Latest / PCMA Convene Podcast / Convene Talk: Should Events Go on After a Natural Disaster? How Planners Can Responsibly Support Recovery
Transcript
- Convene Podcast Transcript Convene Talk, ep. 59/Apr 18, 2025 *Note: the transcript is AI generated, excuse typos and inaccuracies Magdalina Atanassova: This is the Convene Podcast welcome to another episode of the Convene Talk today. What caught my eye was an article that was featured in News Junkie a few days ago. It's from a nonprofit quarterly titled “An AWP Conference in the Wake of Climate Disaster.” AWP is the association of Writers and Writing Programs and their event this year is being held in LA a few months after the wildfires. Even though the author really wanted to highlight mere months after the wildfires, the criticism comes from the fact that this is a very big event. It usually hosts about 12,000 people, which the author made the claim could overwhelm a community that's currently rebuilding everything. The article highlights that the argument for continuing on with a conference in a climate impacted area is the same one for going ahead with any kind of tourism following a disaster. And that's travelers money. But they also make a point that this has to happen respectfully and responsibly, which was the most important part of the article for me. So they give a few tips on how to do that, which include the that it's a matter of timing after the disaster. And I would add, what is the conference about? I think the examples that they gave made sense that some events that are related to such disasters, there is a sense to have them right after. And also the location where the event takes place matters within that community. So it's not okay to convene in the most impacted zones. So you have to as an organizer, think this through. There are other ways to give back other than direct spending at the destination. That was made as a point. And also that organizers need to acknowledge the disaster in terms of communications before, during, after. It's quite important. So I wonder, as this is not in my neck of the woods, what other ways would you add to that list? Or what other examples would you give? And I know, Jen, you're working on a story that is relevant. Jennifer N. Dienst: Yeah, I was interested to see this story. This is a story I've been working on for a while, ever since Asheville and western North Carolina and other parts of the east coast were hit by Hurricane Helene last year. Just for context, I live in Charleston, South Carolina. Asheville's super close to me. I love it. I spent summers there. I was actually there just like a month before the hurricane hit. But so a lot of people where I'm from have like, you know, connections in Asheville. It's just a very beloved area. But I, you know, I think it's an interesting topic to explore because one I found some research that, not surprisingly, shows that the number of natural disasters like these hurricanes, wildfires, et cetera, are increasing, and the severity and the costs associated with recovery are increasing, too. So I think, you know, for meeting planners listening to this, you know, there's sadly a good chance this may coincide or affect an event that they're hosting. And this is. I'm keeping this to the U.S. but, you know, I'm also thinking about what's happening in Thailand and Myanmar right now and many, many other places around the globe that are. That are experiencing these types of natural disasters. But I think, you know, two of the examples that I'm focusing on for this story, which will be in our next issue, our June issue. For those listening who are interested, I want to explore how some events handled this, who actually went through this. So I've interviewed a meeting planner who held a medical event. This is like an annual event that they've held for, like, 40 years at the Grove Park Inn, which is near Asheville. And it was scheduled to happen about, I think, six to eight weeks after the hurricane came through. So really, really tight timing. And she grappled with this exact question, like, should I go ahead? Should I not? You know, her group of physicians, this was their one annual meeting a year where they would get their CME. They had been going, you know, coming to this. This location for almost 40 years, I believe. So this would be a big deal to a, cancel the event and take away the opportunity for CME for these family physicians, and B, also take the business away from this. This venue that, you know, had probably nothing else going on because of what had just happened. And they chose to go ahead with the event. And it was a difficult decision. I think, you know, there were some. There were some roadblocks. Fortunately, the venue was up and running by the time. But there was a really, really tight time frame because I think part of the hotel didn't even have water until the week before. So there was a question of not whether they could actually go through with it. Some of the overflow rooms that they had were not available because there were, you know, evacuees and first responders staying in them. Fortunately, they were able to find other options. And there was a little bit of a question from some attendees who were like, should we be going? Is this okay? But I think what made her feel confident in her decision was working with the destination, the venue and other properties or venues that she was, you know, working with, who were emphatically begging to come and saying, we need the business. We haven't Worked in two months. We are desperate. Please, please, please come. We will figure