In the first part of this paper we looked at the numbers and duplication of associations, as well as the mounting pressures which may force consolidation and/or merger of associations. We also looked at my first involvement with attempts to merge two groups.

In another scenario a well endowed national organization made overtures to a successful regional group to consider a “merger”. This overture was encouraged and promoted by the outgoing president of the regional group who probably felt he could become active on a larger playing field.

The cultures of the two organizations were quite different. Although by numbers the memberships were about the same, the national group had mainly the big players, the regional group had mostly smaller, local members.

The national group focused mainly on lobbying while the regional group created many innovative programs on education and certification. The national felt the addition of the regional membership would enhance its lobbying ability.

After a number of somewhat contentious meetings the board of the regional group rejected the proposal because it appeared to be more of absorption than a merger.

A second attempt failed a few years later because again the regional group did not see how their members would be served as anything but stepchildren. This attempt too was promoted by an outgoing president of the regional. Egos always play a big part in these activities.

Just a few years ago the western regional group found a more suitable merger partner with an eastern regional who had grown and offered a more common base of interest. The two groups were more similar in the type of members as well as their culture.

The economics of a joint operation were appealing particularly as the industry began facing pressures of a squeezing business climate.

Another merger attempt in this arena occurred when I was the CEO of a local organization feeling the increasing pressure of government regulators, to curtail the efforts of our industry to expand or function.

There were three other associations in the state with similar memberships and programming. There was also a regional organization under the aegis of all the industry leaders.

My proposal was to have each of the four local groups operate as “chapters” of the regional group in order to have more authority with the antagonistic forces at the state capital. The regional group board would set overall policy and the regional staff would run the new larger state associations.

Wow. You should have heard the outcry. I was labeled as crazy by just about all concerned. Although we had the largest of the locals, the others thought they would lose all independence, although I’m not sure what they were going to do with that “independence”.

The regional didn’t want the work or the responsibility. Nobody could figure out my motive and that scared them. I saw the handwriting on the wall. They didn’t.

Two of the locals don’t exist anymore. The other two barely function and the regional is a shadow of its former self.

There are often benefits to merging, but it is not easy. It takes a lot of thought, patience and salving of egos.

There are a number of consultants available nowadays who can be brought in to do an evaluation of an association’s operations and effectiveness. ASAE offers a squad for their purpose as well. All of this is good when you need an objective outlook and/or you are trying to facilitate a merger.

You may be aware in the “charity” field these are two organizations Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy who attempt to assess the operations of charities almost entirely based on the IRS 990 Forms they submit each year. It is a capsule view, sometimes helpful, sometimes a little misleading.

With the advent of the Internet and the voracious appetite of computers to gorge data, I don’t think it’s too far in the future to see one or more similar WEB sites develop to assess 501(c) 3 and (c) 6 organizations. Whether membership is individual or company based, a lot of many is spent in association participation. Big companies especially are going to be more and more anxious to assess the value of their expenditures.

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

What do you think?

SportsTravel magazine announced the winners of the 2009 SportsTravel Awards at the TEAMS 2009 Conference & Expo held October 13-17 in New Orleans. The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise and Sun Valley, Idaho, won the top prize as Sports Event of the Year. Paralympic champion Chris Waddell provided the moving keynote address as part of this year’s ceremony. In late September, Waddell became the first paraplegic to summit Mount Kilimanjaro.

The SportsTravel Award winners were nominated and voted upon by readers of the magazine. To be eligible, events had to occur between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009. Criteria for nomination and voting included:

1. Superior organization of and attendance at the event.
2. The event provided a superior experience for competitors and/or spectators.
3. The event’s host city or venue served to enhance the event.

The ballot included nominees at the amateur, collegiate and professional levels in three categories each. Each event’s host city was also acknowledged during the awards ceremony.

The 2009 SportsTravel Award winners are:

Sports Event of the Year
2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, Boise and Sun Valley, ID

Best New Sports Event
2008 National Youth Baseball Championships, Memphis, TN

Best Professional Sports Event Series or Circuit
2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Detroit, MI and Pittsburgh, PA

Best Professional Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event
2009 ESPN Winter X Games, Aspen, CO

Best Professional Single-Sport Event
Super Bowl XLIII (Pittsburgh vs. Arizona), Tampa, FL

Best Collegiate Sports Event Series or Circuit
2009 NCAA Men’s Final Four, Detroit, MI

Best Collegiate Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event
2009 Collegiate National Finals Rodeo, Casper, WY

Best Collegiate Single-Sport Event
2008 Texas vs. Oklahoma football game, Dallas, TX

Best Amateur Sports Event Series or Circuit
2008 Little League World Series, Williamsport, PA

Best Amateur Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event
2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, Boise and Sun Valley, ID

Best Amateur Single-Sport Event
2009 USA Hockey Pond Hockey Championships, Eagle River, WI

Standing, Left to Right: Timothy Schneider, publisher of SportsTravel magazine; Roger Walters, commissioner of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association; D’Ann Keller, associate director of championships for the NCAA; Chip Fisher, chairman of the board and CEO of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games; Linda Moore, senior director of business administration for ESPN; Kevin Couture, manager of adult hockey with USA Hockey; and Lisa Furfine, associate publisher of SportsTravel magazine.

