Daily Conference Schedule
Pre-Conference FAM Trip
Explore Lawrence, KS
Pre-registration required
Lawrence, KS
Pre-Conference Tours
Kansas I-70 Association
Pre-registration required
Various Locations
Pre-Conference Activities
Hosted by Visit Kansas City, KS
7 – 9 a.m.
Breakfast (On Your Own)
Hilton Garden Inn or Local Option
9 – 11 a.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
Urban Hike: Quindaro
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
9 – 11 a.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
Urban Hike: Quindaro
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
9 – 11 a.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
Downtown Murals Walking Tour
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
12 – 4 p.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
KC Monarchs Game
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
12 – 4 p.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
Heartland History Tour
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
12 – 5 p.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
Ziplining with Zip KC
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
5 – 7 p.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
KCK Taco Trail Dine-Around
Pre-registration required
Self-Guided with Shuttle
7 – 10 p.m.
Pre-Conference Activity
Strawberry Hill Pub Crawl
Pre-registration required
Self-Guided with Shuttle
7 – 9 a.m.
Breakfast (On Your Own)
Hilton Garden Inn or Local Option
8 – 10:30 a.m.
Morning Tour
Caffeine Crawl
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
8:30 – 11 a.m.
Morning Tour
Urban Hike: Strawberry Hill
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
9 – 11 a.m.
Morning Tour
Voler: Aerial Arts
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Vendor Set-up
Memorial Hall
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Lunch (On Your Own)
Local Options
11 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Registration
Memorial Hall
12:30 – 12:45 p.m.
Welcome Session
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
12:45 – 1:45 p.m.
Keynote
Leia Baez | There’s Power in Your Story: How Vulnerability Can Help You Inspire and Connect with Readers
Sponsored by Ohio Amish Country
Leia Baez knows firsthand the power of storytelling. In more than 14 years as an award-winning journalist, Leia experienced how stories can magically connect, inspire, and uplift people with all different beliefs and backgrounds. She took great pride in sharing other people’s stories of hope. But on January 27, 2018 – for the first time in her life – Leia publicly shared raw details of her life on a stage in front of hundreds of people. She had just graduated with a master’s degree from Bellevue University and was selected to be the commencement speaker. Even though it was one of the toughest things she’s ever done, Leia said she found the courage to be vulnerable and talk about the darkest times of her life – a divorce and custody battle. She told the audience how she felt like a failure as a wife and a mother, and she thought her life was over. That one courageous moment sent Leia on quite the adventure, opening doors to opportunities she never imagined. She became a viral motivational speaker overnight, leading her to a career as a keynote speaker and an award-winning author. Owning her story and being authentic paid off in major ways and was the proof she needed that all of the good stuff happens on the other side of our fears. Leia believes we step into our true power every time we find the courage to share a piece of our own journeys – especially the hard-to-talk-about stuff. Leia said that vulnerability is the key to authentic connections.
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
1:45 – 2:15 p.m.
Networking Break
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION
Steve Maly | Cut Fat and Maximize ROI: Stop Lighting Your Marketing Dollars on Fire
Sponsored by WishTrip
Put aside the sexy pitches and learn what really matters in marketing DMOs. This presentation will provide insights into the trends that consistently drive growth in your community, how to figure out what story to tell and how, and the metrics and insights we consistently use to report back to tourism boards. Let’s get to the bottom of what works and leave the remaining shiny but unproven objects behind.
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION
Erin Sturm | Make It Once, Use it Ten Times: How to Repurpose Your Content Across Social Media Platforms
Sponsored by North Dakota Tourism
During this presentation, you’ll learn how to manage your time and work smarter when creating content, how to write and optimize an eye-catching caption format, and how to take one piece of media, ideally commissioned, and use it to create multiple social media posts – all of which could potentially be monetized!. She’ll also be talking about User Generated Content and how you can embrace the trend and the rise of the micro-influencer and why you need to position yourself as one NOW! You’ll leave the presentation with a better grasp on repurposing the content you already have and actionable tips, templates, and ideas for your next social media post!
Memorial Hall
Lower Deck
3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION
Lesli Peterson | Unique Ways to Work with Bloggers to Promote Your Destination
Social media is all the hype these days, but blogging is far from dead. We’ll talk about the best types of destination coverage for visiting bloggers, unique ways to get your region noticed on Google, how email marketing has changed for travel (hint: newsletters are not the only way anymore) and tips for vetting a bloggers’ ability to provide ROI to your location.
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION
Theresa Goodrich | Self-Publishing 101: From Blogger to Author
Sponsored by Mary Arlington MMCC, Inc
Writing a book can seem overwhelming, but if you’re blogging, you’re already ahead of the curve, and you can turn those efforts into a book. Author, Publisher, and Emmy winner Theresa Goodrich shares tips from concept to bookshelf, including the pros and cons of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, tapping your existing audience to create a successful launch, and how publishing a book builds an even bigger audience for your blog. She’ll share personal stories of her own journey and how she uses transparency and authenticity to create a network of raving fans while slogging through the self-doubt that accompanies such an epic undertaking.
Memorial Hall
Lower Deck
6 – 10 p.m.
Opening Reception
Sponsored by Kansas Tourism
Cider Hill Orchard
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Registration
Memorial Hall
8 – 9 a.m.
Breakfast
Join us for a full breakfast and a fun bingo activity as we learn about interesting and odd places in Nebraska.
Sponsored by Visit Nebraska
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
9 – 9:30 a.m.
