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Opening Remarks from Monday's General Session

Delivered by Kevin Maguire
NBTA President & CEO
Travel Manager for Intercollegiate Athletics
The University of Texas at Austin
Read "At the Gate", a blog by Kevin Maguire and NBTA Vice President Michael Lyons

"GOOD MORNING,

IF ANYONE WONDERED ABOUT MY “OTHER” JOB, I THINK THAT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LONGHORN LOGO AND THE SCHOOL’S FIGHT SONG MAY HAVE ANSWERED THE QUESTION…AND MY THANKS TO MY BOSSES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT FOR ALSO ALLOWING ME TO PERFORM MY DUTIES FOR YOUR ASSOCIATION.

WELCOME TO THE 40TH YEAR OF THE NATIONAL BUSINESS TRAVEL ASSOCIATION AND OUR ANNUAL CONVENTION AND EXPOSITION.

YOU HEARD BILL CONNORS TALK ABOUT NBTA’S SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN RECENT YEARS AND SOME OF YOUR ASSOCIATION’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. THESE ADVANCEMENTS HAVE BEEN ADMIRABLE. WE’VE MADE PROGRESS ON BOTH THE DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL GOALS, AND THERE IS MORE LEFT TO DO. NOW, LET’S FOCUS ON WHAT THE FUTURE MIGHT BRING TO THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY. THINK AHEAD FIVE YEARS…WHAT DO YOU ENVISION? HERE’S WHAT I WANT TO SEE:

THE U.S. ECONOMY WILL REBOUND, STABLIZE AND BEGIN GROWING AGAIN, CREATING GREATER STABILITY IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. THE NEED FOR COMPANIES TO EXPAND TRAVEL AND TO BETTER MANAGE TRAVEL WILL INCREASE AS WELL.
DEVELOPING MARKETS LIKE CHINA, INDIA AND BRAZIL WILL EMERGE INTO MATURE CENTERS OF COMMERCE, AND, AS MATURE MARKETS, WILL SUPPORT UNIQUE REGIONAL APPROACHES TO SUPPORT GLOBAL MANAGED TRAVEL PROGRAMS.
STRATEGIC MEETINGS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS WILL BECOME THE ESTABLISHED BEST PRACTICE, AND TRAVEL MANAGERS WILL BE ABLE TO QUANTIFY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SAVINGS GENERATED THROUGH STRATEGIC MEETINGS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.
TRAVEL MANAGERS WILL BE SEEN AS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LEADERS WITHIN THEIR COMPANIES.
KNOWLEDGE, RESEARCH AND THE STREAMLINING OF PROCESSES WILL BE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT. NBTA -- THROUGH ITS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, INDUSTRY STANDARD ACCEPTED PROCESSES, INSIGHTFUL WHITE PAPERS, BENCHMARKING AND INDUSTRY LEADING CONFERENCES -- WILL LEAD THE WORK OF DESIGNING THE BEST METHODS OF PROCURING TRAVEL AND MANAGING SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS.
TRAVEL MANAGERS AND THEIR COMPANIES WILL EXPAND THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT ISSUES AFFECTING BUSINESS TRAVEL. GLOBAL, NATIONAL, STATE OR LOCAL…ELECTED OFFICIALS WILL BE LISTENING AND FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF THE TRAVEL COMMUNITY. AIRPORT SECURITY WILL OPERATE MORE SMOOTHLY AND VIABLE CORRECTIVE SYSTEMS WILL BE IN PLACE FOR REDRESS. TAXES, UNFORTUNATELY, WILL NOT GO AWAY; BUT, OFFICIALS WILL HAVE TO PROPERLY JUSTIFY TRAVEL TAXES BEFORE THEY CAN BE IMPLEMENTED.
THE ABILITY OF STATES, CITIES AND COUNTIES TO USE DISCRIMINATORY TRAVEL TAXES TO BACKFILL HOLES IN THEIR FINANCES WILL BE SEVERELY LIMITED.
THE PRICE AND AVAILABILITY OF FUEL REMAINS A QUESTION MARK. HOWEVER, THROUGH TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES, CONSERVATION, EXPANSION OF EXPLORATION, REASONABLE CONTROLS ON SPECULATION, AND THE USE OF ALTERNATIVES TO FOSSIL FUELS PRICE INCREASES WILL SLOW DOWN AND HELP STABILIZE THE ENERGY MARKETS.

