Conveying associations' value. (ASAE Up Front).

Thirteen years ago, ASAE launched the Associations Advance America (AAA) program, a public awareness campaign to combat a stunning lack of understanding of the association sector.

At that time, those who had even a slight awareness of the role of associations (such as legislators and staff on Capitol Hill) tended to pigeonhole the industry, narrowly defining it as a group of high-powered, special interests doggedly lobbying lawmakers. This was a stereotype that severely undersold the extent to which associations make contributions to their communities and the nation as a whole.

Today, the AAA message remains among the most critical that we send out to policymakers, regulators, the media, and other key audiences. Encouragingly, we see ample evidence of increased understanding of the valuable role that the association community plays in our economy, culture, and collective way of life. My own observations in meeting with members of Congress and their staff bear out the findings of research commissioned by ASAE and conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide, Reston, Virginia, in 1999--the perception of associations has changed markedly. Capitol Hill staffers now regularly acknowledge the value of associations as providers of information that helps them do their jobs better, whether they're writing legislation, generating press coverage of an issue, or tracking industries in their home districts.

Strengthening communities

The AAA program has clearly helped in changing the perception of associations. In the past three years alone, ASAE has seen entries into its AAA Awards program skyrocket, and there is no surprise as to why. America's associations today are engaged in more community-oriented programs and services than ever before. Appropriately, association executives feel more of a responsibility to communicate their successes, and ASAE is obliged and honored to pay special recognition to those organizations that initiate community-based efforts.

These efforts range from the high profile to the relatively unheralded. This past year, ASAE gave its highest MA Awards recognition, the Summit Award, to eight associations. One recipient, the National Roofing Contractors Association, Hosemont, Illinois, had rightfully received much national attention from its efforts coordinating the reroofing of the Pentagon following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Just as vital to society, but operating under the radar of many Americans, was the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Washington, D.C., which worked to change the perception among its own practicing members that routine prenatal HIV testing was too burdensome and time consuming. Thanks to an extensive media campaign and the distribution of tools to obstetricians and gynecologists to increase testing, thousands more pregnant women are being tested today, resulting in fewer babies being born with HIV.

Reaching a key audience

A few years ago, aided by the vision of ASAE's past chairman, the late George D. Kirkland, CAE, former president of LA, Inc., The Convention Visitors Bureau, Los Angeles, more than 800 guests--including association executives, industry suppliers, business leaders, and members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers--attended the first Summit Awards Dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. In addition to celebrating the winning programs, the dinner was another opportunity to present the AAA message to a key audience.

Every year since, ASAE has built on the tremendous success of that first dinner, which will return to the National Building Museum on September 30, 2003, to honor six community-based association initiatives.

As has been the case in previous years, the fourth annual Summit Awards Dinner will be a signature event for ASAE and a tremendous opportunity to recognize the work of our colleagues in this vital profession. I urge you to continue to enter your organization's programs and services for consideration in the Associations Advance America Awards, (To submit an entry or for more information, go to www.asaenet.org/AAA and click on "AAA Awards.") It is these programs and services that help us tell the story of what associations do every day to enhance our way of life.

Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Strategic Relations [e-mail]