ASAE Takes Merger to Next Level
By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 8/29/2005
Nashville—At their Annual Meeting & Exposition, the American Society of Assn. Executives and the Center for Assn. Leadership seemed to be turning a corner. Along with a new, integrated identity, the groups announced they were on the path to an economic recovery that was reflected in the tradeshow's strong turnout.
The Aug. 13–16 meeting at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center attracted 450 exhibitors filling 80,700 net square feet of exhibit space, said John Graham, ASAE president and CEO, during a press conference. According to Graham, this represented an increase over the 75,000 net sq. ft. exhibition in 2004. Although attendance figures were not available on-site, Graham said the meeting was on track to surpass by 5 percent its record, set in Denver in 2002.
Invoking Winston Churchill on the subject of turning challenge into opportunity, outgoing ASAE Chairman Thomas Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, said, "We've had a lot of difficulties — financial difficulties, a change in leadership, the merger (of ASAE and the Greater Washington D.C. Society of Assn. Executives). But the board and the organization stayed focused on our three goals." These, he said, were better financial management, implementation of the merger and growth of membership.
The group has created a "strong resource position from which to move forward," Kuhn said.
It also has taken another step toward full integration. The two entities that resulted from last year's ASAE-GWSAE merger (ASAE and the Center for Assn. Leadership) now will be known under the single name ASAE & the Center. Under that banner, it will operate its two regional networks in Greater Washington and Northern California.
When asked if the association had plans to operate networks in other regions, Graham said, "No. Northern California approached us about doing this, and Greater Washington is unique in the country ... We're looking at this as a learning experience," not a pattern, he added.
Graham said members would start to see tangible benefits from the labor that went on behind the scenes to bring together the two distinct cultures of ASAE and GWSAE.
In addition to a new logo and a single magazine — Associations Now, to begin circulating in October — the change will bring a comprehensive Web site with one login, and software that allows users to customize (and management to track) their experience. It's under development now, with the official launch set for Jan. 1, 2006.
The respective staffs of ASAE & the Center, about 100 and 35 people each, also are expected to get new digs this year. The board is considering different options for putting everyone under one roof in Washington, D.C.
As for membership growth, Kuhn said he might not have achieved the extremely ambitious goal he announced when taking the reins two years ago — to increase membership to 100,000 — but he had put the association on the right path to get there.
For the first time in five years, Kuhn noted, member numbers grew. The 21,288 people in ASAE at the end of 2004 represented a 2.6-percent increase over the previous year, and numbers rose in every category of membership. Another 271 dues-payers have been added so far this year.
For the achievement, Graham credited Kuhn's dedication to the goal, as well as a special task force whose strategy was to focus on keeping existing members happy. Retention also was up last year by about 10 percent over 2003.
The annual meeting itself also featured several innovations, including a career fitness center, where association executives could receive mentoring from professional coaches, and an "Xtreme blog," tailored to fit the meeting's theme of taking association performance "to the Xtreme."
Attendees said they were pleased to see exciting theatrical productions return to general sessions, after a few years of drier awards presentations and speeches. For the opening session, Kuhn rode into the ballroom on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, followed by a performance by a team of acrobats.
This year's showfloor was divided into two separate halls for cities and convention centers, on the one hand, and product and service suppliers on the other.
Next year's Annual Meeting & Exposition is scheduled Aug. 19–22 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Springtime will be held May 25 in Washington, D.C.
