2001 The Year in Review: The year 2001 brought many challenges and changes, accomplishments and achievements. Look back with ASAE on a year highlighted by alliances, advocacy, and the advancement of professional growth.

On August 7,2001, newly installed ASAE Chairman Colin C. Rorrie, Jr., CAE, Executive Director of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Dallas issued a challenge to delegates of the ASAE Annual Meeting and Exposition in Philadelphia: Embrace the role associations play in everyday life, and seize all opportunities to make a difference in our local communities and worldwide.

Rorrie's message proved particularly timely in the days and weeks following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the nation's financial and military centers in New York City and Washington, D.C., as associations helped lead relief efforts and the nation's recovery in droves. Never has a better example been set of how associations respond to pressing economic and social concerns through the mobilization of their resources and the collective expertise of their members.

ASAE gathered stories from hundreds of associations that solicited donations of money, time, professional assistance, supplies, food, and other essentials from their staffs and members to aid in the immediate relief effort. At the ASAE Building in Washington, a relief fund was established for members to contribute to the American Red Cross and their work during the recovery. Just six weeks after the attacks, ASAB members had contributed nearly $1 million to the relief fund.

In a show of support for the city's recovery from the terrorist attacks of September 11, Rorrie and ASAE President and CEO Michael S. Olson, CAE, made a decision to move a previously scheduled board meeting in November to New York City. The meeting took place November 16--19 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. ASAE also announced its March 2002 board meeting, traditionally linked to the ASAE Strategic Leadership Forum, will now be held in Washington, D.C., to reaffirm its support for the industry's supplier partners in that affected community.

At the Second Annual Summit Awards Dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., September 25, more than 800 association executives, industry suppliers, members of Congress, and other guests turned out to honor four of ASAE's 2001 Summit Award winners and the spirit of America that drives organizations on a daily basis to better their communities. The dinner has quickly become a signature event for ASAE in its efforts to promote the value of associations to society, and this year was especially moving, serving as it did to further unite the association industry in answering America's call where needed.

Reorganizing and reinvesting

By the time ASAE's Board of Directors met in Las Vegas in March 2001, a decision had been made to reinvest a substantial portion of ASAE's revenues back into programs and services that benefit its more than 24,000 members. Under the guidance of 2000-01 chairman Jeffry W. Raynes, CAE, executive director of APICS--The Educational Society for Resource Management, Alexandria, Virginia, ASAE began dedicating substantial resources to the infrastructure of the organization--reengineering and modernizing its own technology and its Web site--and to the expansion of professional development opportunities for industry executives.

Professional development. ASAE's Professional Development Division reorganized in 2001 under the direction of Vice President Frank Doyle, CAE, developing a new educational model, a number of aggressive revenue goals, and more than 40 new programs dedicated to advancing the core competencies of association executives. ASAE's educational model is now four-pronged, concentrating on association education and leadership development, career advancement services, meetings and special events and, perhaps most importantly, ensuring the "total customer experience."

New member services. ASAE's Member Service Center also continued to evolve throughout the year, shifting from primarily an order-processing department to becoming the general information source for callers needing information about any of ASAE's programs and services. The advent and popularity of ordering online aided in the transformation, as did ASAE's decision earlier in 2001 to outsource time-consuming data entry tasks to Drohan Management Group, Reston, Virginia.

The outsourcing frees up the Member Service Center staff to deliver more personal service to ASAE members, who can expect quicker responses to their queries in the months to come. Continuing its commitment to quality customer assistance, ASAE also debuted a new toll-free phone line (888-950-ASAE) for members calling within the United States or Canada.

ASAE President and CEO Michael S. Olson said earlier this year that the toll-free number is expected to improve ASAE's ability to serve all members, especially those outside the Washington, D.C., area and in different time zones. ASAE has plans to expand the Member Service Center hours in the near future to better accommodate members in Western states.

"As membership has grown over the years, so have ASAE's own expectations as far as delivering on our brand promise to couple trusted expertise with exceptional service," Olson said in September. "We are setting the bar high in terms of member satisfaction and have installed quality-based performance measures and reporting to make sure we are meeting our mark."

Bylaws change. Before the ASAE annual meeting in Philadelphia in August, members of ASAE also voted by a definitive margin in favor of three changes to the organization's bylaws, the most notable of which extends voting rights to ASAE'S associate members. Associate, or industry supplier, members of ASAE had long been represented on the board of directors, but as Olson explained earlier this year, "This change is more about recognizing our associate community for all they do for ASAE and the association community. ASAE is strengthened in its decision-making abilities by the added intelligence, marketing, and business skills brought by associate members to the deliberative process of ASAE governance.

Advancing professional growth

Mindful of its core purpose, "to advance the value of voluntary associations and to support the professionalism of the individuals who lead them," ASAE continued in 2001 to push the envelope in the development of professional growth opportunities for its members.

