August 2017

FOCUS

August 2017

NORTH

Board Rules to Live By pg 7

Are We Creating The Wrong Type of Conference Experiences? pg 12

Published by

www.associationsnorth.com

BANKING

ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES

pg 5

Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota Advocates for Neighborhood Banks

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Focus North is published 10 times a year by Associations North, 1970 Oakcrest Avenue, Suite 100, Roseville, MN 55113.

Phone: 651.647.6388 Fax: 651.647.6416 Website: www.associationsnorth.com Email: info@associationsnorth.com The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of Associations North.

The subscription rate for members is $25, which is included in membership dues. Editorial contributors in any area of association management are welcome.

Articles accepted for publication are subject to editing

by Associations North. Advertising is accepted on a space availability basis. Contact angela@associationsnorth.com for further advertising information.

Staff Angela Kisskeys, Co-Director VP of Operations & Communications Sarah Ruzek, Co-Director VP of Finance & Education

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CONTENTS August 2017

Chris Villeneuve Membership & Office Manager

FEATURES

Mission

To advance and serve the association management profession in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

DEPARTMENTS

on Local Leaders: 5 Banking 7 Advancing Communities Fuel For ForwardThinking

Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota Advocates for Neighborhood Banks

Vision

Associations North, our members and their associations will thrive and grow.

Diversity & Inclusion

In principle and in practice, Associations North values and seeks diversity and inclusiveness within the association management industry. Associations North advocates for and promotes involvement, innovation, and expanded access to leadership opportunities that maximize engagement across underrepresented groups in the Associations North membership.

For advertising information, call 651.647.6388.

Advertisements and listings in this publication are provided as a public service to readers. Associations North is not responsible for errors or omissions, and inclusion does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. All information is subject to change.

8 Advancing Engagement +

Board Rules to Live By

Moving Forward Together

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The Association Life

14 Conversations 15 Calendar of Events 16 Brain Power

+ Events: 10 Meetings In The Details Advancing

Recruitment: Moving Membership

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Are We Creating the Wrong Type of Conference Experiences

Using Mirror Surveys to Increase Board Awareness & Staff Effectiveness

18 Signature Event 19 The North Experience 20 Et Cetera 21 Spotlight

Advancing 11 Advancing Communications: 12 The Essentials: Stay Connected

Invaluable Insights

The Messiest Place in Your Office and How to Clean it Up

Revenue Fraud in Associations

Board of Directors What was your favorite TV show growing up?

Annie Cassie Larson, CAE (Chair) MN Nursery & Landscape Association

Angela Kisskeys Associations North

Ann Kvaal, CAE (Past-Chair) AK Communications

Justin Bieganek Mercury Creative Group

Mark Salter, CAE, ABC (Chair-Elect) CFA Society Minnesota Tara Owens (Secretary/Treasurer) MN Academy of Family Physicians Sarah Ruzek Associations North

Love Boat & Charlie’s Angels 3 Stooges

Full House

Saved by the Bell & Who’s the Boss

Dave Renner, CAE Minnesota Medical Association

Three’s Company

Donnie Brown Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® Amanda Friedrich, CMP Visit Saint Paul

Dave Radziej, CAE Printing Industry Midwest

Full House & Beverly Hills 90210

Jetson’s & A Different World

Boy Meets World

Cody Nuernberg Northwestern Lumber Association

Wild Kingdom

Lunch with Casey

David Siegel, CAE, IOM Builders Association of the Twin Cities Robbie Thompson Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Gilligan’s Island

Cheers

SportsCenter

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Moving Forward Together: Associations North Partners

Featured Sponsor:

Shooting Star

Memorable moment with Associations North...

Why we partner with Associations North‌

Attending my first Leadership Conference in 2014.

It was amazing how friendly everyone was, they introduced themselves and wanted to know more about what I do. I came away from the conference with valuable information and friendships.

Partnering with Associations North is a great way to increase our exposure and presence with an audience that we wouldn’t normally have access to. Our partnership also offers great opportunities to network and establish new professional friendships.

PREMIER PARTNERS

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Global Experience Specialists | Fargo-Moorhead CVB | Visit Duluth | Visit Saint Paul

The Association Life

Featured Industry: Social Welfare Whoever you are, whatever you do, there is an association working on your behalf.

