Below is the industry session from the 2025 FICP Education Forum that took place June 23-25, 2025 in Bluffton, SC.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
9:45-11:00 a.m.
Overcoming Rising Costs and Evolving Expectations in the Event Industry
Areas of Interest: Strategic Thinking and Impact
CMP-IS Domain A: Strategic Planning
The meeting and events industry has faced significant shifts in recent years — from the challenges of the pandemic to facing surging costs and tariffs across goods, services and travel. As budgeting season approaches, meetings professionals and hospitality partners must stay informed and collaborate to work together to produce high-quality, affordable events without compromising the attendee experience.
In this insightful panel, industry leaders will share practical strategies for managing rising costs across all aspects of event production. Attendees will gain valuable insights on effectively communicating budget challenges to stakeholders, optimizing sourcing decisions and maintaining exceptional event experiences. Walk away with the tools and strategies you need to thrive in a complex, cost-conscious event landscape with confidence.
Shola Richards is the CEO and Founder of Go Together Global™, the best-selling author of Making Work Work, and Go Together, and he is a positivity writer with a passionate worldwide following. His articles and wildly-popular “Go Together Movement” email series have been read by readers in over 160 countries, and his work has been featured on the Today Show, CBS This Morning, Forbes, Black Enterprise, Complete Wellbeing India, Business Insider Australia, and in numerous other outlets all over the world who recognize him as an authority on workplace happiness and engagement.
As a speaker, Shola has shared his transformative message with leading healthcare organizations, to universities, Silicon Valley, the motion picture industry, on the TEDx stage, and in his greatest honor to date, as a keynote speaker for the Department of Homeland Security three days before the 15th Anniversary of 9/11, under the Obama Administration. Last, but certainly not least, Shola is a father, husband, identical twin, and a selfprofessed “kindness extremist” who will not rest until bullying and incivility is extinct from the American workplace.