Seated, Left to Right: Frank Supovitz, senior vice-president of events for the NFL; Eddie Einhorn, founder of the National Youth Baseball Championships and vice-chairman of the Chicago White Sox; and Pat Wilson, vice-president of operations for Little League Baseball.

Not Pictured: Pete Schenkel, board member of the Texas State Fair; Don Renzulli, senior vice president of events for the NHL; and Timothy Shriver, chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics.

The role of generational differences in a person’s propensity to join an association is a topic on which we’ve written frequently in the past few years. Now, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has produced a large-scale generational study focused on the exhibitions and events industry. Associations that organize trade shows or conferences will find many of the findings of the CEIR study of interest.

The importance of getting off to a good start with Millennials (ages 18 to 27). The CEIR study found that exhibitions and events can win or lose this enormous generation with their all-important first impressions. The core values and attitudes of Millennials were found to be a dedication to excellence along with a passion about the contributions they make to society through their careers. According to CEIR, exhibitions and events represent a very good opportunity to nourish and satisfy those passions. However, it is important for event organizers to view Millennials not as once-a-year visitors to a single event, but instead as valued customers and as members of a professional club—a community—that gets together on an ongoing basis to learn together, advance their careers together, and secure their futures together.

Understanding the members of Generation X (ages 28 to 39). Generation X was America’s first generation of latchkey kids who often came home after school to an empty house since both of their parents were working. Now in adulthood, they are oftentimes called the “Family-First Generation.” According to the CEIR study, Gen Xers do not want to become workaholics whose work hours intrude into their personal lives, especially their time with their children. In many ways, Generation X is an “island generation,” very unique in its core values from all other generations and almost certainly the toughest sell for exhibitions and events. Exhibition organizers therefore need to give customized, generation-specific attention to Generation X.

Do not overlook Boomers (ages 45 to 63). Boomers are the career-driven generation and define themselves by their work, by their “contribution.” According to the CEIR study, they possess virtually all of the core values essential for a positive predisposition toward exhibitions and events. America is a Boomer-led nation. For the next decade, America’s executive suites will be occupied by a Boomer majority who will make the decisions about budgeting for and on attending exhibitions and events.

The CEIR study concludes that it is vitally important to train your association’s personnel in generational strategy. Each generation of prospective attendees is unique and each responds differently to various sales and marketing appeals. As a result, generational considerations must be included in the upfront design and planning of your association’s trade shows and events, in marketing and advertising efforts, and in post-event follow up. For more information on incorporating generational planning for your exhibitions and events and on “The Power of Exhibitions in the 21st Century,” please visit www.ceir.org.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company

I would like to share a few thoughts on the provocative subject that there might be too many associations.

First: by sheer numbers, there are an enormous number of nonprofit organizations.

Second: there is obviously too much duplication and wasted effort within these numbers

Third: the pressures which will likely force consolidation among associations.

Fourth: the difficulties of merging associations.

Fifth: outside help for mergers and critical evaluations.

According to the Urban Institute, there are about 75,000 (c) 6 associations and more than a million (c) 3s. The number of (c) 3s has grown by more than 50 percent in the last ten years. I realize the (c) 3 number includes an awful lot of groups we don’t normally include in the sphere of associations, i.e., charities and foundations. At least half that 1,000,000 number, however, probably fall into our definition of associations.

You have to admit that is an awful lot of tax-exempt organizations. That should raise a red flag all by itself. There are more than 35,00 different organizations of war veterans alone.

In the past, the IRS has made an occasional foray into clamping down on the tax exempt non profits. These efforts have not been all that aggressive outside of the law which created the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).

In this current climate, don’t be surprised to see more action on the part of the IRS to question the validity as well as the purpose and activities of nonprofits. The game is on to increase tax revenues.

Our current economic situation is already putting strong pressure on many associations and may well be a clarion call for associations to carefully examine the possibility of gaining more stability by considering consolidation with one or more other organizations. Survival of many associations may well depend on pursuing this course of action.