MN Social Service Association The Minnesota Social Service Association (MSSA) supports the health and human service profession through education, advocacy, and member benefits. Today MSSA represents over 3600 health and human service professionals from non-profit, for-profit, and government agencies. Our members work in all areas of human services including mental health, chemical health, aging, children’s services, unemployment, homelessness, and more.

National Association of Social Workers, MN Chapter NASW-MN is the state chapter of NASW, and currently maintains a membership base of over 2,000 professionally trained social workers. NASW works nationally,

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children The National Association for the Education

and through chapters in every state of the country, to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies.

of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) is a national membership association dedicated to educational excellence for children and youth experiencing homelessness. Through state and federal policy and technical assistance to our members, students, and the public, we change systems so all children and youth can learn, succeed academically, and achieve their dreams.

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Banking on Local Communities Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota Advocates for Neighborhood Banks

Minnesotans make a variety of important decisions in their daily lives, ranging from where to live, what car to purchase, where to send their kids to school, and how to save for retirement. To help with these decisions, people often turn to the expertise provided by their local banker.

Local, independently owned and operated banks offer accessible, personalized service for these big decisions.

While these banks work hard to serve their communities, the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota works to support the banks.

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“The core part of our mission is advocacy, and it has been that way since day one,” said Jim Amundson, President & CEO of ICBM. “The political climate and issues have changed since we were founded in 1962, but if something is important to our members, we advocate on their behalf.”

ICBM represents approximately 225 bank members and 110 associate members throughout the state. These community banks are widely held by shareholder groups or families, where decisions are made locally.

Of all the benefits that ICBM provides, lobbying is perhaps the largest and most essential to its bank members. With an emphasis on building relationships and providing information to legislators from a local perspective, ICBM connects community banks with their state representatives in St. Paul and keeps members up-to-date on important legislative issues.

“The issues that we lobby for are often but not always banking-specific,” explained Amundson. “Sometimes it might be on something like taxes, which isn’t specific to banking but is also important to our member banks and their customers.”

“Our goal is to help community banks grow stronger so they can make their communities a better place.”

ICBM doesn’t always lobby alone either. They can often share legislative agenda items with other organizations on state issues in St. Paul, while also collaborating with the Independent Community Bankers of America on national issues in Washington, DC, to help present local messages to the U.S. Congress.

In addition to lobbying, ICBM prides itself on providing educational opportunities to members through multiple platforms. They offer webinars and events that help Minnesota’s independent community banks receive the latest legislative updates, regulatory compliance information, and other news that banks need to make decisions and stay relevant.

“I’m a big believer in face-to-face interactions, so we have plenty of seminars and meetings that our members can

attend,” Amundson said. “But we are also looking to add more technology so we have something for everyone.”

ICBM members also enjoy a range of peer networks to build relationships and get to know other people at community banks around the state. The networks are not just for socializing; ICBM makes a point to get people with similar roles together to share ideas, ask questions, discuss best practices, and learn from other subjectmatter experts.

“We have eight different peer networks tailored to the specific needs of functional areas within our banks,” Amundson said. “There were 30 people who attended a marketing network event just this week. They benefitted from quality content presented by a speaker with expertise in their area. We keep adding people to all these network groups.”

For bank members who are in rural areas of Minnesota, ICBM has a strong focus on agriculture. About 80 ag lenders recently attended a conference in Mankato with top-notch content from experts in the region and the state.

Many members also look forward to ICBM’s annual convention, taking place in Bloomington this month. It’s a chance to talk to other bankers, associate members, and partners. Attendees also hear the latest legislative updates, learn about the condition of the Minnesota economy, and gain skills to manage professional and personal challenges that come with operating an independent community bank.

Another popular event is the TechXpo, which takes place every other year and most recently occurred in May. “There’s actually more representation at TechXpo than the annual convention,” Amundson said. “You can bring as many people as you want to. You can talk to all sorts of vendors who are there. It’s a really popular event.

Technology is clearly a key part of the banking industry.”

ICBM’s relatively small staff of 12 works hard to provide these exclusive benefits to Minnesota’s community banks.

