WASHINGTON— The 701 attendees at this year’s ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference, March 9-11, represent the highest attendance in its 11 year history. Association professionals and industry partners heard from John Spence and the Water Coolers and had access to more than 80 education sessions. This year's meeting was held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida.

During the Opening General Session, Spence, a business improvement expert and author of Awesomely Simple, provided attendees with the formula for association success, seven characteristics of being a great leader, how to turn great ideas into action and find your organizations moments of truth, so you can propel your association to the next level.

Participants engaged in new learning formats including: creativity pop-up stations, which feature 20-minute playful engagement sessions, sunrise fitness sessions (yoga, swimming, and spinning), and Mobile Book Club session, in which attendees rode a trolley while having inspiring conversations.

“This was a record year for us in attendance, and participants thoroughly enjoyed learning from John Spence, great education content on a variety of topics, and loved the closing session with the Water Coolers. They were able to capture information about Great Ideas and associations through songs as well as provide strategies on how attendees could take their ideas and implement back into their organization,” said ASAE President & CEO John H. Graham IV, FASAE, CAE.

During the two-and-half day conference, attendees gained ideas regarding a variety of topics including: communication and marketing strategies, volunteer management, building relationships, and project management strategies. ASAE had another successful Snap Learning Spot, which was sponsored by Business Events Canada and its partners, and Ignite presentations hosted by Johnson Lambert, Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

ASAE held a pre-conference Executive Leadership Program with John Spence on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, sponsored by ASAE’s strategic partner Marriott International. In its second year, 105 association executives and consultants compared their association against the best practices of leading organizations around the world in the areas of: teamwork, culture, communications, customer focus, accountability, disciplined execution, and more. They discovered the “pattern” of where their organization did well and where they needed to improve.

Wrapping up the innovative conference was a singing comedy act, The Water Coolers. During the Closing General Session, they sang songs describing associations and revealed secrets of how attendees could take their ideas from the “page to the stage.” 

Next year’s conference will be at the Hyatt Regency Orlando from March 8-10, 2015. For more information about this year’s conference, visit Great Ideas website.

ASAE thanks the following Alliance Partners for continued support of the association community:

Strategic Partners

Business Events Canada
Detroit Metro CVB
Fort Worth CVB
Marriott International
Mexico Tourism Board
Personify
Reno Tahoe USA

Corporate Partners

Affinity Center International
Atlanta CVB
Visit Baltimore
Boxwood
CliftonLarsonAllen
Dallas CVB
GEICO
Louisville CVB
Omaha CVB
Visit Salt Lake
Meet In Washington State

Event Partners

BrightKey
The Broadmoor
DelCor
Dubai Association Center
Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB
Hong Kong Tourism Board
Johnson Lambert LLP
Meet In Minnesota
New Orleans CVB and New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Omni Hotels and Resorts
PBD Worldwide
Meet Puerto Rico
Richmond Region Tourism

MEDIA CONTACT: Sabrina Kidwai, APR, CAE, skidwai@asaecenter.org, 202-326-9505.

About ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership

ASAE is a membership organization of more than 21,000 association executives and industry partners representing 10,000 organizations. Its members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world. With support of the ASAE Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession, and provides resources, education, ideas and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. For more information about ASAE, visit www.asaecenter.org