In many industries or professions there are certainly many organizations that do not need to operate independently to serve essentially the same membership. Amalgamation would serve the industry far better.

In the reality of a struggling economy there are only so many dollars companies, as well as individuals, will be willing to continue committing to join and participate in associations and their functions. It is almost impossible to find any group who have increased membership or convention attendance this year.

It is not likely these forces will change very soon. Consolidation, amalgamation or merger may be heresy to a lot of people. If you are not considering it, some of your members may be. Doing it, of course, is not easy and has many problems and pitfalls.

I have personally been involved with several attempts to merge associations. Each one was a struggle and left a lot of broken noses and hurt egos along the way. You have to be careful in considering joining forces whether in fact it is a merger or an absorption. The cultures of each group is a vital consideration. The important decision point is whether you can still accomplish your goals and serve your members.

My first introduction to an attempt to merge two groups was really absorption. Of course, in the initial proposal it was not framed that way. One group was essentially an industry social organization. The other was a more program-oriented operation which had difficulty having any social functions because of the other group.

This first attempt failed mainly because the ego of the past presidents said “I’ll be past president of a group that no longer exists”.

A few years later a second attempt finally succeeded. It happened this time because the large industry leaders who were the main support of both groups saw the wisdom of the combination and openly encouraged their people to support it. The results were a definite benefit in creating a more cohesive industry organization.

What do you think?

I never slept well the night before I had decided to let someone go. This was after stewing over the decision for much longer than was necessary or productive.

It took me a long time to recognize that the longer you delay, the more costly it is for you in terms of productivity, the damage to your nervous system and time lost from your principal goal of building an effective organization.

At the same time the longer you delay this uncomfortable task, the longer you are keeping that person from finding their right niche. If you’re not happy with their performance and you don’t feel the situation has any hope of resolution, letting them go is really in their best interest.

In retrospect, it is interesting to try to understand why I was so conflicted the night before I decided to terminate someone. To be honest, I’m sure most people would characterize me as a “confrontational person” so why did I dread these encounters?

My best guess is that my confrontational personality comes into play as a reaction to being challenged or by someone trying to intimidate me on an issue. When I had to initiate what could be a confrontational situation, I was less comfortable.

We used performance reviews every six months and I believe as imperfectly as we probably performed them, they were, in general, very helpful. Poor reviews were often received very defensively by employees. However by the time we got to a separation interview, 75 percent or more of the people knew it was coming.

Very few people were honestly surprised when you finally told them “this isn’t working”.

I usually waited until the end of the day to address this scene, hoping it would cause the least commotion. I’ve never been sure if that was the right time.

In one situation I was so tired from lack of sleep that as one employee droned on in their defense, I almost fell asleep.

In another situation I had a review with an employee who had performed sort of an O.K. job on a somewhat shorthanded event. At the same time she had demonstrated what I believed was inappropriate behavior with one of our clients. I was very tired after this long event and probably not thinking very clearly. During the review I offered her a raise and a bonus, but did not address the behavior, mostly because I didn’t know how.

After pacing the floor all night, I realized I had made a terrible mistake. She shouldn’t be rewarded.

The next day I admitted my mistake and told her I thought it best if she were to leave. It was my mistake, so I told her to keep the bonus and was generous in my offer to continue her salary for several months. One way or another you pay for your mistakes.

Any position of responsibility is never easy. There are some benefits to management positions of course, but there are tasks you do not enjoy as well.

What do you think?

Right before the real estate depression hit a few years ago, I sold my condo to move to a larger one where I could have a retirement office and it would be a little more conveniently located.

The people who bought my unit were two of the sweetest, most adorable senior lovebirds, who had met at church, recently retired and had just married. They were a most likeable couple who were finding happiness late in life.

They loved my condo and wanted to buy a lot of the furniture I wasn’t taking with me. During escrow, they called a few times to ask if they could just come and sit in the living room for a while.

So, I moved out and they moved in. A few weeks later I got a call from Mrs. Pissaro and I thought, “oh God, what’s wrong?”

Mrs. Pissaro said, “Did you by any chance leave some money in the desk you left?” Now, how do you answer that kind of question? It seems obvious I must have, but I sure didn’t remember doing it.

After a bit of fencing, it finally come out that she had found $2,000 in the desk and if I could come by she would be happy to give it to me. Now, you ask, what were you doing with that much cash in your home? It’s a long story, but basically I kept it there because, on occasion, I or someone else from the office had to travel on short notice for business or family emergencies.

