Unique Venues will be live in DC in October!

You are invited to join us. Unique Venues members from a variety of unique spaces will join us for a conference, designed by industry educator Joan Eisenstodt, at Catholic University's Pryzbyla Center and we want you to be part of it! This is your invitation to learn cool and useful skills and interact with colleagues on Friday, October 16. Space will be limited. We encourage you to commit early to this complimentary learning opportunity with Izzy Gesell, a favorite PCMA and ASAE presenter.

Planners will receive CE credit through CIC.

Schedule at a Glance
Friday, October 16th
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Full Breakfast
9:10 AM – 9:30 AM Welcome!
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM Education Session “The Power of Story to Build Relationships”
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM Collaboration Exercise “The Recipe for Event Success”
Noon– 1:30 PM Unique Venues Annual “Best Of” Awards Luncheon

The "Best Of" Awards Luncheon will recognize venues in the following categories: Best Marketing Collateral, Best Social Media Presence, Best Website, Best Print Ad and Unique Venues Professional of the Year. Join us as we recognize the outstanding Unique Venues members who encompass the characteristics that make up these awards. 

The Program

The Power of Story to Build Relationships©- Izzy Gesell

“Telling a story is by nature a more personal, animated and emotional response than providing a factual answer because it taps into a different set of instinctual behavior patterns.”
Cynthia F. Kurtz

At its core, a story is about conflict between expectation and reality, imbalance and opposing forces. That’s why there is always a problem to be solved in a story.

For both planners and those in sales and marketing, stories serve as a language that helps identify the needs, success objectives and possibilities for transformation in each relationship. Stories help us see the world through another person’s eyes, identify with their success and struggles, recognize our differences and look within ourselves to find solutions to shared challenges.

Think about how much story is already a part of your communication with others and yourself: Themes for events, problem-solving sessions, branding tactics, creative budgetary work-arounds, and personnel conflicts are all communicated in some form of story-telling.

Experience the power of a variety of ways to tell a story with more than just words. Turn over a new page in your learning to find the passion and purpose that lives inside our stories that can help us better serve our colleagues, clients and organizations. Leave with new activities and new insights into how to incorporate stories, old & new in your personal and professional life.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the structure & function of the 3 main divisions of a story.
• Create a spontaneous story using the “story spine” as a template.
• Discuss how story-telling activities can help you navigate through personal and professional disagreements.
• Structure a narrative for your venue in order to successfully communicate vision, purpose, data or a process.

Meet Izzy Gesell

Izzy Gesell is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.

Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the International Association of Facilitators Group Facilitators Handbook. His latest project is a deck of cards with improv games on them.

Location, Location, Location

The Catholic University of America

It is a tradition that Unique Venues hosts our conference at one of our member sites. This year, we have selected The Catholic University of America.  Located in the up and coming North East section of Washington, Catholic University is easily accessible via the DC METRO Red Line from all of the city's favorite neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill and Downtown.  The conference facilities are within walking distance from the Brookland/CUA Metrorail stop on the Red Line, a dedicated campus stop. Union Station, Capitol Hill, and the Smithsonian museums are only a few stops away.

If you plan to drive to The Catholic University of America, parking will be available on campus for a fee of $9.25 per day. Parking must be pre-arranged when registering for the conference. Those registering for passes will receive their passes in advance of the conference. Parking is available on a first come first served basis and will be limited on the day of the conference.

Registration Information

Registration for the Planner event at UVAMC 2015 is now closed. Thank you to all who have registered, we look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our members at the event.