This past December, Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), an international association of insurance and financial services professionals from around the world, presented a $3,000 donation to The Children’s Bureau of New Orleans on behalf of the staff of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The donation was a result of the convention center staff’s commitment to providing excellent service during MDRT’s 2005 Annual Meeting at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
More than 9,000 MDRT members from 63 countries attended that 2005 meeting, and MDRT wanted to show its appreciation by offering a gratuity to the convention center staff for their hard work and hospitality. Convention center staff declined the gratuity and asked that a donation be made to a local charity. So, in cooperation with the convention center staff, the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans was selected to receive a monetary gift on behalf of the convention center from MDRT.
The convention center’s staff and MDRT chose the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans because of their long-standing commitment to improving the quality of life for New Orleans children and their families. Founded in 1892 by the Reverend Alfred E. Clay, the agency is a private, non-profit United Way partner offering a variety of services to children and families.
“This donation demonstrates not only the convention center’s commitment to its clients, but also to the community of New Orleans,” said 25-year MDRT member and MDRT second vice president Julian H. Good Jr., CLU, ChFC, of New Orleans. “It took some time to finalize the plans for this donation as Hurricane Katrina hit shortly after our meeting and everyone was in need, so I am glad to see this donation finally come to fruition.”
In January 2008, TFM covered the effect of Hurricane Katrina on the convention center in “Swift Recovery”.
MDRT has hosted four Annual Meetings in New Orleans, and also built a playground in 2005 at Trinity Christian Community Center in Hollygrove as a way to give thanks to the city for hosting them for their Annual Meeting. The MDRT plans to return their Annual Meeting to New Orleans in June, 2015.
Shown in photo (l to r): Keith Levey, director of sales, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center; Bob Johnson, president/general manager, convention center; Paulette Carter, MPH, LCSW, president/CEO, Children’s Bureau of New Orleans; Julian H. Good Jr., CLU, ChFC, MDRT second vice president and 25-year MDRT member from New Orleans; Yvette Genova, event coordinator, Convention Center; Michelle Minyard, sales manager, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.
