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39 Black Meetings & Tourism December 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com ASAE 2 0 0 9 Annual Meeting and Expo was held in Toronto this year and it was a grand affair despite uncer- tain economic times. Tourism Toronto, The Greater Toronto Hotel Association (GTHA) and its partners and sponsors went all out to showcase this beautiful city on lake Ontario. At the closing night celebration GTHA President Terry Mundell looked well pleased with Tourism Toronto's efforts and results as it pertains to impressing the 4,700 ASAE executives, attendees, sponsors and part- ners. Toronto is a gorgeous city sometimes called "The New York of The North," but cleaner, safer and nicer in this writ- ers humble opinion. It's a world class multicultural city with a significant Black population of some 800,000 pri- marily hailing from the Caribbean and continental Africa.. There is also a Black indigenous African-Canadian presence going back to the Black Empire Loyalists of the mid 1700s. It was also one of the last stops on the "Underground Railroad." Toronto and South Western Ontario has a great story to tell and is an excellent and wel- coming destination for African- American Meetings and Conventions. The City of Toronto has over 250,000 hospitality workers, and the conference generated over 7 million dollars in eco- nomic spend from attendees. Most importantly it was showcased as desti- nation for future ASAE members' meetings and conventions. ASAE President/CEO John Grah- am says that 20% of attendees will book a meeting or convention in the next few years. He also stated at the Press Conference sponsored by the nice people at Gaylord Hotels, that this Conference proves that people are still willing to travel to conferences. He has also seen an increase in online partici- pation. Some of the initiatives planned include having ASAE become a model of diversity and inclusion as an organi- zation. Their Diversity Initiatives are funded with a $500,000 grant from Hyatt Hotels and their Diversity Executive Leadership Program (DELP), now in its 10th year, is funded by Detroit, Metro CVB. They now have a total of 86 DELP alumni and scholars and have received positive feedback from students and organizations they represent. Graham also committed to taking a look at including a diversity component in the RFP process to gauge a destina- tion or CVB adherence to the princi- ples and values of diversity, which he claims is a core value of ASAE. He will consider including diversity in ASAE's RFP process as a determinant in select- ing a destination for ASAE's much sought after annual meeting. For exam- ple, the ASAE RFP would ask ques- tions pertaining to how many people of color a venue or CVB has working in a senior management capacity in its organization, community involvement, etc. He went on to praise David Whittaker, Tourism Toronto President on doing "a darn good job," further stat- ing that the conference was "flawless" and every thing has "gone very well" in the execution of the activities. I also had a chance to speak with John Tisch, president and CEO of Loews Hotels, who spoke about Loews Hotels high ratings with the NAACP when it comes to diversity. He also talked about Loews new hotel in Atlanta, scheduled for April 2010 grand opening and how it should have a posi- tive impact on Atlanta's African- American community. He further stat- ed the Loews Hotels has embraced Diversity and is always seeking partner- ships with the African-American meet- ings and conventions market segment. He went on to praise Philadelphia based Valerie Ferguson, Loews Hotels point person on diversity initiatives for the great work she is doing in terms of connecting with the African-American meetings and convention market seg- ment, and encourages anyone who wants more information on Loews diversity initiatives to contact Ferguson. Last but not least, the highlight of the event for this writer was the closing gen- eral session on August 18th, which saw the appointment of Mrs. Velma Hart, CFO of American Veteran Association (AMVETS) to Chair, of ASAE. Hart became the first African-American to be appointed Chair of ASAE, one of the most powerful and respected organ- izations connected to the meetings and conventions industry. On Monday August 17th , Kweisi Mfume, former congressman, head of the NAACP and Civil Rights Activist gave a wonderful speech on Gender, Race and Public Opinion in 2009. All in all it was a wonderful event, in a wonderful city. The sessions were very informative and educational, the events, the food, entertainment and overall hospitality of the City of Toronto and Tourism Toronto was first class I have no hesitation in recommending Toronto as a destination that should be high on your list for your next meeting or con- vention. B Y T R E V O R D A V I D Toronto City Skyline