Their goal is to help community banks grow stronger so they can make their communities a better place.

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Advancing Leaders: Fuel for Forward-Thinking 9. Timeliness - Meetings will start and end on time as detailed on the agenda.

10. Accountability - Everyone is expected to complete assignments on time.

Board Room “Rules” to Live By Have you ever sat in a Board meeting gnashing your teeth and saying to yourself, “when is this meeting going to be over?” or “why won’t they listen to me?” or “what is the purpose and my contribution?” These are the typical questions Board members and volunteer leaders ask when a meeting is inefficient and not well run.

It is vital to the meeting and the organization to create a set of guidelines to abide by at every Board, committee or other meeting. It also shows respect to the attendees that their time, input and ideas are respected. The following are 12 things you can implement in your meetings that will save time, allow for the maximum level of idea sharing and to ensure inclusivity: 1. Agendas - Meetings will have an agenda. If there is no agenda, then there is no meeting. Agendas should be focused on high-level goals with time allocations. Without an agenda, a meeting should not happen.

“Aligning expectations is the first step in being more effective.”

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2. Active Listening - Listen to understand the conversations that occur during a meeting. Try to keep your mind and ears open before

formulating a response so you don’t miss what a person is saying by thinking about what you want to say back to that person.

3. Openness - All ideas are valid and should be given equal consideration.

4. Strategic Focus - Stay at a strategic level; stay out of the “weeds.” If the discussion is a Board level discussion, getting into the “how to” of an issue is getting into the details. Leave that to a committee or task force.

5. Meaningful - Be brief and meaningful when voicing your opinion. The time on an agenda is limited.

6. Confidentiality - What is said in the room stays in the room.

Confidentiality is not just a rule but a legal responsibility of the Board to maintain confidentiality.

7. Business Not Personalities - You can disagree with an idea, but not a person. Be open and tolerant of new opinions and ideas. Something that didn’t work 10 years ago, may work today.

8. Conflict - Address conflict appropriately and in a timely fashion.

If possible, address it when it occurs properly with respect to that person so that it gets resolved and doesn’t fester and grow into a bigger issue later.

11. Respect - Only one conversation at a time; no sidebar conversations.

How many times have we seen two or even three discussions going on at the same time? The Board chair needs to recognize this behavior and rein it in to ensure that the person speaking is being heard by the entire group.

12. Decisions – “We will use small groups to make big decisions” should be the mantra (when appropriate).

There are times when decision-making is really tough to accomplish within a large group, especially when there is a division or multiple divisions in the group around direction. When possible, divide your leadership group in to two or more groups and have each group examine the issue and report out to the entire Board or committee on a possible path forward. This provides the opportunity for all voices to be heard and for all opinions to be vetted leading to a more effective solution.

It is very easy to say that a set of “rules” or guidelines will help a Board or other meeting be more effective, but putting it into practice is a different story. Prior to adopting meeting guidelines, the Board, committee or task force needs to discuss the culture of the group and how decisions will be made effectively and agree to the guidelines in advance. Aligning expectations is the first step to being more effective.

Bill Pawlucy, MPA, CAE, IOM served on the national Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and offers board resources, strategic planning and consulting services at associationoptions.com.

Advancing Engagement + Recruitment: Moving Membership

Using Mirror Surveys to Increase Board Awareness and Staff Effectiveness How often have you heard a Board member decry member surveys? “We don’t need to waste our time and money on another member survey, we know what our members want. We hear from them all the time.” Sometimes the most vocal members represent the majority of members, but often times they do not.

Mirror surveys can be administered to Board members to show them where they are in sync with the membership and where they are not. Mirror surveys can also be administered to the staff to show them how well they understand the quality and value of the services they provide to members. It is well documented in the service quality literature that service providers who understand their customers/members are much more effective in delivering high quality service.

A mirror survey is administered to Board members and staff, and is similar to a member survey. In both surveys, participants are asked to provide overall ratings for the products, services and experiences the association provides its members (e.g. member benefits, publications, continuing education, advocacy, conferences, website, member services, etc). But, while members are asked to rate each of these offerings in the member survey, the mirror survey asks Board members and staff to rate these same offerings in the way they think members will rate them.

