FORT WORTH, Texas — The City of Fort Worth is hosting the Religious Conference Management Association’s (RCMA) 38th World Conference and Expo January 26-29 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Founded in 1972, RCMA is a professional, nonprofit, interfaith organization whose members plan more than 14,000 meetings annually, attracting over 11 million participants. Approximately 1,000 religious and faith-based meeting planners and suppliers are expected to attend the convention in Fort Worth, representing a total of 2,600 hotel room nights for the city.
“Fort Worth is honored to roll out the red carpet for the RCMA attendees,” said David DuBois, CMP, CAE, CTA, president and CEO, Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This prestigious conference is an outstanding opportunity to showcase our city to religious meeting planners who are responsible for booking thousands of conventions, meetings and conferences each year. Historically, hosting an RCMA annual meeting has been shown to increase future room nights for the host city. We fully expect the same to be true for Fort Worth.”
To enhance the experience for RCMA attendees, the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau is supporting the religious organization’s mission in special ways.
For example, the Fort Worth CVB is providing conference scholarships to three Kenneth Copeland Ministries staff members in an effort to further educate and assist with their career development.
Additionally, the Fort Worth CVB is making a donation in RCMA’s name to the City of Fort Worth’s Directions Home program. Directions Home is Fort Worth’s plan to make homelessness rare, short-term and non-recurring by 2018.
The conference, which is themed “Aim High,” provides attendees with educational and professional opportunities to enhance their skills and career development. Attendees will have a full schedule while at the conference. Events include:
• Welcome Reception on Tuesday evening at the Fort Worth Convention Center, which is a partnership between Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Grapevine, and Irving to showcase the North Texas area as a premier religious meetings and convention destination
• Behind-the-scenes tours at local public relations and advertising agencies in an effort to enhance skills in working with agencies on future meetings
• Attending the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo where they will be recognized as honored guests
• Site tours of venues such as Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the Fort Worth Zoo, and the Stockyards National Historic District
• Meal functions with keynote speakers and guests such as broadcast journalist, author and former state judge Catherine Crier; Aaron Demerson, executive director, Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism Division; Olympian and motivational speaker Vince Poscente; and energetic broadcast personality and international speaker Vicki Hitzges
• Thursday evening Gala event at the Fort Worth Convention Center
More than 22 percent of Fort Worth’s current convention business comes from the religious and faith-based meetings market. Some of the religious and faith-based organizations that have held their annual meetings in Fort Worth include: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, the National Baptist Convention of America, Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Southern Baptist Convention of Texas. For more information about RCMA, visit www.rcmaweb.org.
About the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization of the 17th-largest city in the United States. The organization is dedicated to promoting Fort Worth as a premier business and leisure destination, with thriving centers of culture and commerce. For more information, visit www.fortworth.com.