While producing engaging in-person events that feature the latest high-concept design and content elements is certainly something to aspire to, the devil is in the detail, as the saying goes, so meeting planners need to be well-versed on contracts.
Although contracts are the foundation of any event—that proverbial “third rail” that can wreak havoc if details are overlooked—it’s safe to say many planners don’t have a firm understanding of critical contract concepts to avoid potential landmines.
[Related Free Webinar: Must-Have Contract Clauses: Leave Nothing On The Table]
Meeting planning veteran Heather Reid, the Ontario-based founder and CEO of Planner Protect, launched a contracts certification course for meeting and event planners to help fill the gap, and is joined by three leading industry contracts experts who are consulting on the program.
“I think contracts are just foundational to every single aspect of what we do,” Reid, who recently was nominated for the Canadian Meetings & Events Hall of Fame 2025 in two categories, said. “And yet I know in Canada when I started to look to teach about contracts in 2013, there wasn’t a single post-secondary program that taught more than one or two lectures on contracts.
“And contracts [content] are rarely covered in depth at industry events,” she continued. “It’s hard to dig into any contract clause in a 45-minute timeslot! So, I really wanted to create a program that would allow planners the opportunity to learn not just the “why” or ‘what,’ but to dig deep into the “how” of creating balanced event contracts.”
The Certified Event Contract Professional (CECP) program was launched in mid-2024, and being self-funded, is in a continual state of development and refinement. It is not currently accredited by the Events Industry Council or a post-secondary school, but Reid expects it eventually will be.
She said the basic concepts of the course are applicable both to U.S. and Canadian law—examples for each country are given when there is a discrepancy—with advice to check with individual jurisdictions for more-specific laws, such as the Good Samaritan food donation act.
[Related: 8 Meetings and Events Contract Points for Turbulent Times]
Certified Event Contract Professional Program Details
The program currently features 15 modules covering everything from contract basics such as sleeping rooms and F&B to more-advanced subjects like force termination and cancellation; deposits and payments; risk management; and concessions.
Every module has a quiz that is generated each time someone takes it—so it’s not the same quiz over and over—and course-takers need to get a perfect score to move on to the next module. At the end of the course there is a capstone project (culminating experience) where students apply their knowledge to a real-world scenario in which they demonstrate their negotiation skills and submit a contract for review.
Reid estimates completing the entire course, which costs $2,297 (both in U.S. and Canadian currency), takes about 60 hours. Planner Protect holds one-hour virtual “office hours” twice a month to answer questions and allow participants to network and share information.
While each module requires a perfect score to continue, the 75-question multiple-choice final exam requires an 80% pass rate to complete the course and receive the CECP certification.
Industry Heavyweight Contributors
Reid is aided by meetings industry contract expert Joan Eisenstodt and lawyers Joshua Grimes and Andrea Henry, a Canadian attorney, who review all course materials.
Not only for less-experienced planners, Reid said a wide range of meeting professionals are taking her certification program.
“We’ve got people that are five years in the industry and 31 years in the industry that have embraced the learning,” she said. “We have association and corporate and intermediaries, as well as independents, that are taking the course.”