The mirror survey is administered at the same time as a member survey and requires that the Board and staff put themselves in the shoes of the membership. It is easy for the Board or the staff to see the results of a completed member survey and say “I knew that”, but it is quite different for them to accurately predict in advance what members will say.

When the results of the member survey and the mirror survey are compared to each other, a simple gap analysis will show where there are significant differences between the two ratings. We recommend that ratings be summarized and compared as top 2 ratings, rather than as average ratings.

There are several benefits associated with mirror surveys.

First, it forces the Board and staff to critically assess the offerings of the association from the perspective of the membership. In our experience, the first time a mirror survey is conducted, the Board and staff will typically overestimate the ratings given to the association’s products and services, such as member benefits, continuing education, website, publications, advocacy, etc. That is, they believe the association’s offerings are better than what members are saying. It can sometimes be a wake up call when you realize that members don’t think as highly of what you offer as you think they do.

On the flip side, the Board and staff will usually underestimate the ratings given to the performance of the Board and staff. We believe the reason that the Board and staff underestimate their impact on members is because of the number of problem calls and complaints that they hear from members. Most of what they hear first hand can be disproportionately negative. Once they realize that they are more appreciated than they thought, the result is generally a boost in morale.

Perhaps the most important reason for conducting mirror surveys is that over time, members’ ratings of associationprovided products and services will usually increase. We believe this gradual increase in ratings is related to the staff consciously thinking about how their interactions with members impact members’ perceptions of their service, and then providing a higher level of service.

Board members and staff are usually anxious to see the results of their mirror survey and how well they predicted members’ ratings. These surveys can be fun and challenging, while helping to increase the Board’s awareness of members’ opinions and the staff’s effectiveness in dealing with members.

Larry J. Seibert, Ph.D. is the President/CEO of Association Metrics, a research and consulting firm that specializes in voice-of-the-member association research for strategic planning. He can be reached at larry@associationmetrics.com or by phone at 317-840-2303.

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Advancing Meetings + Events: In The Details just for your event) • Live and recorded music (got to get that big-name band, dance crew or DJ to perform)

Are We Creating The Wrong Type Of Conference Experiences?

Everyone’s talking about the need to create customer experiences. The word is out: we’ve got to create conference experiences, not just conferences that feel like a patchwork quilt of our great grandmother’s dresses.

However, what we really need are transformative conference experiences! We need to create conference opportunities that change attitudes, behaviors and skills! Not conference experiences that engage the dumb, novelty-seeking portion of our brain’s limbic system.

A Disturbing Conference Trend Several decades ago researchers across five countries compared videos of hundreds of classrooms. They made a disturbing observation about science lessons in the United States.

U.S. classrooms, they said, commonly

“Too often we’re expending our time and spending money on temporary fluff!

We are not creating transformative events.” focused on “high-interest activities” (games, puzzles, excursions, humor, dramatic presentations, and so on) to increase student engagement—but teachers rarely used these activities to “support the development of content ideas in ways that were coherent and

challenging for students.” Now this trend is appearing in conferences across the globe.

Conference organizers, planning teams, and event producers aim to top last year’s event with a biggername speaker, larger budgets, trendy technology and greater wows. Planning teams pursue increasingly unique, memorable, novel formats and presentations for their events. They seek to engage attendees’ emotions.

They want to increase their attendees’ pleasure and satisfaction. They are out to engage the limbic system of our brain instead of the pre-frontal cortex.

If there was a study for conferences, they would find a repeat of what happened in science classes years ago.

Today, many general sessions are filled with: • Walk-on roles from famous people delivering sound bite welcoming messages that eclipse the opening’s featured topic. (The opening of an industry conference in Austin this past year featured a walk-on welcome from Matthew McConaughey.

Just look at the majority of the swooning tweets that mentioned him. Yet few remember the primary conference speaker or tweeted about that message. Who won with that wow-moment? The sponsor of McConaughey, not the attendee!)

• Mesmerizing eye-candy graphics, images, and videos (we even have large AV companies and agencies that now focus on creating slick productions

• Dramatic interludes and more.

(Another recent industry conference’s press release touted that the event had moments of live music, drama and videos to engage the emotions of the audience and hook the messages. Oops, what do people remember? The music, drama and video. Not the primary messages. Wrong hook!)

