CanSPEP Day - 2025

7:30 - 8:00 am - CanSPEP Member badge pick up and Coffee/Tea

8:00 - 9:45 am – CanSPEP Members Pricing Session
Learn to develop pricing strategies that work in challenging environments. We'll spend some time exploring pricing exercises to ensure you are charging what you need and what you're worth.  This session is open to CanSPEP Planner Members only.

9:45 am – Registration and Breakfast for ALL CanSPEP Day attendees

10:30 am – CanSPEP Day Opening and Welcome Remarks

10:45 am - Build an Unstoppable Sales Machine with Shawn Casemore

11:45 am - Collaboration Activation 

12:30pm - Lunch, sponsored by Explore Waterloo

1:30pm - The Power of Negotiation: A Fireside Chat with Fotini Iconomopoulos and Sue Mercer

2:30 pm – Coffee Break

3:00 pm - Growth Lessons from Successful Entrepreneurs: A Panel Discussion with Angela Chorney, Yvonne Dewar and Cass Bayley. Moderated by Samantha Mele. 

4:00 pm Networking reception sponsored by Explore Edmonton

6:00 pm – Safe Travels

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Build an Unstoppable Sales Machine

Proven Methods to Earn Attention, Enhance
Relationships, and Close Deals in Today’s Economy

Selling has changed. Your skills, methods and approach must shift to accommodate a new generation of buying behaviors and expectations.

Today’s top performing sales professionals and sales leaders leverage (or employ) a new way of selling that out-performs accepted norms. Long lunches and afternoons of golf are no longer at the top of their list of prospecting activities. Instead, they deploy powerful strategies to generate new business opportunities, and close deals.

Based on his popular book, The Unstoppable Sales Machine, Shawn explores new skills, methods, and strategies to not only survive, but to thrive regardless of the state of the economy. In this high energy presentation, he will show you new ways to fill your pipeline with prospects who are eager to buy.

Presented by:  Shawn Casemore

Shawn Casemore is a sales expert and professional speaker who inspires his  audiences to new levels of sales performance, sharing insights and actionable takeaways that can be applied immediately. He is the author of five books including The Unstoppable Sales Machine (2022), and The Unstoppable Sales Team (2023) as well as his latest book The Sales Multiplier Formula (2024).

Having spoken professionally for 15 years, Shawn consistently studies top sales performers, sharing new insights on selling in today’s economy. His keynotes and programs enable his audiences to create an environment of Unstoppable Sales^SM.

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Lunch, sponsored by

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The Power of Negotiation, A Fireside Chat with 

Fotini Iconomopoulos and Sue Mercer 

Whether you are leading a company, team or yourself, the power of negotiation is all about communicating persuasively. So, how can you make your voice stand out? Become more influential day-to-day, and start achieving the results you want? In this fireside chat, expert communicator Fotini Iconomopoulos will reveal the principles of persuasion and negotiation, and how to use them to become the kind of leader that people want to follow.

Fotini Iconomopoulos is the person Fortune 500 executives call in to help with their high stakes negotiations or to empower their teams through her intensive workshops on negotiation, communication and persuasion. Fotini occasionally returns to the classroom as an instructor of MBA Negotiations at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. She’s a regular media guest on outlets including CBC, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, CNN, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, and CNBC. She’s also been recognized with a number of awards including a Top 40 under 40 award.

An accomplished and passionate connector, Sue is renowned for transforming ideas into innovative projects and events that consistently exceed expectations. With a unique ability to balance creativity and execution, Sue excels at fostering partnerships and leveraging synergies to deliver exceptional results. As the founder of STEP IN MARKETING & EVENT SOLUTIONS, launched in 2014, Sue continues to serve as the unflappable glue that binds teams and visions together, orchestrating a wide array of events including galas, conferences, trade shows, culinary competitions, and more.

Currently serving as President of the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners (CanSPEP), Sue is a highly regarded leader and award-winning specialist. Honours such as the Canadian Meetings & Events Expo Hall of Fame Planner of the Year (2023) and multiple accolades from CanSPEP and the Culinary Federation highlight her dedication and impact. Guided by a passion for innovation, collaboration, and purpose, Sue continues to inspire and elevate the industry, ensuring every client and project achieves extraordinary success.

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Growth Lessons from Successful Entrepreneurs

In this engaging panel discussion, our guest speakers will share real-world stories about how they’ve navigated challenges and scaled up their teams successfully. Through candid conversations and expert advice, this session offers valuable insights and inspiration to turn your business goals into a reality.

A Panel Discussion with Angela Chorney, Yvonne Dewar and Cass Bayley.  Moderated by Samantha Mele

Angela Chorney is a VP & Managing Partner of CanPlan Event & Conference Services with over a decade of expertise in meticulously organizing meetings and conferences across Canada. She holds a Certificate in Advanced Project Management and a degree in education. She previously served as a Paralegal and Project Lead in Legal Services for the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General.  A strong proponent of using “why” as a catalyst for informing “what and how”, Angela believes in the curious exploration of both in-the-box and out-of-the-box solutions when planning events. Combined with her intentional stewardship of long-lasting client relationships, she continues to earn consistent repeat business and accolades from the clients she works with.  In 2021, Angela was recognized with CanSPEP’s Volunteer of the Year Award, and she was recently elected to its Board of Directors as the Secretary/Treasurer.

Cass Bayley started her career in sales and convention services with the Royal York Hotel followed by a tenure as the Director of Sales with the Park Hyatt in Toronto.  She launched The Bayley Group in 1992 and has built this agency into a successful, full-service PCO with nine full-time, professional meeting planners who work on a wide range of clients in Canada, US and Europe.  When the Bayley Group started, the client base was more event oriented and there were several years of managing events such as the Mercedes-Benz World Cup Qualifiers in Show Jumping, the Canadian Comedy Awards, A Military Tattoo for the City of London, a consumer women's show to name a few.  Through industry contacts and colleagues, the company was introduced to several associations that pivoted the company focus to the design and execution of conferences. BG has many clients and staff that have been with the company for more than 20 years. 

Yvonne is a seasoned professional with over 30 years experience as a senior executive manager. Prior to launching Elastic Communications & Events in 2005, she held the post of Director, Conference & Events for a leading North American communication & events firm.

A Certified Meeting Professional, Yvonne has traveled extensively, directing and managing events for 20 to 10,000 attendees. Programs have included annual general meetings, employee recognition events, national sales meetings, travel incentive programs, symposiums, trade shows, and product launches.

Yvonne was the recipient of the esteemed Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Toronto Chapter 2010 ‘Planner of the Year’ Award. She is also a Past President of the MPI Toronto Chapter, which has more than 700 members and sat the CanSPEP board and was 2021 co-chair of the hybrid CanSPEP Conference in Kitchener.

Samantha Mele is the Founder and Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of THE CREATIVE CONNOISSEUR, a boutique consultancy offering dynamic creative direction for corporate events. As a solo-preneur, Samantha operates as a fractional creative director, seamlessly stepping in as a white-labeled consultant under the client’s brand or as a bold, strategic creative partner. Driven by curiosity, playfulness, and a passion for innovation, she curates experiences that captivate event attendees. 

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Networking Reception, sponsored by

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Thank You To Our Exceptional Sponsors