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The 2024 ASAE Annual Meeting and Expo is fast approaching. Here are some key articles to read before the event. 

Whether you’re heading to Cleveland for this year’s Annual Meeting & Expo, or keeping up with the goings-on remotely, Associations Now has plenty of content to help you get up to speed on the meeting’s presenters and key themes. Here’s a sampling of some of the sessions and relevant articles.

Attend: “Chaos in the Boardroom: Interpreting Divisive Issues,” 4 p.m. Sunday, August 11. Speakers: Chris McEntee, MHA, FASAE, Principal, CWMcEnteeLLC; Paul Pomerantz, FACHE, CEO of American Society of Anesthesiologists; Mark Engle, DM, FASAE, CAE, principal of Association Management Center.

Read: “A Faster Path to Better Boards,” by Mark Athitakis, associationsnow.com, April 12, 2024. In this article, Engle discusses some of the essentials of board orientation, especially in terms of maintaining strategic focus. “What’s the centerpiece that you alone as a board member are responsible for?” Engle said. “We need to be careful, or various things can really undo what a board is trying to achieve. That means having a mindset of asking what we’re doing with strategy, what you’re doing with structure, and what you’re doing with culture. That helps shape where the conversation goes.”

Attend: “The Board’s Duty of Foresight in the Age of Polycrisis,” 10:45 a.m. Monday, August 12. Speaker: Jeff De Cagna, AIMP, FSRA, FASAE, Executive Advisor, Foresight First LLC.

Read: “Choosing the Future,” by Jeff De Cagna, Associations Now Board Brief, January 2024. In this article, De Cagna challenged boards to prioritize future focus. “The board’s duty of foresight will endure as a vital choice for association boards committed to setting a higher standard of stewardship, governing, and foresight,” he wrote. “For boards ready to become fit-for-purpose, the duty of foresight is an ethical, honorable, and purposeful decision to stand up for their successors’ futures.”

Attend: “Build Your Association’s Culture Inside and Out,” 4:30 p.m., Monday, August 12. Speakers: Genevieve Borello, MPA, CAE, Director, Membership, Marketing, and Diversity, American Bar Association, Section of Taxation; Christopher M. Williams, CAE, Executive Director, Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association; Jamie Notter, co-founder, Propel Culture Consulting

Read: “Three Steps for Becoming AI Ready,” by Mark Athitakis, associationsnow.com, April 9, 2024. In this article, Notter shared insights on how organizations can position themselves well culturally to handle challenges around AI and beyond. “One place where associations have a leg up on others is the idea of co-creation,” he said. If you want to be agile, you’ve got to be good at creating something with someone, and that is completely in an association’s DNA. You’re co-creating with volunteers. So bring in users to show them what you have, get feedback, and incorporate it on a regular basis.”

Attend: “Critical Considerations for Meeting Safety,” 9 a.m. Tuesday, August 14. Speakers: Gary A. LaBranche, FASAE, CAE, CEO of RIMS; Stuart Ruff-Lyon, CMP, RIMS chief events and sales officer; Teresa Anderson, VP, Content, ASIS International.

Read: “How One Association Handled an Active Shooter Incident in Conference City,” by Mark Athitakis, associationsnow.com, May 23, 2023. In 2023, RIMS’ annual conference was disrupted by an active shooter in the downtown Atlanta area. At #ASAE24, LaBranche and Ruff-Lyon will discuss their actions since then; RIMS, along with ASIS International, collaborated with ASAE on a survey and toolkit around risk and crisis management. “No organization that ever goes through one of these situations will say that they did everything perfectly,” LaBranche said at the time. “We certainly didn’t. We’ve learned a lot, and the fundamental, big learning is that if you have a citywide convention, you have to have a citywide crisis management and communication plan.”

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