michael Gibson -- the first of several city partners we will be working with across the country.

You'll also meet our new guest blogger Bonnie Wooding and hear from Senior Meeting Planner Jennifer Dela-Cruz.

We have 3 books by Judy Allen to give away this month. Contest details at the end of the newsletter. Lastly, Jennifer McGregor of the Art Gallery of Ontario offers up 5 tips for planning an 'artful' event.

Museums and galleries can offer unique settings for corporate events.

This month, Jennifer McGregor, Group Sales Manager at the Art Gallery of Ontario, offers up 5 tips for planning your own “artful” event.

Follow this link to the Weblog, and read what Jennifer has to say.

Meet Jennifer Dela-Cruz, one of the sharp and creative new breed of corporate event planners and a Senior Meeting Planner at RBC, North America’s fifth largest bank.

We recently sat down with Jennifer to chat about her career, accomplishments and what she's planning for 2009/10.

Follow this link to the Weblog for Jennifer's enlightening Q&A.

WTTC.com welcomes Andrew (Andy) Wahtera as our new Eastern Seaboard Partner.

Andy will be providing sales and marketing support for WTTC.com in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Washington DC. He joins WTTC.com after a lengthy career in the event industry. 

Andy can be reached at andyw@wttc.com or by phone at 703-994-6960.

Visit our Weblog to learn more about Andy.

WTTC.com welcomes Michael Gibson as our new Ontario Partner.

Michael will be providing sales and marketing support for WTTC.com in Toronto and for yet-to-be-launched destinations in Ontario, including Niagara Falls and Ottawa.

He is the former National Account Manager for Hotelier Magazine and has held sales and marketing positions with TravelCLICK, Le Meridien, Park Hyatt and TierOne Hospitality Solutions.

Michael can be contacted at michaelg@wttc.com or by phone at 416-924-4778 or 1-888-224-3178.

Meet Michael in person during Kinebition 2009.

Bonnie Wooding, Guest Blogger
Visit our Weblog for the first in a regular series of articles by our new guest blooger Bonnie Wooding. Bonnie is a Senior Executive Assistant at International Financial Data Systems (IFDS) and President of the Toronto Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), a not-for-profit professional association for admins, with more than 30,000 members worldwide.

Admin Professionals Day
Today is Administrative Professionals Day. Rember your favorite administration professional today -- or anytime. Send a unique e-card by Happy Worker. While you’re on the site, you might want to check out their unique line of custom toys and gifts -- great ideas for incentive or promotional gifts.

We have three books to give away to three lucky event planners courtesy of Judy Allen and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

To qualify simply post a note in the comments section of this Weblog post telling us why you should win. The three planners with the most convincing stories win.

Q: We’ve been holding our annual company event in the same location every year for the past five years. Any suggestion on how we can mix it up and make it a bit more interesting?

A: Great question. There are lots of places that are out of the way and non traditional. For example, cultural centers or a park with a distinctive theme. If there is a secondary airport in your city destination, then there may be an available hangar.

Last year, I participated in an event that was built around Earth Day.  Contact your local Parks & Recreation to see if they have a planting program they need assistance with.  Divide your groups into teams and given them a location to plant. Makes for a fun and feel good day. Build in rewards and recognition for a job well done. For example, there could be prizes allocated for the most trees planted. The staff at your Parks & Rec can help you with this.  End off the day with a BBQ and invite family members to join in. The cost for this sort of event is minimal. My partners and I are still talking about the Earth Day event from last year. And, I even drive by the area, once in a while, to see how the trees I planted are doing!

Mary Ellen Tristram is a DMC expert and partner at WTTC.com.

Do you have a DMC-related question? Ask Mary Ellen!

The Meeting Planner's Best Resource is produced by WTTC.com, a local search and business directory for the North American meetings, events and conventions industry.