October November 2016

FOCUS

October/November 2016

NORTH

SELLING HOMES, OR BUILDING

COMMUNITIES? 3 Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation That Thrives pg 10

Twin Cities Adopts Sick and Safe Leave Mandates

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How one association supports its members far more than just buying and selling homes.

Published by

pg 12 www.associationsnorth.com

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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

Kathy Johnson, CAE, President Sarah Ruzek, Director of Education Angela Kisskeys, Marketing & Comm. Manager Chris Villeneuve, Member Services Coordinator

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CONTENTS October/November 2016

Mission

FEATURES

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

Homes 5 Selling or Building

Vision

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.

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Advancing Engagement + Recruitment: Moving Membership

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Moving Forward Together

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The Association Life

14 Conversations

Risk versus reserves

15 Calendar of Events

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The Ta Da of Teamwork

For advertising information, call 651.647.6388.

16 Brain Power Advancing Meetings + Events: In The Details

18 Signature Event 19 The North Experience

3 ways to create a culture of innovation that thrives

20 Et Cetera 21 Spotlight

Advancing 11 Advancing Communications: 12 The Essentials:

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.

Stay Connected

Invaluable Insights

How to make innovation simple

Twin Cities adopts sick and safe leave mandates

What is your favorite quote or saying?

Well behaved women rarely make history.

Jenny Prosser (Past -Chair) Vice President of Conferences and Sales LeadingAge Minnesota

Thinking

Supporting members far beyond buying and selling homes

Diversity & Inclusion

Ann Kvaal, CAE (Chair) Owner AK Communications

Leaders: 7 Advancing Fuel For Forward-

Communities?

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

Board of Directors

DEPARTMENTS

Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind.

Dave Radziej, CAE (Chair-Elect) President Printing Industry Midwest Cassie Larson, CAE (Secretary/Treasurer) Executive Director MN Nursery & Landscape Association

Kathy Johnson, CAE (President) President

Associations North

Carmelo Cinqueonce, MBA Executive Director MN Dental Association

Don’t take for granted this

John Francis life, when you get to where President you are going turn back

The Harrington around and help the next one in line.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Life is not fair, get over it.

Company

Tara Loftus Member Engagement Director MN Academy of Family Physicians

Adapt or die.

Cody Nuernberg Executive Director Northwestern Lumber Association

Dave Renner, CAE Director, State & Federal Legislation Minnesota Medical Association

Mark Salter, CAE, ABC Executive Director CFA Society Minnesota

Robbie Thompson Executive Director Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Suck it up and have a little pride.

Don’t confuse activity with efficiency.

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Moving Forward Together: Associations North Partners

Featured Sponsor: Creative Graphics Why I partner with Associations North…

We love working with associations! Partnering with Associations North has given us the opportunity to connect with all types of great people within the association community. As technology has changed how associations communicate with its members, it has been rewarding to be able to help associations continue to prosper by providing to them the ever evolving marketing services needed to deliver their message.

What is your most memorable moment helping an Associations North member and why is it special to you?

We know how much our association customers trust us to deliver materials on time. One evening I received a call from one of our customers trying to locate the continuing education materials needed for an event in Chicago the next morning. We had shipped them out a few days before and they should have arrived two days prior to the event. After several phone calls we learned they were still at our shipper’s terminal in St. Cloud MN. I drove to St. Cloud that evening, loaded up 15 cases of manuals, and drove through the night (fueled

by Red Bull and 5 Hour Energy drinks) and delivered the manuals to the event location in Chicago, arriving a couple hours before the event was scheduled to begin. We’re here for you!

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associationsnorth.com/sponsor

The Association Life

Featured Industry: Education/Schools Whoever you are, whatever you do, there is an association working on your behalf.

MN School Boards Association

MN Elementary School Principals’ Association

The Minnesota School Boards Association, a leading advocate for public education, supports, promotes

MESPA is a collaborative, grassroots association

and strengthens the work of public school boards.

serving Minnesota elementary and middle level principals. MESPA has represented Minnesota principals since 1950.

Minnesota State University Student Association Educate and inform students about higher education

Minnesota School Public Relations Association

issues that affect their lives as students, while

Committed to serving as a professional

providing opportunities for these students to use this

network and resource for our members and

knowledge to advocate on behalf of all Minnesota

others interested in providing the highest

State University students.

level of communications support to help school districts achieve their goals.

Minnesota Association for School Business Officials Supports school business professionals who are passionate about quality education. ASBO is committed to providing programs and services that

Association for Theatre in Higher Education Serves the interests of its diverse individual and

promote the highest standards of school business management, professional growth, and the effective use of educational resources.

organizational members, including college and university theatre departments and administrators, educators, graduate students, and theatre practitioners.

Association of Higher Education Campus TV Administration The purpose of AHECTA shall be to promote and develop the use of campus communication, cable, and video services as instructional, informational, and entertainment tools in Higher Education.

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Selling Homes or Building Communities?

The Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® supports its members as they do far more than buy and sell homes.

When the focus of your association becomes the center of your community and philanthropy, it’s clear you have found a passion. The Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) is one of those organizations. “Our REALTORS® do so much more than sell houses,” says Donnie Brown, Vice President of Community Affairs and Foundation at MAAR. 5

When Donnie Brown, discusses her role within the association, it is easiest for her to rely on a flow chart to map out the programs she oversees. Based on this fact alone, it is easy to see MAAR has developed a culture where its members thrive far beyond typical member benefits.