None of these examples were transformative! Memorable, yes.

Transformative? Absolutely not! Ok, sure there are times when a conference audience wants a moment of levity, inspiration and passion. We need those.

We just have to be intentional of when, what and where we place them.

Too often we’re expending our time and spending money on temporary fluff! We are not creating transformative events.

Transformative Conferences Engage A Different Part of The Brain 21st Century transformative conferences have planning teams that spend significant time observing, and reflecting about their target markets.

They identify the challenges and problems their customers’ need to solve. Then they design conference experience around those solutions.

Thus they seek to integrate conference novelty that actually hooks to an overarching issue’s solutions. And these teams use restraint incorporating temporary fluff moments.

Instead, they seek to engage the audience’s prefrontal cortex, not their pre-historic limbic system.Then their participants’ brains are engaged with deeper insights that last.

By: Jeff Hurt, EVP, Education & Engagement, Velvet Chainsaw. See more of Jeff’s work at www. velvetchainsaw.com or catch him on Twitter: @JeffHurt.

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Advancing Communications: Stay Connected

The Messiest Place in Your Office - and How to Clean it Up for Good By: Maggie Keller If I peeked at your workspace right now, would I spot any of the “dead giveaways of disorganization:” piles of paper, sticky notes on the perimeter of your computer monitor, a legal pad with pages of to-dos, and at least one coffee mug? Extra points if it still has coffee in it!

What if your workspace is spotless? No stacks of paper in sight! Zero sticky notes! You might be hiding your clutter where no one can see it. Even if your desk is clean, your biggest mess might be your email inbox. Your inbox is the easiest place to keep a mess. It’s invisible to colleagues and clients. You’re the only one who knows how big it really is. Getting rid of email mess requires two steps: empty out the email that’s there, then keep email from coming back in. These tips will get you started: 1. Make decisions. You already know that what sets a leader apart is their ability to make decisions. You are the CEO of your inbox! Each email requires you to make a decision. If you do it, the email is handled. If you delay making the decision, the email becomes clutter.

Set aside a chunk of time each day and put on your decision-making hat. Quickly evaluate each email: Can I delete? Does this attachment need to be saved to my files? Can I put this task on my calendar? Should I flag this email as spam? You’ll be amazed what 10 minutes of decisions can do to your inbox!

2. Set up Unroll.me. We’ve all been there before: out of 5 new emails, at least one reads “Buy one get one free!” or “20% off our spring collection!” It’s a pain to unsubscribe from promotional emails individually, so start using www.unroll.me to manage your subscriptions. Connect any Google, Yahoo, AOL, or Outlook.com email address and Unroll.me will tell you how many companies have your email—it’s probably more than you think!

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In one click, you can choose to unsubscribe, keep the email in your inbox, or have it added to your rollup—an email containing all the subscriptions you still want to read. Unroll.me will unsubscribe for you,

“While invisible email clutter may be easy to hide, there’s an emotional toll that comes with it.” and send you a rollup daily or weekly—your choice. You get the subscriptions out of your inbox, and can still read the ones you want at your convenience. It works on promotions, newsletters, reminders, and alerts, too!

3. Send fewer emails. It may seem counterintuitive but sending fewer emails keeps email out of your inbox, too. At Organized Audrey, we call it the Golden Rule of Email: The more you send, the more you shall receive! Protect your contacts’ inboxes from clutter, and yours will benefit in the process. Here are three ways: 1. End emails with “thanks in advance” when you’re requesting a response. When they do reply, you’re off the hook for that redundant “Thanks” or “Got it” response.

2. If a response is requested of you, put one-line replies in the subject line , followed by EOM, which stands for End of Message. “Meeting agenda attached” or “Ad copy saved to the shared drive” gives your recipient the gift of one fewer email to open.

3. Be careful: don’t reply-to-all unless the sender specified.

You know “that guy” who replies-to-all—and probably in all caps. Don’t be that guy. If you don’t know that guy, it might be you!

While invisible email clutter may be easy to hide, there’s an emotional toll that comes with that mess. Imagine the weight off your shoulders when you can say, “Mess managed!”

