Numerica SkyRide cable cars offer a bird’s- eye view of Riverfront Park. Photo courtesy Troy Walsh
While modest in size — typically drawing 200 to 300 attendees — AMCI’s meeting has an outsized impact. The association exists to champion the association management industry, and attendees represent organization clients with the potential to bring their future events business to the host city. So when hosting AMCI’s Annual Meeting in February, Visit Spokane made sure participants got to experience all the city has on offer for a wide variety of groups during their stay.
After touching down at Spokane International Airport, I checked into my room at the Davenport Grand Hotel, where AMCI’s meeting was held. The property directly connects via an indoor skybridge to the Spokane Convention Center (SCC) and all rooms have king beds and modern touches.
I joined Kate Hudson, Visit Spokane’s public relations director and my tour guide for the next few days, for dinner at Mizuna Restaurant and Wine Bar. The chic bistro, just a five-minute walk from the Davenport Grand, has a fusion menu that’s perfect for a group with diverse tastes. We split a platter of mushroom lettuce wraps followed by risotto and hearty fried polenta.
Reaching New Heights
The next morning, my first full day in Spokane, I enjoyed avocado toast at Madeleine’s Café & Patisserie, a charming brunch spot that also is an easy walk from the Davenport Grand. Hudson and I then hopped onto one of Spokane’s new CityLine green buses — an eco-friendly way to get from the city’s downtown core to other Spokane attractions. We rode out to Browne’s Addition historic district, the first planned neighborhood in the city, a mix of both private homes and cultural attractions like the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC), our next stop for the day.
In particular, the museum’s exhibition on Spokane’s historic Davenport Hotel — not to be confused with the Davenport Grand — which opened in 1914 and was recently renovated caught my attention. Items on display from the landmark luxury hotel included handblown Depression glass, some stunning pieces of Arts & Crafts furniture, and the handwritten recipe for Crab Louis, one of the property’s specialties. Another exhibit showcased local landmarks like Spokane Falls and the Great Northern Clock Tower built out of LEGO bricks. The MAC is available for buyouts, and smaller groups can book the small outdoor theater or indoor café.
After our museum tour, we walked over to Soulful Soups, a luncheteria that was recently revived by fans after it closed several years ago, now in a new location on South Madison Street but serving the same favorite dishes as the original. Fueled by a bowl of broccoli and cheddar soup, I set out to explore Riverfront Park, one of Spokane’s outdoor treasures. Occupying 100 acres and bisected by the Spokane River, the park was the site of the 1974 World’s Fair. Spokane Falls, the Numerica SkyRide cable cars, an ice rink, and an outdoor amphitheater are all within an easy stroll of one another. I was awed by the park’s scenic lookout over the falls and playful sculpture of a giant Radio Flyer wagon — complete with kiddie slide and monkey bars.
The AMCI opening reception wrapped up with portable eats in one of the facility’s exhibition halls.
Next on the agenda was the AMCI opening reception at the SCC. The progressive format of the evening let AMCI attendees experience the entire facility as a series of site-specific activations, an easy way for a smaller group to experience the 300,000-square-foot-plus venue. After opening remarks from the Spokane team in the ballroom lobby space, the group enjoyed light bites and cocktails while the Spokane Tribe Dancers performed. Attendees moved through the promenade for more cocktails and a glimpse of the AMCI gobo that illuminated the SCC’s riverside lawn. Next, the crowd flowed over to the east side of the SCC for a screen-printing T-shirt activation with local maker Chris Bovey. The reception wrapped with a variety of food and dessert stations set around a central seating area in one of the facility’s exhibit halls.
Subscribe to Convene.
Want deep-dive insights on events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletters.
Meeting of the Minds
AMCI’s educational program kicked off with a keynote from Trent Gillespie, CEO of Stellis AI, who gave the audience a series of practical tips and case studies for using generative AI to automate and augment a variety of tasks within the association management pipeline. Once the session ended, I caught up with AMCI’s leadership team to learn how they were executing the event. Networking is key for attendees, especially those who come back year after year. “They’re coming here for peer-to-peer connection because AMCs are growing rapidly — sometimes it feels like drinking from a fire hose,” said Tina Wehmeir, CMP, CAE, president and CEO of AMCI. “It’s a nuanced business, and keeping up is critical.”
Following the morning session, AMCI attendees broke into smaller groups for roundtable discussions. These closed-door meetings let AMC owners and C-suite executives network with their peers, and sessions were organized by association size so that attendees could learn from similar organizations’ challenges and successes. After lunch, participants chose from concurrent sessions on such topics as cultivating a member-first culture and succession planning.
AMC’s 2026 annual meeting took place at Spokane’s Davenport Grand hotel and convention center.
Once sessions concluded, AMCI attendees boarded shuttle buses for a quick ride from the Davenport Grand to a 1920s- and 1930s-inspired reception at Spokane’s newly restored Fox Theater. Many of the partygoers went all in on Jazz Age attire — sequined mini-dresses, cloche hats, fedoras, and dinner jackets in bold hues. The reception’s drinks and light bites were also retro-themed, like fizzy French 75s, a refreshing cocktail from World War I, whose kick was said to be as strong as the French 75-millimeter field gun, and “devils on horseback,” warmed, bacon-wrapped dates.
The second day of AMCI’s program was just as full as the first, with an opening keynote on developing a leadership pipeline from consultant Kevin Eikenberry, followed by morning and afternoon concurrent sessions on everything from guarding against scope creep to the future of the field. Once sessions wrapped, attendees could either head over to Purgatory, a local restaurant and tasting room, or tour local shops in the Kendall Yards neighborhood capped by a visit to Maryhill Winery.
Before departing for the airport the following day, I joined Hudson and Rose Noble, Visit Spokane’s president and CEO, for lunch at Rut Spokane, a vegetarian restaurant known for its upscale comfort food. We ordered plant-based Thai wings and queso and chips for the table, which I followed with a faux-chicken sandwich with pickles and a side of fries. I left with my appetite sated and my head full of only-in-Spokane experiences to reflect on during my flight home.
Kate Mulcrone is Convene’s digital managing editor.
On the Web
Learn more about meetings in Spokane.
Find our more about AMC Institute.
Read about AMCI’s opening reception.
