What to Expect at MPI WEC 2025 in St. Louis

“Considering the environment we’re experiencing and the tensions and stress points that our members are going through, it is really valuable right now to be together,” he added.

A Celebration of St. Louis

WEC was last in St. Louis 12 years ago, the year before Van Deventer took the top spot at MPI. More board leaders come from the very active St. Louis chapter than any other. The dates for the event moved three times, twice because of impacts by delays in construction at the expansion of America’s Center and then a few days to not intersect with IPW, resulting in the first Friday close. “There has been a lot of movement, but I think that reinforces the desire to work with St. Louis and their desire to host. It would have been easy for either party to get out of the agreement, but we all wanted it to happen,” he said.

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Explore St. Louis has worked to showcase the uniqueness of the city, the heritage and culture and the meetings infrastructure.

The opening reception at Busch Stadium will feature everything from toasted raviolis anad provel cheese to gooey butter cookies and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.

The President’s Dinner on Thursday at historic Union Station will celebrate the RISE Awards.

Meanwhile, The Pageant concert venue offers an electric night of music and philanthropy with live music in the heart of St. Louis to fund MPI Foundation education scholarships and chapter grants.

The closing celebration at Grand Center Arts District will be a journey through the heart and soul of St. Louis with live entertainment and a St. Louis-born, Grammy-winning mystery guest.

Even the emcee is a nod to local talent, as Nine PBS in St. Louis Senior Producer Carol Daniel will serve as an on-stage guide.

Education Opportunities

Each general session and off-site learning journey is being called a rally. “The idea is to unite around success stories, elevate the community and explore the best of what St. Louis has to offer,” said Van Deventer.

Learning journeys include explorations of local sustainability initiatives, meeting innovation leaders and getting out in the community. Experiences include planting trees for carbon offset and tackling food waste through pre- and post-event audits.

Learning journeys started at the European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC) in Europe and now MPI is taking the experiential learning to scale to showcase venues and experiences that people wouldn’t normally get in a conference of this size. In St. Louis, one of those side trips will be to Energizer Park, home of St. Louis CITY SC and the embodiment of many of St. Louis’ most amazing attributes, including its diverse neighborhoods, growing culinary scene, innovative technology, female leadership and a spirit of a new St. Louis.

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“The beauty of those learning journeys is that you get to spend more time in a smaller group, understanding the destination in a way that will stick with you.”

A diverse lineup of keynotes follows the thread of making the world a better place.

Scientist, author and inventor Temple Grandin believes that “great minds are not all the same.” As one of the original advocate for autism awareness, Grandin helps audiences understand how autistic individuals use object visualization or math pattern thinking to solve problems, and how all minds can contribute to your team’s strengths.

Meanwhile, activist, educator and author Brittany Packnett Cunningham will speak to the confidence revolution as a way to advance social justice and empowerment. Cunningham challenges audiences to build a culture of belonging, tackle inequity and create meaningful, systemic change.

To advance the call to action, tea entrepreneur and energizer Daniel Lewis will address strategies for igniting connection, collaboration and change.

And because we all need a little fun, Freestyle+, a hip-hop comedy group, will take the stage to demonstrate the power of play. Think Tony Award-winning performers paired with science-backed learning frameworks to foster spontaneous laugher, authentic connection and lasting discovery.

Jessie States, vice president of MPI Academy, who manages the content, has focused on showcasing diversity on the stage and providing thought leadership from people many may not think of traditionally as a speaker and Van Deventer sees that as a powerful way to expose people to content they may not already be aware of. “She is expanding it and going deep this year around neurodiversity and the hidden challenges so many people have that planners need to be aware of,” he explained.

The concurrent sessions will shine a light on members bringing meaningful content to a larger audience. “It always gets me excited when I see some of the familiar names from our volunteer leaders addressing what is happening in our lives. We have to support each other and learn from each other through a time of uncertainty, especially for those who may be new to business cycles,” Van Deventer said.

Time to Recommit

Van Deventer described the gathering as more of a family than a learning environment and said his goal is that everyone leave convinced they’ve made the right decision to be engaged with this industry, that business events are meaningful, and they have a meaningful role to play within business events. “It’s an exciting career and MPI is there to guide and support members through that career and help get them through whatever lies ahead,” he said.

Finally, he hoped that attendees would see what a cool place St. Louis is and be inspired to bring some business love back.