IS THIS A GREAT VISION OR AN OVERLY-OPTOMISTIC LOOK INTO THE FUTURE?

WITH THE HELP AND SUPPORT OF MEMBERS AND PARTICIPANTS LIKE YOU…IT WILL BE REALITY.

SO, HOW DO WE GET THERE??

UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE NO MAGIC WAND TO FIX THE ECONOMY OR TO RESOLVE THE ENERGY ISSUES. MAYBE, ALAN GREENSPAN WILL GIVE ME ONE ON WEDNESDAY.
IN THE EVENT THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN, NBTA IS ATTEMPTING TO MOVE THINGS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I HAVE FREQUENT OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK WITH THE MEDIA AND BUSINESS LEADERS, EXPLAINING TO THEM THE IMPORTANCE BUSINESS TRAVEL PLAYS IN DRIVING BUSINESS SUCCESS, ESPECIALLY IN TOUGH TIMES.
WITH THIS CONVENTION AND OTHER EVENTS, NBTA HELPS THE BUSINESS TRAVEL INDUSTRY MOVE THE ECONOMY FORWARD. YOUR ATTENDANCE HERE HELPS DRIVE VALUE FOR YOUR COMPANIES, WHICH HELPS MOVE THE ECONOMIC NEEDLE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING TO ADVANCE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE MOST IMPORTANT MARKETS AROUND THE WORLD. NBTA IS GROWING GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS, SERVING A NETWORK OF 15,000 GLOBAL MEMBERS AND PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS. ATTENDEES ARE HERE FROM 30 NATIONS ….INCLUDING AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, CANADA, MEXICO, AND MANY EUROPEAN AND ASIAN COUNTRIES.
NBTA ALSO HOSTS OR CO-HOSTS LEADING BUSINESS TRAVEL EVENTS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, CANADA, CHINA, EUROPE, LATIN AMERICA, AND MEXICO.
NBTA IS EXPANDING AND REGIONALIZING ITS EDUCATIONAL AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS.
NBTA INDUSTRY RESOURCES HELP ADVANCE THE INDUSTRY AND HELP YOU INCREASE YOUR VALUE. THE HOTEL RFP IS ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN, BUT JUST THIS WEEK WE’RE UNVEILING A NEW AIRLINE RFP, NEW STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT MEETINGS PAPERS , AND A CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TOOLKIT.
SPEAKING OF CSR….NBTA IS NOT JUST HELPING YOU TO IMPLEMENT CSR INITIATIVES, WE ARE ALSO GREENING OUR OWN OPERATIONS…WITH LESS USE OF PAPER AND OFFSETTING THE CARBON EMISSIONS CREATED BY THE CONVENTION.
FINALLY, FOR TRAVEL MANAGERS TO REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN GOVERNMENT ISSUES SUCH AS TRAVEL SECURITY AND TAXES, YOU NEED TO GET INVOLVED. NBTA IS THE YOUR VOICE IN WASHINGTON, WORKING TO MAKE THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE MORE PLEASANT, MORE EFFICIENT AND TO STOP GROWTH OF UNNECESSARY TRAVEL TAXES.
TO THAT END, YOU AND YOUR ASSOCIATION HAVE HAD SEVERAL MAJOR VICTORIES RECENTLY, WHICH SCOTT SOLOMBRINO WILL DISCUSS IN A FEW MINUTES.
WHEN SCOTT DETAILS THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, REMEMBER OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS SUCCESSES ARE DUE TO YOUR INVOLVEMENT AND YOUR SUPPORT OF NBTAPAC, THE ONLY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FOCUSED ON BUSINESS TRAVEL. THE CHAPTER CHALLENGE, A CONTEST BETWEEN NBTA’S 41 U.S. CHAPTERS, RAISES FUNDS FOR NBTAPAC. THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR 2008 CHAPTER CHALLENGE PARTNERS, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE THREE WINNING CHAPTERS: NEW ENGLAND, ST.LOUIS AND UTAH.
I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE TWO MAJOR DONATIONS TO NBTAPAC FROM OTHER POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES,: ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR PAC AND SABRE HOLDINGS PAC, EACH CONTRIBUTING FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO HELP NBTAPAC DO IMPORTANT WORK ON BEHALF OF THE INDUSTRY.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT – WE’RE ALREADY WELL ON OUR WAY TO THE VISION OF SUCCESS, BUT ONLY WITH YOUR PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT. I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THE ROLE YOU PLAY IN OUR CURRENT AND OUR FUTURE SUCCESS.