Annual meeting. With its unique mix of influence and opportunity, the ASAE Annual Meeting and Exposition continued to serve as a "learning laboratory" for the industry, exposing attendees to innovative education and unparalleled access to suppliers of every ilk. More than 5,600 association executives and industry partners attended ASAE Philadelphia 2001, August 4-7, which featured more than 100 sessions designed for executives of varying experience and focus, and a 922-booth trade show organized into five distinct areas to make it easier for executives and vendors to meet and do business.

General session speakers at the 2001 Annual Meeting included former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, former U.S. Representative and the former Chairman of U.S. House Budget Committee John Kasich, and actress and comedienne Lily Tomlin. Other educational highlights of the meeting included Meetings and Exposition (M&E) Days, a two-day, first-ever series of sessions designed specifically for senior-level meeting professionals who need to apply more business management and marketing principles to the task of growing their events.

Management and technology. ASAE's bookend on the year in education was the 2001 Management and Technology Conferences, scheduled to take place December 2-4 in Baltimore. In addition to keeping industry executives current on the latest trends in technology, part of this year's programming for this meeting was redesigned to focus on crisis management and other relevant topics of the day.

Hundreds of other daylong programs, seminars, symposia, and distance learning opportunities--more than has ever been offered by ASAE--rounded out ASAE's educational calendar.

ASAE also laid foundations in 2001 to develop the future leaders of associations, signing a formal memorandum of understanding with George Mason University in September to collaborate on the development of graduate-level classes in association management. The classes can be incorporated into a master's degree in public administration or a graduate certificate in nonprofit management or association management from GMU. The agreement closely mirrors ASAE's partnership with Virginia Tech established in 2000.

"Associations place a tremendous emphasis on professional development post-college, but historically there have been few university-level tracks specifically geared toward a career in this field," Olson said at the signing with George Mason University. "That is certainly starting to change, and deservedly so. Associations are a growing segment of the workforce in this country and around the world, and we need to prepare our future leaders as much as possible for the roles they will play in the years to come.

Advancing your success. To emphasize the benefits of life-long learning and association membership, ASAE worked closely with its allied society partners across North America to kick off an annual "Advancing Your Success Month" in October.

The monthlong campaign was focused on expanding access to ASAE's rich assortment of programs, resources, and services. Among the special events scheduled at ASAE headquarters in Washington, DC, were a new member orientation and book fair, enhanced career development resources through the society's Career Headquarters, and a "CAE Insider" program to help executives learn about the benefits and requirements for enrollment in the Certified Association Executive program. A special supplement to the October issue of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT included practical advice for assessing an individual's career development needs and creating a plan to meet those needs. Many allied society partners of ASAE developed and promoted regional events and programs in October under the "Advancing Your Success Month" banner.

Forming alliances

Allied partners. Realizing the value of collaboration and the need to serve the growing association community on both a national and regional level, ASAE and the allied societies worked diligently in 2000 to develop formal strategic partnership terms of agreement. ASAE's Allied Society Council endorsed the strategic agreement during the 2000 Management and Technology Conferences and Exposition in Washington, D.C. The agreements are essentially the same for each of the organizations, providing for shared access to information and more uniformity in the branding of activities, products, services, and alliances. The prototype agreement was amended to address a few specific concerns where needed to ensure economic security of the parties and to conform to specific allied society bylaws or structure issues.

ASAE has long histories of partnerships with many of the allied societies, but the agreements provide a more formal framework for collaboration in a number of areas, including volunteer recruitment, identification and distribution of new products and services, and sharing of model practices. The agreements call for ASAE and the participating organizations to develop new professional development opportunities in their represented regions and customized research for each group's geographic area.

As of November 2001,45 allied societies had signed partnership agreements. Randi Sumner, CAE, Executive Director of the New Jersey Society of Association Executives, Monroe Township, summed up the spirit of the agreements earlier this year. "Although collaborations between ASAE and regional societies of association executives have been approached in the past, the dialogue over the past year has been elevated to new heights as we've worked to formulate this agreement. The result is we now have a framework for building stronger organizations while maintaining the individual cultures and services that have been the backbone of the regional groups.

Red Cross. ASAE also formalized a partnership in 2001 with the American Red Cross, a move that would pay dividends in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on America. The partnership calls for ASAE to act as a channel on behalf of the Red Cross to the association community in times of national disaster, providing the group with demographic information about associations and assistance in identifying organizations that may be of assistance during emergencies.

ASAE and the American Red Cross continue to share data regarding disasters, declarations, and changes in legislation, and are exploring joint training exercises and other areas of potential collaboration. Many associations contributed to the Red Cross relief efforts in New York City and Washington, D.C., independent of ASAE, but the partnership enabled the Red Cross to communicate its needs quickly to the association community.

"During a disaster, it is vital that the American Red Cross have access to immediate information so that we can help disaster-affected communities in the quickest and most effective manner possible," said James Woodson, internal liaison associate of the American Red Cross. "This partnership with ASAE will allow us to do just that."

Advocating for the industry

ASAE and the association community continued to be heard by the public, lawmakers, the court system, and the administration on a wide range of public policy issues in 2001, and remain committed to serving as a bridge between elected officials and voters.

