Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1539265
and networking opportunities galore are yours for the taking. And all this, mind you is free. You just need to use the link here BMT|MEX2025.com to register and your name will be at the door for your entry. We want to also take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for this year's Meet Up – MGM Resorts. Without their support, we would not be able to hold this Meet Up. And for those forward thinking folks who represent a destination, hotel brand, airline, cruise line or some other industry entity, we are certainly open for interested sponsors for our 2026 Meet Up. We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas at our Meet Up, and hope you will take this opportunity to meet new friends, network with old friends, and show sup- port for one another. Black Meetings & Tourism will also have a booth at IMEX America again this year. So please drop by and say hello, grab a magazine, and leave your business card, so we can make sure you are included on our mailing list for the BM&T print publication as well as our monthly newsletters. On another subject, I want to thank our Senior Writer Zyan Avraham, for stepping up to not only continue contributing her outstanding feature articles, but filling the void left when my son Solomon II, who was at last year's Meet Up, made his unexpect- ed transition and got his wings. Her expert skills have helped to get us back on track after suffering such a tragic loss, and maintain the quality of our publication. We appreciate your fine work Zyan, and value you as a crucial member of the BM&T team. 4 B M & T ••• September/October 2025 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com Black Meetings & Tourism is published bi-monthly by Black Meetings & Tourism LCC, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207 • Telephone: (818) 694-7830 • Copyright 2025 by Black Meetings & Tourism LCC. All rights reserved. Single Copies, $6.00 Subscriptions $45.00. Postage Paid at Pasadena, CA. •Postmaster send address changes to Black Meetings & Tourism, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207. N ow more than ever is the time for African-Americans in the meetings, travel and hospitality industry to come together, support one another, and work in unison. The current political climate in this country is designed to keep us separated, behind and in a per- petual failure mode. That is precisely why we at Black Meetings & Tourism are so determined to uplift our brothers and sis- ters in the industry by any and all means available to us. From my early days back in the late '50s and early '60s as a civil rights activist in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)), I have devoted my life to serving our com- munity. So when we launched Black Meetings & Tourism in 1993, that was (and still is) our mission – to provide a voice for, promote unity among, and acknowledge the contributions of African-Americans to this industry. So please let me take this opportunity to invite all Black planners who will be attending IMEX America in Las Vegas dur- ing October, to attend BM&T's Annual Meet Up, scheduled for Tuesday, October 7th, 6:00pm until. The event is being held at the Classic Jewel Restaurant, Las Vegas' only Black-owned club, where food, drinks PUBLISHER'S M E S S A G E Solomon J. Herbert Publisher/Editor-in-Chief E-Mail: BMandTMag@aol.com