As this summer wraps up, it has been one of great loss for the meeting and incentive industry. Remembering Miek Egberts, Jim Adams, Elizabeth Glau and Regina McGee.
Miek Arnolda Egberts, founder of InspireMe, Monaco and member of the international board of directors of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), was the victim of a fatal road accident near San Tropez, France on July 7, 2021. A veteran of the business events industry, Miek lived and worked in Italy in the DMC, hospitality and entertainment sectors with Newtours, Starwood Hotels and Sonatori Group. In 2012, she took the reins at Allied PRA’s Monte Carlo office, eventually relocating to the principality of Monaco, where she founded InspireMe. A life-long member of SITE, Miek was awarded the prestigious Jane E. Schuldt Master Motivator award in 2018 and was elected to the international board of directors in 2019.
James T. (Jim) Adams passed away on August 6, 2021. The founder of Indiana–based, Performance Strategies, Inc., he served two periods on the SITE international board of directors and was a serial donor to SITE Foundation—a “veritable giant of the incentive travel industry,” wrote Padraic Gilligan, SITE’s Director of Marketing.
Elizabeth Glau, CMP, named a 2020 Industry Influencer by Prevue, died on July 19, 2021 following a courageous battle with cancer. She founded her company, Event Integrity, in 2020 “to create a culture that inspires employee and customer loyalty by aligning human emotion with business objectives.” Her many honors included being named one of the top 500 people in events by BizBash, and her work in the field of engagement technology has been featured in publications ranging from The Meeting Professional to The San Diego Union Tribune. She was co-host of the Making a Marketer podcast and created the Facebook group Event Integrity, with more than 2,000 members.
Regina McGee, a familiar face in the business events industry for more than 30 years and a beloved contributing editor at Prevue, passed away on June 3, 2021 after a long battle with cancer. Regina’s writing graced the pages of many other industry magazines as well, from her start at Successful Meetings in 1988 to years at Association Meetings, PCMA’s Convene, Collinson Media and Conference Direct’s Meeting Mentor. Her most recent role was senior editor at Trade Show Executive magazine, where her December 2019 article, “Women to Watch,” took home both Gold Regional and Bronze National Azbee Awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
