QR codes have a way of making the walls talk

If these walls at the NIU Hoffman Estates Conference Center could talk, they would share stories of more than 40,000 meeting attendees and students who have passed through its doors since 1992.

Guests of NIU Hoffman Estates create experiences and ideas here. They hold meetings, luncheons and cocktail hours. Decisions are made here—some simple and others life-changing for organizations. All the while, these walls have been standing by quietly.

The walls have listened, patiently, while the staff, guests and the world adjusted their focus and engaged in conversations that reflect environmental change. The dialogues are about carbon footprints, reducing paper, eliminating waste, and recycling. How do we help the world and get the word out?

These walls cannot be silent anymore! Armed with great technology and emerging trends, NIU Hoffman Estates can share its history and green efforts with the world.

How could these walls talk? How is that possible? By now you may be familiar with those little black and white bar codes. Maybe you have heard they are called quick-response codes. If you consider yourself somewhat tech-savvy, you know that QR codes are one of the most popular two dimensional bar codes on the planet.

Thanks to our addiction to smart-phones and willingness to type with our thumbs, QR codes have become a focus within marketing.

QR codes offer another way to engage with mobile-minded consumers. For NIU Hoffman Estates Conference Center, QR codes are the voice. Meeting attendees and students at the conference center now have an opportunity to join in the environmental conversation and witness the effort this building goes through to make the world a better place.

Susan Skorich from a marketing and print communications firm in Schaumburg identifies QR odes as “a dynamic way to interact with smart-phone users.” Used properly, these codes give NIU Hoffman Estates Conference Center a voice. The walls can talk! Now they are increasing awareness of the building’s effort to become more environmentally conscious.

Starting in June, guests can interact with NIU Hoffman Estates in a way like never before. Smartphone users can download the QR code reader application, for free, and participate by scanning the wall and reading the message. QR codes are posted throughout the center and will inform guests about congregate food service, water stations, timers on light switches, and low-flow toilets. As information changes, NIU Hoffman Estates staff can simply logon and add new messages without printing more paper.

“Sounds green to me,” says Sarah Vining, the marketing coordinator at the National Conference Center. Sarah has been using QR codes for her own conference center in Virginia. According to Vining, “QR codes are cutting edge and are the greenest method to express eco-friendly initiatives.”

Newspaper &Technology Magazine’s editor, Tara McMeekin, wrote QR codes can be the perfect complement to print and other media. She said Allure’s use of 26 Microsoft tags in its August 2010 ‘Free Stuff’ issue snagged some 440,000 scans by readers wanting in on the Condé Nast magazine’s annual giveaway.

QR codes can be acquired for free. With an investment of time, your business can gain access to the mobile-minded consumer. Give your grocery store, classroom, flower shop, or chamber of commerce a voice. In the meantime, stop by and experience NIU Hoffman Estates and find out what these walls are saying.

• David Haas is the former regional sales and product manager for NIU Conference Centers. He was responsible for the sales and marketing strategy for the three centers and sits on the IACC-Americas Board of Directors.

IACC-Americas Names Canadian Conference Centre Chef of the Year

Murray Hall, Executive Chef at BMO Financial Group Institute for Learning in Toronto, set the record for winning IACC’s coveted culinary cook-off by winning the Canadian Copper Skillet award for the third consecutive year.

He also earned the right to represent Canada at the International Association of Conference Centres’ ninth annual Copper Skillet Cooking Competition.

The event was held at White Oaks Resort & Spa in Niagara-On-The-Lake where five other chefs from across Canada competed in the cook-off. As in the past competitions, three mystery proteins were unveiled including quail, Arctic char, and smoked whole ham hocks. Local judges observed the chefs throughout the competition and evaluated their final product based on originality of creation, technique, presentation, textures, balance of flavor combinations, and hygiene standards.

Other chefs in the competition were:

• Jean Mathieu LeClerc, Sous Chef, Sodexho at Nav Canada, Cornwall, ON

• Alan Boden, Exec Chef, Donald Gordon Conference Centre, Kingston, ON

• Wandee Jefferson, Exec Chef, Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre, London, ON

• Spencer Gadener-Durdle, Sous Chef, White Oaks Resort, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

• Santosh Kumar Sahoo, Sous Chef, Banff Centre, Banff, AB

Hall will join seven other chefs from IACC chapters in the Americas, Europe, and Australia at La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa in Montgomery, TX in March to vie for the crown of the Global Conference Centre Chef of the Year.

Chef Hall’s winning entry was pan-seared Arctic char with white wine sabayon sauce on a bed of Japanese eggplant, plus pan-seared quail with sweet potato risotto and pine nut-basil-cranberry relish with zucchini flowers.

The popular Copper Skillet competition was introduced in 2004 to highlight the artistry and skill of the best chefs from IACC-member conference centres around the world and to honor their contributions to the shared goal of providing an outstanding conference centre experience.

TASTE OF SUCCESS!

ABDUILAH ‘SCOOBY’ AZZUBAIR COOKS HIS WAY TO AMERICA!

It’s normally said “if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen”, but this was an understatement as 8 finalist chefs competed for the prestigious UK IACC Copper Skillet Award, staged at Wyboston Lakes Conference Centre. Not only were they judged by two of the industry’s top chefs including Michelin-starred chef Andreas Antona, they were also faced with only being given a choice of ingredients 15 minutes before cooking began! 

The International Association of Conference Centres members throughout the world recognise that the quality of food for conference delegates is a major part of the overall experience and being crowned the best in class out of over 25 members in the UK is a pressure worth bearing on the day!

Chairman of Judges Peter Griffiths MBE, President of the British Culinary Federation and Salon Director, Hotelympia, said “This competition is so unique, with just one burner and very limited equipment to work with. All the competitors did exceptionally well, with all the finished dishes worthy of a medal at Hotelympia. The standards set were a credit to all those concerned. The Gold medal winner, Aduilah ‘Scooby’ Azzubair of the Royal College of Physicians, produced a balanced dish, cooked perfectly, with a good depth of harmonised flavours.”

The event was sponsored by CAFE BAR, suppliers of quality beverages to many of IACC’s prestigious venues in the United Kingdom. Mark Cooper, Vice President of IACC Europe proudly awarded the prizes on this great final competition. The winner Scooby will take part in IACC’s international final in Houston, Texas on 21 March. Runner-up in the competition was Etharome Rayappam.

USA Copper Skillet Winner

Four chefs from IACC-member conference centers competed for the title of USA Chef of the Year at the Summit Executive Center in Chicago.  The competitors were Charles Chambers, Executive Sous Chef at Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center; Matt Pinner, Executive Chef at The Chattanoogan; Seth Weiss, Executive Chef at The Conference Center Niagara Falls; and Jeffrey Witte, Executive Chef at Airlie Conference Center.

(Left to right -- Jeffrey Witte, Matt Pinner, Charles Chambers, Seth Weiss)

And the 2012 USA Copper Skillet winner is....

Chef Charles Chambers



 
Hybrid Meeting Strategies and The Conference Center:


SIGN UP TODAY for Samuel J. Smith’s December 8 Webinar

It isn’t too late to sign up for IACC’s Bright Ideas webinar on hybrid meetings, one of the hottest new trends in meetings and events.

By attending this special IACC webinar, you’ll learn how to add a virtual element to the unparalleled face-to-face experience your conference center already offers.

If you sign up by December 5, you’ll receive an exclusive list of five top best practices in hybrid meeting design, prepared with the assistance of our webinar presenter, Samuel J. Smith.

http://events.iacconline.org/BIwebinars/