Maggie Keller is part of the team at Organized Audrey, LLC where we bring productivity and organizational principles to your work, home, and life. Learn more at: organizedaudrey.com.

Advancing The Essentials: Invaluable Insights

Revenue Fraud in Associations Fraud that make the headlines are typically disbursement schemes, meaning that they are frauds that occurred from the disbursement of cash, such as embezzlement and purchasing frauds. While these are very significant and should be considered by every type of organization by addressing internal controls surrounding cash disbursements, Associations may have a fraud risk that isn’t as attention grabbing.

Here are different types of fraud schemes: Asset misappropriation schemes: • Cash and other asset theft • Misuse • Skimming • Disbursement schemes Financial statement fraud schemes: • Over-statements of assets or revenues • Under-statements of assets or revenues Corruption schemes: • Conflicts of interest • Bribery • Illegal gratuities • Extortion Skimming schemes An association could skim funds for personal use by recording off-book invoices or fictitious invoices with incorrect amounts. These invoices would be for legitimate membership dues or event ticket sales which have been received, thus creating

unrecorded or understated revenues as the amounts recorded are less than the actual amounts received or were never recorded on the associations official financial records. An example would be when a membership is renewed for the year, the member receives an invoice/receipt for the renewal and pays the renewal fee, however the invoice is never recorded on the books and the fee is diverted for personal use to a non-company account; or the renewal is recorded on the books for only a fraction of the actual amount paid by the member with the difference being diverted for personal use.

Another method for diverting cash collected is to write off bad debts, this would be possibly more prevalent for ticket sales or sponsorships, where tickets are sold and recorded as receivable and then written off as bad debt, the subsequent collection of the ticket price is then diverted for personal use.

Financial statement schemes If an association is feeling a lot of pressure from the board of directors to meet certain membership revenue goals or event revenue profits, management of the association might be tempted to overstate revenue. This is a risk area due to the nature of how membership revenue is generally collected annually but should be recognized over the year of the membership monthly. This scheme would be perpetrated by recognizing revenue either in the current period to make the current period look better

or deferring that revenue to a future period inappropriately to help that period. This type of scheme would be committed through deferred revenue computations and manual journal entries.

How can organizations monitor and mitigate the risk surrounding these schemes?

• Be vigilant in the review of membership dues, consider doing predictive tests of membership revenue by taking total members provided by the membership department times the annual rates.

• At the end of each period, review to ensure that the amounts recorded as deferred revenue are truly deferred membership dues and are being properly recognized over the life of the membership.

• Validate invoicing software used for membership renewals and events don’t allow for duplicates or fictitious invoices or at a minimum understand how the software could be manipulated so that controls can be put in place to address such risks.

Fraud risks cannot be completely eliminated so it is important for management and the governing boards to be diligent in their review and to ensure there are controls and mitigating factors in place to prevent and deter fraud.

Andrea L Addo, CPA, MBA, CFE, CITP is an audit principal at Olsen Thielen & Co. Ltd. She can be reached at aaddo@otcpas.com or (952) 829-3425.

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Conversations: In Focus

Different view points. Different solutions.

What is the most memorable event or conference experience you have had?

Sondra Reis Director of E-Learning Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

Nate Berg Talent Consultant G.L. Berg Entertainment

Katie Klanderud

I remember attending the ASAE Convention when it was held in Minneapolis in 2004. It was my first experience with anything offered by ASAE and I was blown away by the incredibly professional orchestration of the whole event. I took away several ideas that we used to improve our own conferences. More recently, I’ve been attending online and live events offered by the eLearning Guild. They do a great job of using the event app to foster community, getting their members to deliver extremely useful content, and attracting some incredibly forward-thinking plenary speakers.

My most memorable conference experience was last year at the Venthaven Ventriloquist Convention. We went because we were set to meet with a younger, new ventriloquist to potentially add to our roster (because our world is a strange one!) and we were not prepared for how strange it became. The lobby was filled with amateur ventriloquists conversing with one another via their puppets and perhaps strangest of all, was the vendor section selling any kind of dummy/prop you can imagine regardless of the quality. It was basically grade-A nightmare fuel. Initially, we had planned to catch the showcase, but after a few minutes, we realized we weren’t going to find what we needed and decided to leave. Turns out it was inadvertently a great convention for us because it reminded us how unique and weird our line of work is and we love a good story!