It was all hard to believe, but I did go by to retrieve the money and thank her as profusely as possible. I insisted she take $500 to give to her church. She got all teary-eyed and couldn’t stop hugging me. I wanted to hug her for her unbelievable honesty.

We don’t meet or interact with these kinds of people very often, but it warms your soul to know there are some wonderful people in this world with integrity and compassion. Knowing this really keeps your faith up and at the same time challenges you to ask if you’ve been as outgoing to others as you could be.

As we observe the fraying of the value system all around us, as well as the warring factions all around the world, you have to believe there is hope there are enough good people to win out.

What do you think?

During this past year of economic recession and attacks on the value of business-related travel, the symbiotic relationship that exists between associations and the cities that host their meetings, conventions and trade shows has only become clearer. Both association and convention bureau executives can find new ammunition to defend the value of business travel in a first-of-its-kind study released last month by the United States Travel Association and Destination & Travel Foundation. (Disclosure: I serve on the executive committee of the Destination & Travel Foundation.)

Titled “The Return on Investment of U.S. Business Travel,” the study was completed by Oxford Economics and found that for every dollar invested in business travel, businesses experience an average $12.50 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits. The study also concluded that reducing business travel has a negative impact on corporate profits: The average U.S. business would forfeit 15 percent of its profits in the first year of eliminating business travel.

The study covered 14 economic sectors and its findings were verified through a combination of three separate surveys of corporate executives and business travelers and a broad review of related research. For the purposes of the study, business travel included sales trips, meetings, conventions, trade shows and incentive trips. Other key findings of the study include:

• Business executives estimated a four- to six-time return on every dollar invested in conference and trade show participation.
• Business executives and business travelers estimated that 28 percent of their current business would be lost without in-person meetings.
• Business executives and business travelers estimated that roughly 40 percent of their prospective customers are converted to new customers through in-person meetings compared with only 16 percent without such meetings.
• More than half of business travelers stated that as many as 20 percent of their company’s new customers were the direct result of trade-show participation.
• Eighty-five percent of corporate executives perceive web meetings and teleconferences to be less effective than in-person meetings with prospective customers, and 63 percent believe virtual meetings are less effective with current customers.

According to the study, U.S. business travel is responsible for $246 billion in spending and 2.3 million American jobs; $100 billion of this spending and nearly 1 million American jobs are linked directly to meetings and events. In the first six months of 2009, total business travel spending was down 11.9 percent. The study estimated that a 10 percent increase in business travel spending would increase the Gross Domestic Product of the U.S. by between 1.5 and 2.8 percent.

There is no question that business-related travel is critical to the economic well-being of the United States and encouraging your members to travel more may well be the best “stimulus package” for getting the economy back on track. For the complete version of the study and a tool kit with suggestions for using its findings, please visit the U.S. Travel Association website at ustravel.org.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company

My life experience tells me that, despite some evidence to the contrary, there is hope for the human condition. There have been two incidents in my recent history that have reinforced the faith I have in my fellow man (or woman, as was actually the case.)

On one occasion I went to a meeting at a hotel I was familiar with, but the area around it had changed considerably. I parked in a big garage in back of the hotel and went merrily along to attend my meeting.

A few hours later, I went to retrieve my car. When I presented myself to the garage attendant, he informed me that the validation from the hotel was not good in this garage. Okay, so I goofed. Then he told me the parking fee was $35. I gulped and snarled and reluctantly reached in my wallet for a credit card, only to be told, “We don’t accept credit cards.” Is that possible?

Next I went back to my wallet to find I only had $18. Now I was really in a pickle. Annoyed with the garage for not taking credit cards and more mad at myself for parking in the wrong garage—as well as not have any cash with me—I was pretty ticked.

With some amount of disgust I went off to an ATM machine only to discover I didn’t have a pin number for this credit card. My wife is always changing credit cards to take advantage of mileage promotions.

Now what? There was not a bank nearby that I did business with and a nearby bank just shrugged me off. After hearing my tale of woe, a kind security guard suggested I go to the market a block away, buy some stuff and get cash back.

Great idea. I trudged off the market, scooped up a bunch of groceries and got in line to check out. The cashier tallied up my purchases and asked for the pin number on my credit card. Here we were, back where I started.

I told the cashier I didn’t have a pin number so I couldn’t buy the groceries. As I stood there feeling like a total fool and trying to think what I could do, the store manager came over to show the cashier how to reverse the sale. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I asked to speak to the manager.

I explained to her that I was a frequent shopper at one of their other stores (I really was) and I was in this desperate situation to get cash for the parking garage. Maria, the store manager, listened sympathetically and told me to follow her. She went to the phone on her desk and called the bank on my credit card. After a long conversation she handed me the phone and said, “They’ll give you a pin number”.

