Winter weather doesn't stop FICP from pushing ahead with conference

Kamicar

The weather outside was frightful, but inside The Langham hotel it was ... cozy. As a blizzard began burying Boston Jan. 26, about 45 people stuck it out for the Financial & Insurance Conference Planners Winter Symposium, informally renamed the Winter Snow-posium.

Among them: Lydia Kamicar, FICP's senior manager of education and learning services. Kamicar said about 130 people had been expected, but many canceled or left early because of the storm. FICP was able to push one key session a day earlier and hold the final dinner at the hotel rather than off-site. Those who stayed were rewarded with (courtesy of sponsor Destination Partners Inc.) palm-tree décor, a selfie station with sunglasses, and the biggest hit of the evening, a cornhole game. As FICP members are meeting planners themselves, they took everything in stride, Kamicar said.

Members "love peer to peer and learning from each other anyway," Kamicar said. "We didn't lose out on networking for the people that were there."

Kamicar finally got back to Chicago a day later than planned, but couldn't escape the snow. Chicago was hit Feb. 1 with its fifth biggest snowstorm on record.