TO CLOSE, I WANT TO TELL YOU A PERSONAL STORY. MY 22-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, SHANNON, ATTENDS A SMALL UNIVERSITY IN TEXAS.

JUST PRIOR TO THE COMPLETION OF THE SUMMER SEMESTER, THE ASSISTANT DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS CALLED ME.

“MR. MAGUIRE, DID SHANNON TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED IN HER ECONOMICS CLASS YESTERDAY?” I SAID “NO”, AND FEARING WHAT WAS NEXT I SAT DOWN WHILE SHE RELAYED THE EXCHANGE THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE BETWEEN SHANNON, HER PROFESSOR AND A REPORTER FROM A MAJOR CITY NEWSPAPER.

THE CLASS WAS DOING A PROJECT ON THE PROFESSIONAL PATHS PEOPLE TAKE IN LIFE, AND THE REPORTER WAS WRITING A STORY ON THE CLASS FINDINGS. EACH STUDENT HAD CONTRIBUTED A JOB DESCRIPTION. ANOTHER STUDENT, NOT SHANNON, SUBMITTED CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGER.

THE PROFESSOR ASKED, “WHAT’S AN INDIVIDUAL GOING TO LEARN FROM SOMEONE WHO DECIDED THE BEST OPTION IN LIFE WAS TO BECOME A TRAVEL MANAGER…WHATEVER THAT MEANS?”

WHEN HE LEARNED WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING, THE REPORTER CHIMED IN, “SHANNON, BE HONEST. WHAT DOES YOUR FATHER MAKE?” THERE WERE GIGGLES AND LAUGHTER FROM OTHER STUDENTS IN THE CLASS.

SHANNON’S ANSWER WAS BETTER THAN ANYTHING I COULD HAVE SAID:
“YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT MY FATHER MAKES?” SHE ASKED.

HE MAKES PEOPLE WANT TO DO, TO BE THE VERY BEST THEY CAN IN LIFE
HE MAKES PEOPLE BE CREATIVE, TO QUESTION AND TO TRUST THEMSELVES
HE MAKES PEOPLE WONDER, HE MAKES THEM DREAM
HE MAKES PEOPLE HAVE RESPECT, TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS
HE MAKES PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAMWORK
HE MAKES PEOPLE REALIZE THE BENEFIT OF COMMUNICATING AND LISTENING
HE MAKES PEOPLE VALUE PARTNERSHIPS
HE MAKES PEOPLE SEE THE STUPIDITY OF HOLDING ON TO PERSONAL GRUDGES
HE MAKES CEOs, MANAGERS AND TRAVELERS APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF A MANAGED PROGRAM THAT SAVES A COMPANY MONEY AND POSSIBLY THEIR JOBS
HE MAKES PEOPLE APPRECIATE OTHER PEOPLE’S VALUES, LANGUAGES AND CULTURES
HE MAKES PEOPLE USE THEIR BRAINS AND NOT RELY SOLEY ON COMPUTERS
FINALLY, HE MAKES PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY USE THE GIFTS THEY WERE GIVEN, WORK HARD, AND FOLLOW THEIR HEARTS, THEY CAN SUCCEED IN LIFE

YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT MY DAD MAKES? HE MAKES A DIFFERENCE!!

WHAT DO YOU MAKE PROFESSOR??

THE ROOM WAS DEAD SILENT. THE PROFESSOR AND THE REPORTER SAID NOTHING.

SO FROM NOW ON, WHEN ANYONE ASKS YOU WHY YOU ARE IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY, IN WHATEVER CAPACITY, REGARDLESS OF YOUR COMPANY OR YOUR TITLE….EACH OF YOU HAS THE PERFECT ANSWER: YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE…

WE, AS AN INDUSTRY MAKE A DIFFERENCE….YOUR ASSOCIATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE…..AND, PEOPLE ARE LISTENING.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH."