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After two days packed with appointments at IMEX Frankfurt, Global Event Summit delegates travel to the venerable Gleneagles luxury hotel and golf mecca in Perthshire, Scotland.
Doorman Martin welcomes guests.
ISES executive director Kevin Hacke (right) samples Scotland's famed haggis at Gleneagles' Dormy Clubhouse while Neil Brownlee (center), head of business events at Visit Scotland, and Michael Cerbelli, CEO/president of Cerbelli Creative, look on.
Meeting facilitator Sean Blair (standing at left), founder of ProMeet, welcomes delegates to the first session.
Blair shares the goal of the session series--to create world-leading events.
David Chalmers, marketing and events director in Europe for Cvent, offers insights into the science of events, keying on the interplay of human behavior and technology.
Neil Brownlee of Visit Scotland kicks off sessions on Day 2 of the summit.
Kathleen Warden, director of conference sales at the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre in Glasgow, outlines her city's event and meeting options while Campbell Arnott, international sales manager at the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, looks on.
Using the Lego Serious Play technique, delegates explore the process of creating models of effective events.
Here, Richard Knight, Visit Scotland's director of marketing for the Americas, explains his model while Glenda Carlyle, corporate sales manager at the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre, looks on.
As the delegates refine their event models, Allin Foulkrod, CSEP, president of Creative Visions, describes the work of his team.
In the final step of the process, ISES international president Jodi Collen, CSEP, of Augsburg College gives a detailed description of her team's model.
Later that day, the group transfers to Edinburgh and checks into the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa.
As the sun sets, delegates enter the gates of Edinburgh Castle for drinks and dinner.
Kevin Hacke shares a smile with piper Roddy Deans in full regalia.
Cashel Travel treats dinner guests to the Edinburgh Scottish Evening, which includes songs, jokes and a real, live haggis ... possibly ...
On Day 3, delegates visit the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, where sales and business development associate Debbie Rose describes the range of capabilities offered at the EICC.
Delegates admire the Pentland Suite, a rotating, raked auditorium for 1,200 guests that can be divided into three spaces.
Another hit: The Lennox Suite--a 1,600-square-meter space with an innovative moving floor that transforms from flat to auditorium, arena and tiered cabaret modes.
EICC sales and marketing director Amanda Wrathall greets delegates at lunch, catered by Leith's.
Delegates reflect on the progress made at the summit's sessions and share actions they will take at their own businesses once they return home.
A highlight of the final-night dinner on the Royal Yacht Britannia: a stunning performance by pipers and dancers.
And what says "Scotland" better than a group of handsome men in kilts? Summit delegates happily oblige.