it out. And I think that's a perfect example of timing and context. You know, like, were they taking away resources from locals? No, they weren't. You know, they were one property. You know, maybe a couple of rooms are at an overflow property. But in general, they weren't taking away rooms from evacuees or responders. They were being encouraged to come. She said that some of the people working there were like in tears. They were so happy to see them. So I think the message that I got from her and from other people that I've interviewed is like, come. I've also interviewed other people in Asheville. I think this article brings up that point is, you know, it's tricky. It's tricky to know the right time to come back. And I think the takeaway that I've been getting from those I've interviewed is working closely with your venue and destination, understanding what the reality is on the ground, being realistic, and also communicating, communicating with your attendees, with your partners so that they understand what the reality is. Because sometimes media doesn't paint the most honest picture. So those are the takeaways that I've been getting so far that I think are really important for planners to know and understand, which this article will explore more. But yeah, it's an interesting article and it's a tough topic because I think we'll sadly see more of this in the future. Barbara, what are you thinking? Barbara Palmer: Yeah, well, to your point, about seeing more of this in the future, I mean, I think that's the reality. NASA just talked about the fact that flooding, wildfires, drought and heat waves are increasing and will increase. Like, this is kind of a backward looking article or, you know, it's kind of like it doesn't really look at, like, how do you adapt to this situation? I Talked to Shauna McKinley, who is an event sustainability consultant and she also teaches at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She teaches event planning and they have been looking at the effect of extreme weather throughout 2023. She collected data about events that were disrupted in Canada by extreme weather, which in 2023 turned out to be wildfires. It was the worst wildfire season in Canada in decades. And she interviewed organizers to find out the impact that. And I thought two of those impacts were really relevant to the question of whether you should come back. One of them was cost. Every single organizer she talked to suffered financial losses. Most of them did not have insurance. And it was because of the prohibitive cost of event insurance. Against the risk of wildfire in the areas that they were in which I. I would imagine, I mean, that the cost is going to go up as these events get more extreme. And the other thing that I so. So money. So events bring in money. And I just did a quick look at what two events brought in, and the Grammys, which went on and they raised 25 million for LA wildfire recovery, and then fire aid, which was held near Los Angeles and raised $100 million for wildfire recovery in LA. And that's, I think, just a fraction of what was raised by different events. So, I mean, that's just to bring money back into the economy is really important. And I think another benefit that was mentioned in Shauna's interviews with event organizers is she said even more sometimes than the financial losses was just not being able to have the event. As you talked about, Jen, she said they felt, quote, real despair that they weren't able to bring people together. And I feel like in LA, the conference she was writing about surely would have brought local people together. And it's hard to quantify that. But I think that is a benefit that is really lost if you don't have events. It's just that bringing people into the community where they can just interact with people, and that's part of recovery, is rebuilding community. Michelle. Michelle Russell: Thanks, Barbara. I was just going to reiterate what Maggie said, which is that it's really a matter of communication, I think, with your registrants, when you're going to a destination that has been impacted by some natural disaster, you just have to strike, I think, the right balance between respect, which. One of the things that was mentioned in this article is don't be a disaster tourist, which is just strange to me. But I think there are people who like to go see disasters. It's disrespectful. But to go with the idea that you're actually, as Barbara said, helping and contributing to the local economy so they can recover better, easier, quicker, and feeling like you're doing something positive rather than being disrespectful. And I also think it's the nature of the event. So for the Grammys, I know that people felt like, oh, this is. We're all happy and wearing, you know, expensive clothes, and we're all, you know, kind of whooping it up as a celebration, which felt out of tune with what had just happened in the area and how people were suffering. So I also think it's a matter of just what your event is about and then just focusing on the Positive that it can do, rather than feeling like you're completely out of touch with reality. And I think this also is not just natural disasters. I think it's also, as I spoke to the National Black History association and how they have gone to areas where black history has been, I would say, attacked or ignored or put on a back burner, however you wanna say it, because it's important to show support for those. Those people and to say we're going to run to where the problem is and we're going to try to be part of the solution. And I think, Jen, you've