Alexia Gura is the assistant editor in charge of news and business coverage for both Association News and SportsTravel.

Alexia joined our company last March and has been a terrific addition to our Los Angeles-based headquarters staff.

A graduate of Pepperdine University, Alexia earned a masters degree in journalism from the University of Southern California, where she was also awarded the Jack Langguth First Amendment Award for a story she wrote on the parole system at San Quentin State Prison. Her previous experience includes work as an associate producer for television programs appearing on Court TV and the Discovery Health Channel.

Alexia and her husband, Daniel, live in West Los Angeles. Alexia can be reached at alexia.gura@schneiderpublishing.com.

JOHN OLIVER will be in Houston, September 24-26, for the TTIA Texas Travel Summit; LISA FURFINE & TIM SCHNEIDER will be in Louisville, September 26-28; ANN SHEPPHIRD will be in Seattle, September 29-31 and in San Francisco, October 5-8; TIM SCHNEIDER will be in Anchorage, October 10-12, to present a general session on sports-related travel at the Western Association of CVBs Annual Meeting; and ALEXIA GURA, ANDY LAMEDMAN, ANN SHEPPHIRD, GUIDO MURGA, JAY BARDWAJ, JOHN OLIVER, LARS THORN, LISA FURFINE, MARTHA VILLASENOR, RACHEL CARR, RITA BURRIS, SUE DAMON, TIM SCHNEIDER & YVONNE GARCIA will be in Louisville, October 22-27, for the TEAMS 2007 Conference & Expo.

WE’RE HERE TO SERVE YOU AND WE LOVE TO SEE YOU WHEN WE’RE TRAVELING! Please call us toll-free at (877) 577-3700 or e-mail us if we can be of service in any way or if you’d like to schedule a meeting with us when we’re in your area.

The Management Capsule from last month regarding “What Sponsors Want” evoked a response from one of our readers that contained the advice to always “deliver whatever you promise. Never, never over promise and under deliver.” Here are my suggestions for how any organization—especially membership organizations and associations—can make their members and clients happier by over delivering:

1. Establish a baseline set of deliverables that your members or clients will receive. In order for members, sponsors or other supporters of your organization to believe they’ve received more than expected, they must have clear expectations regarding what they will receive from the start.

2. Rather than scrimping on baseline deliverables so that you’ve got something left in reserve with which to over deliver, try to achieve over delivery by going “outside the box.” In this way, the over delivery becomes a real calling card for your organization. When what you’re delivering is unique, your members and clients will appreciate your originality.

3. Once you begin to set a standard that your members and clients recognize as different from what they can get elsewhere, it is important not to fall into the trap of resting on your laurels. Consistent over delivery requires continual creativity and innovation. It’s easy to surprise people in a favorable way once. Doing it year in and year out is considerably more difficult.

4. Learn from your own experiences and listen to what the marketplace is saying. When was the last time you felt like someone you were dealing with delivered a lot more than they promised? Consider how they achieved that and what you can learn from their business practices. Don’t forget to listen to what current and former members and clients will tell you.

By allowing your imagination to contribute some ideas that you’ve never before attempted, you may find that your organization not only over delivers on a consistent basis for your members and clients but also exceeds even the toughest expectations of the board and chief executive. What do you think? Post your feedback as a comment below (including your name, title and organization).