At our annual MSBA Leadership Conference, held at the Minneapolis Convention Center, we open our General Session with a student JRROTC presenting The Colors and a student music group that performs the National Anthem. Every year this moment catches my breath as a culmination of hard work and a reminder of why we do what we do… It’s for the kids.

Director of Board Development Minnesota School Boards Association

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For more details and to register, visit: www.associationsnorth.com/calendar

Calendar Of Events: Mark It + Make It

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TUESDAY AUGUST

Membership Meetup Group Associations North 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Join us on August 22 for a discussion on engaging new members their first year and beyond. Bring your lunch; beverages will be provided.

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TUESDAY

15

SEPTEMBER

From Insight to Action: 6 New Ways to Think, Lead and Achieve Crowne Plaza AiRE 8:00 am - 1:00 pm

FRIDAY

SEPTEMBER

Young Professionals Meetup Group Associations North 11:30 am - 1:00 PM

Take a fresh look at leadership with Gabriel Eckert, FASAE, CAE, and ASAE best-selling author.

Explore emerging leadership competencies that are essential for creating and sustaining success.

Need to be more efficient at work? Do you have enough time to get it all done?

Do you skip your lunch break so you can get more done? These things could be making you have a less productive day.

If you are struggling to find the time to fit it all in, join us for a discussion on how to better utilize your time and energy at work.

Upcoming Events August

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September

9

Webinar: Talent Generation: How Associations Will Solve

8

Allied Meetup Group

the Nation’s Workforce Crisis

12

From Insight to Action: 6 New Ways to Think, Lead

22

Membership Meetup Group

and Achieve

24

Communications Meetup Group

12

Webinar: Inside Out Marketing for Your Association

30

Webinar: The Easiest Way to Let Go, Say No

13

Meeting Management Meetup Group

and Have it All!

15

Young Professionals Meetup Group

26

Webinar: Getting Beyond “We’ve Always Done It This Way!”

October

November

8-10

Leadership Conference, Duluth

7

CEO Meetup Group

26

Communications Meetup Group

7

Membership Meetup Group

15

Meeting Planners Symposium

Brain Power

Building Wild Associations in Times of Uncertainty

By Chris Heeter (Represented by Elan Speakers Agency) People in the association industry have great range. As a speaker, I’ve seen you attend to the tiniest detail and in the next breath describe the whole scope of your conference and your member’s needs, challenges, and hopes. And I’ve seen the passion you bring, wanting to make this one “better than the last one.” It really is something to behold, this balance of head and heart.

And your longing to make the world a better place through your associations is palpable. Associations are hearing over and again that people are so busy and stressed, they just don’t have time to volunteer.

I would submit that this is the perfect time to engage and build your membership. Because underneath uncertainty is a deep desire for a sense of belonging to something. And for opportunities to make a difference.

Millennials know this in their bones. And one of their great gifts to the world is their aspiration...and demand...

to have an impact. It pushes everyone to pay attention, to think bigger, and to embrace a more global view.

So how do we get new members and long-time members to participate more? Let’s face it, giving people their name tags at a chapter meeting doesn’t sound that exciting. And volunteer leadership takes quite a commitment of time. You’re going to need to make the tasks and roles enticing. And different. And Wildly inspiring.

Take a step back and review how you describe the various roles you need filled by your members. How much of the language is about “what” they will do as opposed to “why?” When was the last time you reviewed your various volunteer opportunities? Are they still needed and relevant?

People truly want to belong. Most especially in times when we collectively feel very divided and uncertain.

Associations are the glue that can hold industries together. And the hope for individuals and organizations within those industries, to help and inspire, and to be Wildly welcoming as you find your way together.

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Signature Event

WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR?

Get Ideas from Keynote Speaker Terry Watson!

• Experience Duluth and Canal Park area • Focus on membership data, succession planning, culture, balance, relevance, change management and more!

• Participate in a walking meeting and give back to Second Harvest in 3 ways • A surprise speaker…

• Plus, much more!

Education, team-building and making connections, all while having FUN!