written about that when it comes to, you know, policies that have been enacted in certain parts of this country that have to do with reproductive rights and how some organizations have said, no, we're going to. We don't want to move our event from that destination because we wanna show support for the people who live in that destination who are aligned with our values. It's a little bit far afield, but I think it just speaks to the value of events in destinations, Whether it's just moral support or economic support and social support. Those are important things. Barbara, what did you have to say? Barbara Palmer: Yeah, well, I was just thinking as you were speaking that, you know, the value of making it explicit how you can contribute. You know, like at the Grammys, it was very clear that nobody had forgotten that there were people that were not drinking champagne that night. And I just. As you were speaking, it just became so clear, like how designing your event so that. That there's a way for people to express their. To give back, you know, to give to the community is really a benefit. Jennifer N. Dienst: I think a good example of that that I found, and I haven't dug in this too deep yet, but NAMM, which is a huge music industry show that happens every year in Anaheim, which I've actually attended, their event takes place in January, and it actually coincided with the wildfires. So. The wildfires. It was towards the end of the wildfires. It was like the last week of January, but still they were still going on and they went forward with their event. And I was actually reading through some of the communications that they put out, and I think they did a good job, like, reading through what they've done. They. In terms of communications, communicating with their constituents. I found a few exhibitors who said they weren't going. It just wasn't. Didn't feel right. And they said, you know, in their. In their communications, like, we've confirmed that the wildfires are not affecting our venue, our hotel, transportation. It's a) safe for the attendees to come and convene. It won't affect any ongoing recovery or you know, what the emergency personnel are doing. So I think like making sure that those two things are like first and foremost that those are taken care of. And then they also provided some opportunities to donate to relief efforts. They made it part of the show experience. So there was an awareness level there. I think, you know, that that was smart to do instead of ignoring it. I actually found a few really interesting examples of musicians who were affected who actually lost their homes in the wildfire and still I think participated in some way at the show and with donation efforts that they were doing. So yeah, that was kind of a unique example, but I think it's a good example of how you can make something very negative and something that would be perceived as negative turn into a positive. Barbara Palmer: You know, I was just wondering if part of this framing is like a misunderstanding of what events are like, you know, like what Michelle said, like put on fancy clothes, you know, fly in, just talk, you know, that it's really missing the point that the vast majority of events are people coming together for a purpose. And that purpose is something that can be extended even more sometimes afterwards. Like you're thinking about like Katrina. Some of the things that happened in Katrina after that hurricane are, are, are still there, still, still going on. Jennifer N. Dienst: One of the examples I did like from that article was how a lot of the local bookstores and other small businesses that typically see a lot of business during that conference said that no, we want them here. We haven't seen business in weeks. This is, this is helpful for us. And they made that really, really clear. I think people can sometimes say like, this is, this is frivolous in light of this very real and scary and life threatening thing that's happening. And I think people have to realize that like a whole underbelly economy that's happening, you know, that events affect, and if they don't come, they're not making money. You know, it's not just the hotel, like the Hilton, the Marriott, you know, they'll survive, whatever, but it's, it's the housekeepers, it's all the small transportation companies that they're using. It's all those other businesses that like desperately need their business to stay afloat. Barbara Palmer: Well put. Magdalina Atanassova: Yeah, I can say that everyone should be just waiting for your article because I think there will be a lot of other for planners that are going to experience more such situations unfortunately in the future. It seems like we hope not, but it seems like it? Jennifer N. Dienst: Hope not. But hopefully there'll be some good lessons to share from planners who have been through this and so that planners can be prepared. I mean, at the end of the day, all you can do is prepare. Right? Magdalina Atanassova: Exactly. And I just kept on thinking of the tagline when we meet, we change the world, which is so relevant in such situations because. Especially when it's done thoughtfully. Right? Jennifer N. Dienst: Exactly. Magdalina Atanassova: Thank you all for the conversation. Jennifer N. Dienst: Thank you, Maggie. Magdalina Atanassova: Remember to subscribe to the Convene Podcast on your favorite listening platform to stay updated with our latest episodes. For further industry insights from the Convene team, head over to PCMA.org/convene. My name is Maggie. Stay inspired. Keep inspiring. And until next time.