Planners with meetings booked in San Antonio are finding out just how much the CVB has to offer.

• How about three-pound sweet-and-sticky cinnamon rolls, of “Man v. Food” fame, delivered to your next planning  meeting as a hint of things to come in San Antonio?
   
• Want help finding a great cause for your attendees to support while here?
   
• Would you like a detailed schedule of festivals and signature events that will take place while you’re in town, and ideas on how you can take advantage of them to add unique experiences and excitement to your meeting? 

These are just a few of the things that San Antonio’s CVB Services made happen for the American Association of Endodontists to help the group create a successful, authentic San Antonio experience.

CVB Services: Your Local Expert Planning Partners

AAE held its 2011 Annual Session at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in April, with 3,000 attendees and 800 exhibitors. To plan the event, group members worked closely with CVB Services staff for two years.
 
“The CVB Services staff was great and they provided a great deal of support throughout the planning process,” said AAE Meeting Services Manager Eva Wilczek, CMP. “They were a great resource for local information, and I utilized them for a variety of services from restaurant recommendations to hiring temporary personnel. We built a great relationship and I appreciated everything they did for us before and during the meeting.”

A Little Help From Three-Pound Cinnamon Rolls

Helping cement the partnership between the CVB and AAE early on were the scrumptious cinnamon rolls from Lulu’s Bakery and Café in San Antonio. AAE’s executive director spotted the eye-popping three-pound cinnamon buns on “Man v. Food” and thought it would be great to bring them to a staff planning meeting in Chicago. 

Getting the huge buns to the Chicago office was another matter. So the CVB stepped in and made it easy, getting the rolls fresh, carefully packing them in a cooler and shipping them overnight in time for the meeting.

Added Bonus: Fiesta, the Greatest Party of the Year

CVB Services hosted AAE staff for two site/planning visits prior to their meeting. During the first visit,  AAE’s dedicated Services Manager treated the group to the San Antonio essentials: a barge tour of the idyllic River Walk, a walk through bustling Market Square, one of the largest Mexican markets in the country, and a sumptuous breakfast at the historic Guenther House.

It was during this visit that AAE staff began to understand the unique opportunities posed by their meeting coinciding with Fiesta. This annual 11-day, citywide party features more than 100 events, from world-class parades to pooch parades, arts and crafts events, cultural and culinary events, and everything in between. With guidance from the CVB Services Manager, AAE seized the opportunity to blend its meeting events with Fiesta traditions.
 
 “Our President, Dr. Clara Spatafore, was very excited and enthusiastic,” Wilczek said. “We chose to add information on Fiesta into our conference materials since there was so much going on and it was really an added bonus. We also decided to create our own Fiesta pin as a way to commemorate our time in San Antonio. We encouraged attendees to get out and trade the pins with others in the city.”

Community Outreach Partnerships for Every Program

Long before delegates arrive for their meeting in San Antonio, CVB Services can provide you with all the information you need to select just the right service project for your delegates. Outreach projects by our meeting attendees and organizers have made a significant  difference in the lives of schoolchildren, patients, the underserved, neglected animals and the environment in our community.

AAE decided to provide free root canals to patients in need at the San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic. During their second site visit they went with CVB staff to see the campus where they would provide their charitable work. The CVB later supplied a list of local and national media contacts and went a step further by forwarding AAE’s press release to media outlets.   

As a result of the outreach, AAE provided root canal treatments to 55 patients during its Access to Care Project held in conjunction with its annual session. That’s more than $80,000 worth of free endodontic treatment to those who could not otherwise have afforded it.

“The patients treated in San Antonio likely would have had extractions if we weren’t able to help,” said AAE Immediate Past President Dr. Clara Spatafore. “The services we provided will help these patients keep their natural teeth for a lifetime.”

We Make it Easy for You to Meet in San Antonio

CVB Services provided AAE help at each step of the way to create a successful event that was unique to San Antonio, to provide a personalized and authentic experience.
 
“All of the assistance provided by the CVB Services Staff really contributed to the overall success of the meeting, Wilczek said. “They truly made my job so much easier.”

For help planning your meeting in San Antonio, please contact our Services Team at 866-517-7771, or saconv@visitsanantonio.com, or visit us online at www.meetings.visitsanantonio.com.