OTTAWA-Bagpipes and an member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police led the procession that kicked off the 88th Annual PMAC National Conference in Ottawa on June 13. The procession, which included PMAC board chair Mike Whelan and the association’s president and CEO Cheryl Paradowski, made its way through the Westin Ottawa Hotel’s Confederation Hall just after 8am to mark the official opening of the event. The theme for this year’s event was Capitalizing on Supply Chain solutions
A night at the museum
Delegates had begun registering for the event on June 12. A registration challenge involved each delegate’s name tag include a four-digit number, which corresponded to the number on the name tag of another delegate. Those delegates who successfully found the matching number could enter a draw to win an iPad mini.
The conference kicked off June 12, a day that included PMAC’s annual general meeting. During that meeting, members voted to amalgamate with Supply Chain and Logistics Canada. that affirmative vote was mirrored at Supply Chain and Logistics Canada’s annual general meeting, held the same day in Toronto.
The same day, the PMAC conference’s kick-off event took place at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The event that launches the conference has traditionally been an evening of dining and local entertainment, and this year was no exception. Attendees were treated to a walking tour of the museum’s Canada Hall, which featured life-size settings of buildings and environments from the nation’s past, accompanied by hors d’oeuvres and drinks. From there, delegates dined at the museum’s internationally renowned Grand Hall among the world’s largest indoor collection of totem poles. As always, dinner was followed by a night of dancing.
The next morning, following the national anthem, PMAC board chair Mike Whelan greeted delegates to officially open the conference.