Terrific I thought. Finally a break. I got on the phone and the bank lady said, “We’ll be happy to give you a pin number. You’ll get it in the mail”, she said, “in five to seven business days.” Back to the depths of despair.

Maria wasn’t discouraged. She said she could make another call. I don’t know who she called, but it didn’t work out any better. Depression mounted.

Then, from out of nowhere, came the surprise. Maria said, “I’ll personally loan you $50.” I could hardly believe or absorb what she said, nor adequately thank her. Finally I stammered that all I needed was $20.

She gave me the twenty, I got out of the garage and returned the next day with $25 and a note calling her my saint.

If you think that was terrific, wait until you hear the other story.

What do you think?

The conventions and trade shows organized by trade associations and professional societies are typically an important source of revenue for those organizations. With the economic recession and the downturn in
corporate travel, the need for associations to make a better case for the importance of their conventions and trade shows has never been more urgent. Thanks to new research from Tradeshow Week magazine, association executives have several additional data points to help them get that point across.

Tradeshow Week magazine surveyed a total of 323 executives and managers, which included a cross-section of respondents in a range of industry sectors. The survey found that 96 percent of CEOs and other senior executives said they are attending their industry’s most important events this year despite—or perhaps because of—current business conditions. A series of questions on the value of events received highly positive responses, including:

• A significant 89 percent of the survey respondents said they are going to the most important events in their industry.
• Eighty-seven percent agreed that conventions and tradeshows are essential for comparing products and meeting suppliers in person.
• Fifty-four percent said that smaller crowds at events this year have enabled them to be more efficient when at the show.
• Fifty percent of attendees said that missing key events may negatively impact their future personal or organizational performance.

Although travel budgets are under scrutiny in nearly every industry, 59 percent of the respondents to the Tradeshow Week survey believe their travel budgets will rebound within a year after seeing an economic or sales turnaround, and 42 percent say their travel budgets will rebound even quicker—within six months—of a turnaround in the economy.

Even with tighter exhibitor budgets, 84 percent of the respondents say they will participate in more or the same number of conventions and trade shows over the next two years. A whopping 88 percent of respondents said that conventions and trade shows will continue to be a critical part of their product sourcing and buying process over the next five years.

According to Tradeshow Week, the findings indicate that in a challenging economy it is even more important to keep up-to-date with industry trends, see new products and services, and maintain and build relationships—all areas in which association conventions and trade shows provide significant value and efficiency. In short, attending conventions and tradeshows during a recession keeps executives informed and competitive.

A detailed report on the findings of this survey along with a 40-slide PowerPoint file that your association can use to help support your convention and trade show marketing efforts is available from Tradeshow Week for $149. For more information or to order, contact Michael Hughes at (480) 483-4461.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company

With “ER” moving into the dust bin of old TV shows, all we have left is “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice.” They both seem more occupied with their hookups and spending their time talking to each other than treating patients.

So, let me tell you a few things I’ve learned about dealing with the medical community to achieve better health care.

First, next time you go to your doctor (you do have a doctor you go to with some regularity, I hope?) look at the size of your file. Pretty thick isn’t it? How easy will it be to find something in there?

1. Keep your own records, either on your computer or on a spread sheet so you can see your baseline test results quickly and spot any patterns or trends. At the very least, you should keep track of your blood pressure, weight, glucose, uric acid, cholesterol, thyroid and, for men, PSA and testosterone.

When all the doctors get around to computerizing their files, life for everyone will be simpler and more effective. Time will be saved by the doctor and staff and questions will get more accurate answers. Unfortunately the computerization of records isn’t happening all that fast, especially with old-time docs.

2. If you’ve been advised you have a problem, seek more information and more than one opinion.

3. The Internet, of course, is a great place to start. It can help you understand more about your problem as well as the procedures and drugs that have been recommended. Background information is also available on doctors who you may want to consider for future consultation.

In addition, the Internet can also help formulate the questions you want answered when you seek additional or other medical opinions.

4. For each problem you encounter, start a separate file folder so you can keep all your pertinent information, test results and notes from meetings, etc., in one place.

5. If you are going to a doctor to discuss a problem, bring someone with you. It is amazing how much more productive two sets of ears are than just one.

6. If you are helping older family or friends with doctors or especially in hospitals, you have to be an advocate, not nasty, not angry, but positive and persistent. The hospital experience will be unbelievably better for the patient if someone fills that role. One more thing: If you can’t do it, find someone who can.

Stay healthy.

What do you think?