Gain Approval Template

How to Persuade Your Boss

Do you need help convincing leadership to support your travel to edUcon 2025? Use the key talking points compiled below to help you garner professional and financial support from your organization.

If email is best, use the following template to share the benefits of attending EC25 and an outline of estimated expenses. Or you can use the same talking points in a conversation with your supervisor.

We hope to see you in Louisville this June!

Email Template and Talking Points:

Subject:  Subject: Request for Approval to Attend PCMA edUcon 2025

Dear [Boss’s Name],

I’m writing to request approval to attend PCMA’s edUcon 2025, taking place from June 1–4 in Louisville, KY. This year’s event has been redesigned to focus on hands-on education, from off-site learning to expanded sessions that will let me test new trends, tools, and approaches in a workshop setting.

Promising a mix of innovation and connection, EC25 gives me an unprecedented opportunity to learn from and with 850+ senior-level, mid-career, and emerging business events professionals. Over these three days, I’ll learn new strategies and tactics that I can bring back to [Your Organization] for immediate impact to boost our upcoming events.

Attending this conference will allow me to:

  1. Gain cutting-edge industry knowledge that will help [our organization] gain a competitive edge
  2. Forge strategic connections with peers and industry leaders
  3. Help [our organization] remain competitive

When I return from EC25, I can organize a debriefing session to share key takeaways, best practices, and actionable ideas with the team, ensuring that the entire organization benefits from this experience.

The total estimated investment for my participation is $XXX, with a detailed cost breakdown as follows:

  • Registration: $
  • Transportation: $
  • Hotel: $
  • Meals and incidentals: $

It’s important to note that the current registration rate expires on [date], offering us a cost-saving opportunity if we act promptly.

I’m eager to chat and address any questions you might have, as I’m confident that the knowledge, skills, and connections I will gain from edUcon 2025 will provide significant value to our organization.

Thank you for considering this request.

Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]

  • “I joined PCMA in the early 90’s and have made an effort to attend Convening Leaders and the Education Conference ever since. Over the years I’ve actually come to enjoy EduCon more than CL because it is somewhat more intimate and consequently navigating the education, networking and still handling my responsibilities with my clients is less daunting. EduCon provides focused sessions that help me with my relationships with colleagues, clients and suppliers and offers me the opportunity to engage more actively in the sessions I attend.”

    Annette Suriani, CMP Executive Director at AMPs – Association of Meeting Professionals

  • “The PCMA EduCon Conference should not be missed. In addition to the extraordinary networking opportunities available to all attendees, the conference content is top notch.  The sessions offer something for everyone and you always take home a nugget or two to take back to your team. Plus, I love the size of this event, you get a chance to connect with everyone.”

    Tim Mathy, Senior Partner, SpeakInc.

  • “Attending PCMA EduCon is a must-do for any planner or supplier in our industry. I love the size of the meeting because I am able to see old friends and network within smaller groups to make new connections. The education sessions are new & fresh and tend to cover topics that other conferences are not. I returned to my office with a list of innovative ideas that I wanted to implement.”

    Lauren Chelf, Director, Meetings & Expositions, AOAC International

  • “Every year I look forward to attending EduCon because of the education and personal connections I make there. It’s a smaller group so it’s more intimate and it’s easier to have meaningful one-on-one conversations. The experiential learning sessions are interesting and a great way to get out of the traditional meeting rooms to learn something new.”

    Rebecca Ramsey, Business Development Executive at EVENTEQ

  • “At EduCon, PCMA experiments with new and innovative learning environments, offering content around key and driving topics. I look forward to the event each year, it’s the right size all sessions very approachable for networking and learning over the course of a few days.”

    Mindy Abel, CMP CTA Deputy Director, Anaheim Convention Center at City of Anaheim

  • “Over the years that I have not only attended but actively participated at the PCMA-EduCon, I have learned, grown and felt immediate enrichment in my professional as well as personal life. EduCon affords a unique way to learn in a different mode that allows you to toss away the Gen this and X that categories and explore in “personas”. EduCon causes me to pull out my thoughts and ways of interacting and examine them to give either a yes, I will continue down this road or someone share a new way that I should consider. In the synergistic aura that permeates this intimate meeting, I feel free to explore, challenge and learn with no judgements or “wrong methods”. The meeting of the minds, the growing of thoughts and openness to new ideas is what I so look forward to at every EduCon meeting…and I have yet to be disappointed.”

    Norma Taylor CMP, Regional Manager, Tourisme Montreal

  • “PCMA EduCon is one of my most favorite education and networking events. The size and intimacy of PCMA EduCon has resulted in deeper connections, and the ability to engage and learn in a comfortable environment. Some of my biggest business opportunities have resulted by my attendance at this annual conference. I highly recommend the investment!”

    Susan Euritt, Principal, Ruckus Strategic Partnership Consulting, LLC

  • “My team calls PCMA Educon our ‘little secret’, and not sure that we want everyone to know how inspiring it is. We love the smaller format and rich learning and connections that flows from that. Don’t tell anyone.”

    Claire Smith CMP, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Vancouver Convention Centre

  • “I have attended the PCMA Educon June meeting for many years. Every year the content and learnings exceed those from previous years. The other reason I enjoy attending this conference is because of the intimate size of the event. It provides me with great face to face time with industry colleagues and networking opportunities. Attending is a must in my opinion! I hope to see you in LA!”

    Heidi Welker, Senior Vice President Business Development & Industry Partnerships, Encore Canada

  • “I attend the PCMA Education Conference each year, as the conference has been an important part of my professional and personal development in enhancing and developing my industry knowledge and network. The event continues to support industry professionals in every stage of their professional career by delivering critical learning and facilitating peer-to-peer engagement opportunities.”

    Gary Murakami, CCTE, GTP, GLP, CMP, CMM, DES, Director of Global Sales, MGM Resorts International