For association volunteer leaders, a survey can help answer some important questions. Are members seeing value? Is an event meeting expectations? Does a longstanding program such as a member recognition program still serve its purpose? As a marketing and communications manager, I see surveys as an opportunity to connect [...]
When someone says "young professionals," it's hard to know what concept they have in mind. For many people, a young professional is defined by age, not by years of experience; that means that up to age 35, anyone can fall into that category, regardless of how many years they've [...]
When you're buried in emails, deadlines, projects, and meetings, following up can sometimes fall by the wayside. I touched on this topic in my original blog, “The Art of the Follow-Up “ but wanted to continue talking about it, because I consider it vitally important for the relationships you have with [...]
Launching a new association brand at a trade show is one of those projects that is both exciting and a little nerve-racking. As an event coordinator, I always get to see all the moving pieces come together behind the scenes and with a rebrand, there are definitely a few [...]
Just imagine: you ask five members of your association what their top priorities are right now; what would they say? Would they know where the association is headed? What is the Board focused on? What progress has been made? Or would they give you five very different answers? Over [...]
It may only be August, but for association volunteer leaders, now is an ideal time to start thinking about next year and start planning. As association Boards and committees begin discussing priorities, budgets, events and member initiatives for 2027, marketing and communications should be part of those conversations [...]
Social media gets most of the attention these days, and AI tools are quietly changing how marketers work behind the scenes. But there's one channel many associations still underuse: email. It's not glamorous, and nobody's writing thought-leadership panels about it. Yet it remains one of the most direct, cost-effective [...]
One of the greatest strengths of any Board is the collective knowledge, experience, and perspective of its members. Yet that strength is only realized when every director has access to the same information at the same time. Effective governance is not simply about making decisions; it is about making [...]
There’s no shortage of opinions when it comes to how Board meetings should be held. Some board members swear by the energy and connection of meeting in person, while others appreciate the efficiency and convenience of virtual meetings. With competing priorities, busy calendars, and Board Members scattered across the [...]
Association volunteer leaders often focus on the event itself, those intense days of registration desks, session monitoring, and wayfinding. But the real magic of member engagement happens across a much longer timeline. After managing multiple association events, I've learned that volunteers who understand the full engagement cycle can transform [...]