In addition to lending their voice on issues that affect the livelihood of their members and the nonprofit community in general, associations served as information clearinghouses for the media, members of Congress and regulatory agencies, and the general public.

Vermont victory. The year 2001 brought resolution to one of the more serious affronts to association lobbying efforts, when the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed on June 8 the unconstitutionality of a state-administered tax on lobbying. The case was deliberated in the Vermont courts for three years, and was argued by the Vermont Society of Association Executives and six other plaintiff associations. The plaintiff organizations had argued that the lobby tax in Vermont was in fact a special tax that singled out and burdened core political speech protected by the First Amendment, a position ultimately supported by the Vermont Supreme Court.

In its 24-page ruling, the court held that "the lobby tax plainly warrants heightened scrutiny, under which it cannot pass constitutional muster.... Taken to its logical conclusion, refusing to subject a tax on political speech to heightened scrutiny unless it disfavored particular viewpoints would allow the state to impose a tax so great that it could effectively destroy the right to petition one's government, as long as the tax burdened all viewpoints equally. That is not the law."

ASAE, which lent financial resources as well as legal counsel and staff support to the plaintiffs' case, had been concerned about the implications the case held for associations in Vermont and nationally.

"This law presented a serious affront to free speech in that it singled out lobbyists based on the amount they spent to be heard," Olson said following the Supreme Court decision. "ASAE will continue to aggressively oppose any attempt to obstruct the basic First Amendment right to petition one's government."

ASAE and the association community also celebrated in April the release of President Bush's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2002, which did not include any provision to tax the investment income of trade and professional associations.

The provision, dubbed an "anti-association" tax by ASAE, had been a proposed revenue-raiser in the previous two fiscal year budget proposals, but met defeat on both occasions thanks to bipartisan opposition in Congress and a strong grassroots campaign mounted by ASAE and its members.

ASAE and the association community also continued to work in 2001 in support of legislation that would strengthen and expand association health plans and do away with duplicative reporting requirements currently required of state and local association political action committees.

Political visibility. In July, ASAE's Executive Committee met with key figures in the Bush administration to reinforce the role of associations in American society and receive a policy briefing on the President's major initiatives. The meeting with Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Joshua Bolten, provided an opportunity for the Executive Committee to outline the importance of associations as a link between the government and the private sector.

Then-ASAE Chairman Raynes reported after the meeting that "the administration appears very sensitive to the role of associations as information brokers. One of ASAE's key responsibilities is to promote the value of this profession to various audiences, and to be able to do that in the West Wing of the White House is obviously beneficial."

James Zaniello, director of organization and executive development at Association Strategies, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia, took over as the new APAC chairman from Curtis Deane, CAE, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers Foundation, Washington, D.C. Deane stepped down after two years of unprecedented fundraising.

APAC raised more than $71,000 in fiscal year 2001, which was distributed to federal candidates for office on a bipartisan basis who understand the role associations play in bettering society. Zaniello said he is "looking forward to working with APAC volunteers, all of whom have a tremendous understanding of, and interest in, the value of being involved in the political process."

Making a better world

With the advent of a global marketplace and a need to promote understanding of the role of associations worldwide, ASAE stayed committed in 2001 to forming international partnerships and exchanges with societies of association executives in other countries.

Representatives of ASAE joined a Global Forum of Societies of Association Executives delegation in Barcelona, Spain, in June for the charter meeting of ORESA, the Spanish organization of association professionals newly incorporated in 2000. ORESA representatives were given a complete overview of the Global Forum at the meeting, along with a first opportunity to discuss emerging issues and trends that have implications for all associations. ASAE's Olson was a presenter at the meeting, discussing the many ways that associations are using the Internet to carry out traditional functions including education, research, certification, and marketing.

ASAE is also working with the Global Forum to promote the next World Congress of Association Executives, scheduled for August 22-25, 2002, in Cancun, Mexico. The World Congress is held every two years, and in 2002 will be hosted by ANGECAI, the Mexican Association of Trade and Professional Association Executives.

"The Global Forum provides a good support network for the continued development of the association management profession worldwide, and the World Congress, in particular, is a rare and invaluable opportunity to talk about our shared concerns and possible solutions to existing and future challenges," Olson said.

ASAE announced at its 2001 annual meeting in Philadelphia an agreement with ANGECAI to translate three ASAE publications into Spanish, and unveiled a new Associations Make a Better World campaign intended to promote awareness of the contributions of associations across the globe. The first stage of the campaign involves building awareness within the association sector and providing talking points that allow the profession to tell its story to the public and other audiences.

"The work of associations is woven throughout the fabric of society, but the industry's collective impact internationally is still often misunderstood," Olson said at the annual meeting. "The Associations Make a Better World campaign should paint a clearer picture as to the impact of the global nonprofit sector on so many levels in communities worldwide."

Chris Vest is manager of media relations at ASAE, Washington, D.C.