I have been a member of Associations North since 1985 and this was one of the BEST programs I have attended, over the top in learning.

- 2016 Attendee I am new to Associations North and this conference and I loved the experience!

I can't wait for next year!

- 2016 Attendee

Earn 7.5 CAE credits towards your application or renewal

Details at: associationsnorth.com/leadership

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CEO Session

Featuring Gabriel Eckert, FASAE, CAE best-selling ASAE author!

FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION

6 NEW WAYS TO THINK, LEAD AND ACHIEVE Tuesday, September 12 8:00 am - 1:00 pm Crowne Plaza AiRE, Bloomington Explore leadership competencies that are essential for creating and sustaining success. Challenge your thinking, enhance your leadership skills, and learn how to lead your organization to success in a rapidly changing environment.

Details at: associationsnorth.com/ceo 19 19

Et Cetera: Association Extras

NEW MEMBERS Melissa Harrison

Allee Creative, LLC

Renee Horsman

Associated General Contractors of MN

Lindsey Schneider

Minnesota Medical Association

Mandy Schuchman

Meet Minneapolis

Colin Seibert

Minneapolis Airport Marriott

Sara Soli

National Sports Center Foundation

Conner Swigart

Northwestern Lumber Association

Tyler Verry, CAE

Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology

CALL FOR E-CHAT PRESENTERS Got ideas to share? If so, we want to hear from you! Submit a Call for EChat (Expert Chat) for this year’s Leadership Conference. Presentations are 3-15 minutes and will take place on October 9th. Proposals are due August 18th. Full details: associationsnorth.com/EChatsCall.

WANT TO ATTEND A MEETUP GROUP? Meetup Groups (formerly Networking Groups) are small, informal meetings comprised of Associations North members who have shared interests. Meetup Groups discuss issues, ideas and trends on many areas of association management. Stay informed, learn new skills, meet Associations North members. Find the next Meetup group on our new website (Events Tab -> Meetup Groups} or visit: associationsnorth.com/meetups.

CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS RELEASES DRAFT MINIMUM WAGE ORDINANCE - LISA SCHMID, NILAN JOHNSON Minneapolis City Council released its draft ordinance implementing a minimum wage increase. The draft ordinance includes extraterritorial application—meaning that it will apply to employers outside of Minneapolis if their employees work for a minimal amount of time in the City, a provision which will almost certainly face legal challenge—and no tip credit. The proposed schedule for minimum wage increases for large employers (a term which has not yet been defined) is as follows: On July 1, 2018, the hourly wage shall be $10.50, On July 1, 2019, the hourly wage shall be $12.00, On July 1, 2020, the hourly wage shall be $13.50, On July 1, 2021, the hourly wage shall be $15.00.

To read the complete wage ordinance, visit: nilanjohnson.com/city-minneapolis-releases-draft-minimumwage-ordinance/.

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Spotlight: Member In Motion

Get to know industry movers and shakers.

Amanda Becker, CAE Senior Director, Policy and Practice Innovation American Academy of Neurology

My personality in one word:

My dream car is...

A self-driving car, so I can enjoy my commute without the stress of paying attention to traffic.

Curious.

One place I’d like to max out my credit cards is:

An amenity you would add to the workplace...

Gertens – I love gardening and working in my yard.

Chair massages – to relieve some stress and work out the neck/ shoulder tension from sitting at a desk all day.

Live by the ocean, mountains or in the woods?

In the woods. I like to visit the ocean and the mountains, but I love Minnesota and all the trees here.

I grew up in South Dakota where there is more prairie and fewer trees.

My first live concert was...

Richard Marx.

I recharge by: Yoga, jogging and reading.

Words to live by...

One short-term goal of mine Get the most out of summer!

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Remember that everyone is going through something, so withhold judgment, give people the benefit of the doubt, and show compassion.

WE FOUND YOUR

NEW MEMBERS It was pretty easy, too. We just used search engine optimization and digital marketing the same way we handle your printing and direct mail — effectively and affordably.

We’ve been helping other associations with their marketing for years, and we can help yours, too.

Want to find new members?

Call us to start.

PRINT

DIGITAL

cgpl.com

MARKETING

PROMOTIONAL

info@cgpl.com

952.447.5044

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