2018 Rewards & Recognition Expo to Join ICEE Engagement World in Galveston, May 8-9

The Rewards & Recognition Expo will return in 2018 to a resort location in the historic seaside city of Galveston, TX, May 8-9, to take advantage of a unique opportunity to participate in a three-day event to attract more corporate practitioners and solution providers in all areas of engagement and incentives.

The Rewards & Recognition Expo will anchor Professional Days at Engagement World, May 7-8, sponsored by the Galveston-based International Center for Enterprise Engagement (ICEE) at the Healthcare Management Institute (HMI) of the University of Texas Medical Branch. ICEE is a joint venture of HMI and the Enterprise Engagement Alliance, and was founded to create the first formal ISO 10018 certification for Quality People Management, as well as the first university-based professional education and academic curriculum program for the field.

Says Dr. Ron McKinley, co-founder of ICEE and Executive Director of HMI: “The Healthcare Management Institute of the University of Texas Medical Branch believes that engagement is not only critical to the healthcare profession, but to any organization, not-for-profit, or government organization. Because our university medical center is based here on this beautiful resort city, we want to make Galveston a center for ongoing education certification on all aspects of engagement and are excited to host the Rewards & Recognition Expo.”

More Reasons for Buyers to Come
According to Nick Gazivoda, RRN Vice President of Sales and R&R Expo Director, “It has been years since so many reward, recognition and incentive certification and workshop options have been available in one place. This program aligns completely with our vision to elevate the field of rewards and recognition and bring fresh buyers to our event each year, and the opportunity to co-locate with ICEE and a university-based center on such an initiative offered great synergy. We were also impressed with the support provided by the Galveston Convention & Visitors Bureau, which clearly wanted this event, and the ability to attract professionals from the nearby Houston marketplace, not to mention the state of Texas and the important Mountain State and West Coast regions.”

Participating organizational certification programs in Engagement World’s Certification Days include:

The CultureWorks Leadership training program and certification for corporate management.
The Incentive Marketing Association’s Certified Professional program for incentive field specialists.
Recognition Professionals International Professional Certification program for recognition professionals.
The Return on Investment of Engagement certification for solution providers and corporate practitioners.
The Enterprise Engagement Alliance’s Advanced Engagement Practitioner (AEP) program for solution providers and corporate practitioners seeking ISO 10018 quality people management certification.

“The founders of ICEE believe that engagement encompasses the proper integration of a wide variety of disciplines that currently are siloed in many organizations,” notes Bruce Bolger, co-founder of ICEE and the Enterprise Engagement Alliance. “Engagement World’s Professional Education Days will provide rewards and recognition professionals with more reasons to attend and greater opportunities for exhibitors to meet with leading professionals seeking to take advantage of best practices.” Professional Education Days will be marketed by ICEE through the EEA’s multiple media platforms, other media outlets and to the members of all the participating associations, as well as to the large marketplace of rewards, recognition and business gift program resellers in the greater Houston area, just an hour away, as well as Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, all easily accessible via air and automobile.

New R&R Expo Format Begins With Tuesday Evening Reception, Concludes Wednesday
As the anchor expo of Engagement World, the Rewards & Recognition Expo program starts Tuesday afternoon with the Incentive Professional certification program of the Incentive Marketing Association, followed by a plenary session of all attendees on the potential impact of research and ISO standards on rewards and recognition.

The Expo itself launches Tuesday at 5:30 pm with a 2-hour on-floor reception open to all qualified business attendees, followed by a full Expo day on Wednesday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.

“We believe that the growing respect for formal engagement practices will create new opportunities for the industry by recognizing the art and science of program design, reward selection, presentation and experience," says Gazivoda. "All of the research and facts suggest that rewards and recognition should be treated with the same care as the use of any other marketing medium, rather than as a retail cash-equivalent as is often the case today.”

He concludes: “Galveston is the sort of unique destination promoted by RRN’s sister media platform at Shortescapes.net, and we believe there's a major opportunity for incentive and event planners to take advantage of getaway destinations like this that offer a unique history and flavor. I think our committed buyers will enjoy the opportunity to learn, build new business relationships and explore the 'first city of Texas' with its great restaurants, recreational opportunities and shopping, which just happens to sit right on the Gulf of Mexico.”