SALEM, Ohio — The 2015 Boomers in Groups (BiG) Conference, with more than 250 delegates from 31 states and three foreign countries, came together in Green Bay, Wisconsin, October 23-25.
The conference kicked off with an icebreaker reception in the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center lobby area. The highlight of the first evening was the opening-night tailgate party at Lambeau Field, home of the NFL Green Bay Packers. Delegates were welcomed by a local high school band.
Speaker Phillip Hatfield’s message of doing your best every day and overcoming challenges resonated with the boomer delegates on Saturday morning. The two Marketplace sessions included more than 3,000 face-to-face appointments with many trips being booked.
“I was able to book two groups during the first Marketplace” said Paul Anderson, general manager of the Shrine of Christ’s Passion in St. John, Indiana.
Sightseeing tours included stops at the Green Bay Botanical Garden, the Title Town Tap House, Captain Walk’s Winery, the Oneida Nation and Seroogy’s Candy. Many delegates made a second pilgrimage to Lambeau Field for shopping in the Packers Team Shop.
Saturday night’s evening event was an elegant dinner with entertainment by the Oneida Nation dance troop and hosted by the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Radisson Hotel and Convention Center and the Oneida Nation. Delegates feasted on a menu of Oneida Nation foods that included Oneida corn soup, beef steamship and fry bread.
The 2015 AgriTourism Summit was also colocated in Green Bay during the BiG Conference. More than 25 farm representatives from as far away as Texas attended the event to discuss marketing to group travelers. Educational sessions and roundtable discussions took place over two days.
Roger Dudley, senior tourism manager at Experience Columbus and host of the 2016 conference, sponsored Sunday’s breakfast with a bloody mary bar that featured vodka from a local Columbus, Ohio, distillery.
The 2016 BiG Conference will take place October 21-23 in Columbus. For registration details, visit www.boomersingroups.com
