WASHINGTON— The 806 attendees at this year’s ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference, March 8-10, represent the highest attendance in its 12 year history and 15 percent increase from last year’s record-breaking numbers. Association professionals and industry partners heard from Alan Gregerman and Todd Henry, and there were more than 90 education sessions. This year's meeting was held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida.

During the Opening General Session, Gregerman, author, president and Chief Innovation Officer of Venture Works Inc., walked attendees through how they can discover the power of strangers and the importance of being open to new possibilities because it can be the key to enhancing your organization. He encouraged attendees to be curious and humble and asked them to think about how they can better invest and engage others.

Participants engaged in a new learning format called discussion dens, which are 20-minute causal conversations between learning labs. They covered a variety of topics including sharing technology triumphs, productivity tips, and learning from failures.

“For the second year in a row, we have set attendance records for the conference, which highlights how the Great Ideas Conference continues to evolve through new content formats and great speakers. Participants gained insights, strategies, and ideas they can take back and implement into their organization,” said ASAE President & CEO John H. Graham IV, FASAE, CAE.

Attendees participated in a variety of sessions including: communication and marketing strategies, volunteer management, data-decision making, member engagement, and navigating association careers. They also participated in 30-minute express learning sessions called Snap Learning Spot, hosted by Business Events Canada and its Partners, which covered topics ranging from how to engage exhibitors in conference education to creating an open online course.

On Monday night, participants listened to four Ignite presentations and enjoyed a reception hosted by Johnson Lambert LLP, Veris Consulting Inc., and Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Wrapping up the innovative conference was founder and author, Todd Henry, of Accidental Creative. He encouraged attendees to create more white space in their lives because it will help breed creativity. He outlined the seven deadly sins that cause mediocrity and identified ways attendees can unleash their best work.

ASAE held a pre-conference Executive Leadership Program with Rafi Mohammed, author of The 1% Windfall, March 7-8. In its third year, 98 association executives and consultants participated in a discussion about key pricing concepts. They obtained a blueprint-template on how to create a comprehensive pricing strategy, so they can develop and implement one inside their organization.

Next year’s conference will be at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 13- 15, 2016. 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
Aptify
Business Events Canada
Detroit Metro CVB
Marriott International
Mexico Tourism Board
Personify
Reno Tahoe USA
Team San Jose

Corporate Partners
Atlanta CVB
Visit Baltimore
Dallas CVB
Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB
Fort Worth CVB
GEICO
Louisville CVB
Naylor Association Solutions
Omaha CVB
Visit Orlando
Visit Salt Lake
Meet In Washington State

Event Partners
BrightKey
The Broadmoor
CliftonLarsonAllen
DelCor Technology Solutions
Dubai Association Centre
Hong Kong Tourism Board
Johnson Lambert LLP and Veris Consulting Inc.
McMurry/TMG
Meet In Minnesota
New Orleans CVB and New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

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 9,300 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.