Financial & Insurance Conference Planners excelled last week at showcasing the Country Music capital of the world to its 680 attendees.
The FICP Annual Conference, held at the Omni Hotel in Nashville, kicked off with an opening reception at the Music City Center, a fabulous 2.1 million-sf facility that just opened in 2013 located directly across from the hotel. The following evening, the group enjoyed a buyout of the world-famous Wild Horse Saloon, which included instruction in line dancing and a Southern comfort food buffet. Many stars have gotten their big break on this stage, and bands such as Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts often play at the saloon. The final evening event took the Country Music theme to the highest level with a super-friendly and energetic live performance by Phil Vassar, a songwriter for Tim McGraw and Collin Raye, among others, who has had two number one singles of his own on the Billboard Country Music charts.
Two days of lively education sessions included an FICP tradition: a mock trial led by meetings industry attorney Jonathan Howe, which packed the room. The courtroom proceedings focused on a pretend force majeure lawsuit by a fake resort on an island named Tortilla against a mega-insurance company that pulled its incentive program because of the Zika virus (the resort won). Another FICP tradition, Idea Exchanges, encouraged open discussion on topics ranging from wellness to how to lead teams. Attendees also heard from two keynoters: Delphi Group founder Tom Koulopoulos and U.S. Astronaut and retired Navy Captain Scott Kelly.
FICP’s next event, the Winter Symposium, will be held January 29-31 at the Boston Park Plaza in Boston.