Networking Break
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION
Jarrod McCartney | Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough: Civic Pride, Destination Tourism and Rural Revitalization
In this session, you will learn how community leaders in Red Cloud have been patiently overcoming entrenched scarcity mindsets, building civic pride through strategic marketing campaigns, embracing a culture of philanthropy, and fostering a steadfast belief that rural citizens deserve access to high-quality products, experiences, and services. RCHTD (Red Cloud’s Heritage Tourism Development) is dedicated to building a community that is a center for arts and culture in rural America. Learn how this is being accomplished, why this approach will make the community a better place to live in as well as visit, and why writing about it helps more than anything else.
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
BreakOut Session
Brandy Gleason | How to Organically Grow Your Audience Using Facebook Groups
Sponsored by Geary County CVB
Social never sleeps and we are seeing trends changing fast and organic growth seems out of reach. Facebook Groups is the answer to that dilemma. In this fast-paced session, I will tell you how to create a Facebook group, attach it to your page, how I have successfully used this tool to grow an email list, and how to engage the people joining your group. If you’re a CVB/DMO I’ll show you how this connects you with your community, fan base, and potential visitors. Writers and bloggers, you’ll learn how to reach a more niched audience and grow your follower base.
Memorial Hall
Lower Deck
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Networking Break
10:45 – 11:45 a.m.
BreakOut Session
Matt Stewart | Leveraging the Media to Promote Yourself & Your Destination/Attraction
As a morning reporter for Fox 4 News, Matt Stewart travels all over the city to inform viewers of all the great places to visit in the area. Over the past five summers, he’s been a part of the Fox 4 Zip Trips, where they pick a small city nearby and go live all morning to share the wonderful things to do and the great restaurants in that town. Some recent favorites include Bonner Springs, Kearney, LeCompton, and Excelsior Springs. Through the power of the press, Matt is able to encourage others to travel to these small towns and help infuse their local economies with new visitors. He will share tips on how your destination and attractions can get media attention without breaking the bank. He’ll give you ways to pitch to the media and once your pitch gets accepted, how to make sure you make the most out of it.
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
10:45 – 11:45 a.m.
BREAKOUT SESSION
Andrea LaRayne Etzel | Best Practices to Capture Visuals That Tell a Story
Sponsored by Travel Iowa
In this session, we’ll cover the principles of storytelling through photography and other visuals. From planning to publishing, attendees will be guided through the different processes and provided useful tips when capturing photography (or video) while traveling.
Memorial Hall
Lower Deck
11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Networking Break
12:15 – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch
Sponsored by Kansas I-70 Association
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
1:30 – 2 p.m.
Networking Break
2 – 3 p.m.
BreakOut Session
Megan Bannister | Setting Yourself Up for Success with Systems
Stop spinning your wheels and learn how to create systems that set you up for success. With a background in project management, Megan Bannister has years of experience helping teams structure their work so they can focus on being creative. Megan will show how by working smarter, not harder, you’ll not only be more efficient in your day-to-day tasks but will have the extra capacity for big-picture thinking and truly meaningful work.
From time blocking and checklist creation to spreadsheets and automation, Megan will give an overview of systems you can set up for your business or team to help you prioritize your work, accomplish more and stop second-guessing yourself. We’ll also have time to hear from our attendees about the systems and software that have helped them. If your to-do list starts to feel tedious, this is the session for you!
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
2 – 3 p.m.
Break-Out Session
Kim Reiner | Thinking Like a Marketer to Grow Your Blog Income
Sponsored by Explore Elgin Area
Marketing at its core is simple: It’s creating a profitable customer action. There’s a strategy behind everything a marketer does, and when it’s successfully executed, both the marketer and the customer get what they want. Kim will guide you through creating your own marketing strategy for your blog, using tactics that help you maintain authenticity. When applying a marketer’s mindset to blogging, you can better plan how to meet your readers’ needs and increase your income.
Memorial Hall
Lower Deck
3:15 – 4:45 p.m.
Speed Networking
Pre-scheduled appointments required
3:15 – 4:45 p.m.
Headshots
Pre-scheduled appointment required
Sponsored by Bismarck-Mandan CVB
3:15 – 4:45 p.m.
Media Marketplace
6 – 10 p.m.
Evening Reception
Hosted by Midwest Travel Network
Co-Sponsored by City of Bonner Springs & Fuel House
Fuel House
7 – 9 a.m.
Breakfast (On Your Own)
Hilton Garden Inn or Local Option
9 – 10 a.m.
Round Table Discussions
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
10 – 11 a.m.
Panel
Community Stories Panel
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
11 – 11:30 a.m.
Networking Break
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Closing Session
2023 Midwest Travel Network Awards & 2024 Conference Announcement
Memorial Hall
Ballroom
12:30 – 2 p.m.
Vendor Teardown
Memorial Hall
Arena
1 – 6 p.m.
Post-Conference Activity
Legends Shopping Experience
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
6 – 10 p.m.
Post-Conference Activity
Sporting KC Match
Pre-registration required
Depart from Hilton Garden Inn
Note: Schedule is subject to change.
Conference Location: Memorial Hall
Experience the charm and history of Memorial Hall as you attend the conference in this iconic Kansas City landmark.
Below is an Aerial Map around Memorial Hall. The available Parking Lots are Highlighted in Blue. The lots and street parking are available.
Walk, Ride or Drive
Memorial Hall is only a 2-minute drive or a 9-minute walk from the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel.
