Chicago Southland takes team building seriously
Meeting planning has evolved drastically over the past decade. With meeting planners becoming more tech savvy, hoteliers consistently updating their hotels and destinations trying to stay ahead of the curve, it is easy to lose focus on the experience of it all.
The Chicago Southland not only offers meeting planners and convention goers ease of access to major interstates, name brand hotels you know and trust, a state of the art convention center and an abundance of free parking, it offers adventure and discovery around every corner.
What is more adventurous than seeing professional lumberjacks take the Chicago Southland by storm? The 2016 Stihl Timbersports Professional and Collegiate Championships make its way to the Tinley Park Convention Center July 15-16, during the heart of the #SummerofLumber. Lumberjacks will compete in six disciplines that range from the single buck saw to the standing block chop.
Each discipline will keep you on the edge of your seat while begging for more.
The reigning three-time champion Matt Cogar will look to make history and become the first U.S. athlete to win four straight titles. The 2016 Stihl Timbersports Professional and Collegiate Championship is the perfect event to get you and your team out of the "bored" room and into fun.
This competition showcases not only the versatility of the Tinley Park Convention Center but their vision to think outside the box.
Also during the Chicago Southland's #SummerofLumber, the 2016 US Log Rolling Open rolls its way into Orland Park's Lake Sedgewick in Centennial Park on June 11.
To have a sport of this caliber come to the Chicago Southland shows the adaptability and commitment of our municipalities. During the 2016 Professional Log Rolling Open, Stihl Timbersports will be on-site performing the various disciplines of their pro and collegiate event. For more information on US Log Rolling, go to www.VisitChicagoSouthland.com/USLogRollingOpen.
With more than 40,000 acres of forestry to discover, visiting the Chicago Southland has made it easy to unplug from your daily grind and reconnect with nature.
The Chicago Southland Dragon Boat Festival in Blue Island is the perfect team building exercises to not only strengthen your team but gives an experience they'll keep talking about. Often dubbed as a "canoe on steroids this ancient Chinese sport has become a fierce competition throughout the world and is growing rapidly in the Southeast and Midwest United States.
Teams of 20 can be entered into the race for as low as $23 per person. All of the proceeds from concession sales will benefit the Blue Island Arts Alliance, a nonprofit organization designed to connect the community through art. For more information or to register a team, please visit PanAmDragonBoat.com.
Irons Oaks Environmental Learning Center in Olympia Fields is one of my favorite places in the region. Offering over 38-acres of team building atmosphere, when faced with obstacles like the high ropes course, crate stacking or the climbing wall, the emphasis is not only on cooperation but self discovery.
When tackling any of these activities, you learn so much about yourself. I for one am deathly afraid of heights but tackling the high ropes course taught me that determination is a better feeling than fear.
The meetings and convention industry is evolving at light speed.
Between increases in technology and demands meeting planners face, there is no doubt that planners, hotels and destinations need to work with partners to stay relevant in the marketplace. Here at the Chicago Southland CVB, we pride ourselves on being a complimentary one stop shop for meeting planners and aim to make hosting your event in the Chicago Southland even easier.
• Mary Patchin, is director of sales at the Chicago Southland CVB. contact her at Sales@VisitChicagoSouthland.com.