For more information, contact Sandy Eitel at 312.423.7271 or seitel@pcma.org.

I-Zone at the 2008 PCMA Annual Meeting: Innovations in Action

Seattle, Washington, January 12, 2008 - For a second year, attendees of the Professional Convention Management Association's (PCMA) Annual Meeting, January 13 - 16, 2008 in Seattle, will have an opportunity to view some of the latest innovations in the meetings and events industry. At the PCMA I-Zone, demonstrations by Microsoft Corporation, PolyVision®, Freeman , VisionaryFX, and MeetingMetrics^SM will givemeeting attendees a sneak peek at what lies on the horizon for meetings and events.

"We view the PCMA Annual Meeting as a testing ground for the newest ideas, concepts, and technologies shaping our industry," said PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton. "At the PCMA I-Zone, meeting attendees will have the unique opportunity to learn and ask questions about some cutting-edge technologies certain to impact future meetings and events."

Microsoft Corporation
Windows Live Services - The Windows Live Platform provides a set of rich, familiar and useful interactive services that can help marketers deliver great online experiences. I-Zone visitors will learn how Microsoft's online community and virtual concierge applications can help them achieve their business needs.

Microsoft® Virtual Earth™ - Meeting attendees will discover how Microsoft® Virtual Earth™ and Windows Live Services can help them better engage with customers in all phases of the customer lifecycle: before, during, and after their on-site experience. They'll see examples of how a branded online portal can enable customers to plan out their stay through a virtual concierge, share their itineraries with others, and capture memories of their travel experience after their stay.

Microsoft® RoundTable™ is an advanced collaboration and conferencing device that delivers an engaging, immersive meeting experience with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 or Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007. Microsoft® RoundTable™ extends meeting environments across multiple locations, giving remote participants a 360-degree view of the conference room, enhanced audio, and video that tracks the flow of conversation.

PolyVision® A Steelcase Company - Thunder™
Real-Time Global Collaboration Network-Thunder™ redefines the collaborative experience. Utilizing a multi-screen projected display system, data from any source (computer files, scanned images, video images or handwritten notes and sketches) lights up the room on virtual "flipchart" pages. The information is displayed on the wall of the Thunder™ room and can be edited in real time either in the Thunder™ room itself, or by remote participants connected from any computer. The data from the Thunder™ session is captured and stored for ongoing development, or distributed automatically via email.

Freeman
Presenter Interface-A new initiative in audio visual technology and a component of Freeman's Presentation Management system, this new interface is used in meetings rooms to give the presenter full control over their presentation using a touch screen. Presenters may also use the touch screen as a telestrator, allowing them to draw, highlight or use as a whiteboard.

VisionaryFX
Several projects will be demonstrated, with two pieces being highlighted: MGM Grand at Foxwoods and the New Orleans Marriott. Both companies are currently expanding or renovating their properties, yet VisionaryFX created tours of exactly what the establishments will look like before they are even finished. Each tour was created solely from blueprints and interior design specifications that depict exactly how the building will look when completed, from the overall layout down to the actual carpeting in each and every room. These companies will now be able to bring their new buildings to market before they even exist.

MeetingMetricsSM
MeetingMetricsSM V2.0 with ROI and Enterprise Level Reporting-MeetingMetricsSM will be introducing version 2.0 with ROI and Enterprise Reporting plus a host of new features to make meeting measurement easier and quicker than ever before. The new ROI application, endorsed by the ROI Institute, produces event level as well as participant level ROI reports to demonstrate meeting value to participants and their organizations. Enterprise Reporting enables comparisons of all benchmark results across a variety of meetings and surveys over time.

The I-Zone will be located on Level Four of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center throughout the PCMA Annual Meeting. Visit the Annual Meeting Web site at www.pcma2008.org for more information.

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is the professional resource and premier educator for the meetings and convention industry. Founded in 1957, PCMA represents the interests of meeting management executives from associations, non-profit organizations, corporations, independent meeting planning companies, and multi-management firms who recognize the importance of meetings to their organization. PCMA empowers members with the tools they need to succeed as meeting professionals and to promote the value of the industry to their organizations and the general public. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 16 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. For additional information, please visit the PCMA Web site at www.pcma.org.

The role of the PCMA Education Foundation is to support the mission of the PCMA through fundraising and grant giving focused on education and research that will benefit the meetings and conventions industry. Established in 1985, the Foundation supports educational programs to improve professionalism in the meetings industry and to provide a university-level meeting management curriculum. The Foundation funds educational programs for meeting managers, hotels, convention and visitors bureaus, and other members of the meetings industry. It also conducts ongoing research of industry issues and concerns. The Foundation continually funds new programs to encourage the highest levels of professionalism in the meetings industry.