On multiple levels, the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® fosters an intentional focus on developing a rich community of members. First, MAAR recognizes members who are already doing good work in their communities, through a program called Heart Of The Community. Members nominate one another and themselves to be recognized for their volunteerism and/ or philanthropy. Nominated projects range from collecting hats and mittens to help Minnesotans get through the winter to organizing choral performances for senior citizens.

Anecdotally, Brown became aware of the volunteerism practiced by REALTOR® members. MAAR’s culture of community begins with the work its members do, which is why Brown created the Heart Of The Community program. Each year, the association recognizes five of twenty or more nominated members with a $500 donation to their volunteer organization. MAAR then nominates these members for the $10,000 Good Neighbor Award sponsored by the National Association of REALTORS®.

Four members of MAAR have won this award from the National Association of Realtors, one of them receiving the award this year.

MAAR reflects this demonstrated goodwill and community of its members by providing grants through its foundation.

The foundation has granted tens of thousands of dollars to organizations such as Beacon Interfaith Outreach, Habitat For Humanity, and Emerge Community Development.

A total investment of about $25,000 was raised to revitalize the area and benefit more than 100 residents.”

in the Whittier Neighborhood of Minneapolis in support of the Common Bond Communities Whittier affordable housing community. The MAAR Foundation provided $10,000 in funding toward the project, which was matched by a $10,000 grant from Calvary Church (located across the street from the park). A total investment of about $25,000 was raised to revitalize the area and benefit more than 100 young Common Bond residents.

In addition to fostering strong ties between MAAR members and their communities, the association strives to create a unique relationship between its members and the association itself. Ten years ago, Donnie Brown developed a scholarship program that sends three REALTOR® members who are committed to serving emerging markets communities to the National Association of REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings held in Washington, DC. The scholarships are named for Jean Leake and Anne Brockhouse, a member and past president, respectively.

Brown says of the recipients, “It changed the trajectory of their leadership from member to leader within the association. We’ve had a couple members [who receive scholarships] go on to be presidents of the association.”

Additionally, the foundation supports a Give2Give program, which matches donations made by REALTOR® members’ brokerage offices.

Why does MAAR go beyond education and advocacy?

Erin Milburn, VP of Marketing and Communications, says, “It’s so impactful to get to implement these programs for our members, and to see programs like Heart Of The Community work! It’s very exciting.” Donnie Brown adds, “We want to raise the brand of REALTORS® within the community. The only time you associate with REALTORS® is when you are buying or selling your home, but they are doing some good deeds in their communities, and we want to spotlight their efforts.”

In October of 2015, MAAR members, with the financial support of the foundation, helped build a new playground

Have a story to tell? Help Associations North inspire others. Associations make the difference everyday! Email angela@associationsnorth.com.

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Advancing Leaders: Fuel For Forward-Thinking

Risk Versus Reserves Discussions on the optimal level of reserves is one the most frequently debated topics in associations and generally ends with little consensus.

Often the comfort with a particular level of reserves is subjective and not well defined. Where many associations are now starting to take this debate is not just focusing on the level of reserves, but exploring what are the risks to the association. This process supports the position that the underlying purpose of reserves is to mitigate risks and provide ongoing benefits to the membership.

A Risk Management Primer In developing reserves, we now are seeing associations focus on the concept of risk. To keep things simple, let’s define risk as the chance of something happening, measured in terms of probability, and any impact that may adversely or positively affect the achievement of an association’s long-term strategic or business objectives. Remember, risk is neutral.

Often the comfort with a particular level of reserves is subjective and not well defined.

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It can come out of a period of intense organizational growth and activity, repositioning, or any number of other triggers.

Enterprise risk management is a process across the enterprise, designed to identify potential events that may affect the entity, and manage risk to be within its risk appetite, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of entity objectives.

All organizations face inherent risk and uncertainty: economic slowdown, regulatory changes, loss of members, sponsors or programs, and failure to innovate and meet the members demands, to name a few. The challenge for management and the board is to determine what level of risk to accept as the association strives to grow and deliver value, and what costs to incur to effectively manage and mitigate risks along the way. Just like insurance for an accident, reserves provide stability and protection for an association for uncertainty and in some cases opportunities.

Where Risks and Reserves Meet Now instead of an association’s leaders saying, “six months of expenses sounds about right,” they’re taking the time and effort to articulate, quantify, and translate their risks into activity-based reserve targets. They’re also developing practical tools to use on an ongoing basis to revise their reserve targets based on changing

operational and environmental risks and variables. The dialogue about risks and uncertainties is much more nuanced, and now includes: • Probabilities • Sources of protection, whether reserves, insurance, or litigation • Concrete dollar amounts • Factoring methodologies recognizing that not everything is going to happen at once • Alignment with strategic plan Here is an example of how this might look in practice.

When all of these issues are rolled up into a risk based discussion, associations are armed with a financial reserve philosophy, approach, and tools that are dynamic enough to stand up to realities that vary in severity and business impact.

When confronted with risks or opportunities, the first tool organizations often turn to is financial reserves. With recent economic stability, many associations have rebuilt their reserves, in many cases with increased sophistication, a longer time horizon, and with application of larger capitalization strategies.

But determining an adequate level of reserves has always been more of an art than a science.

John J. Tauer is a Principal with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, a professional services firm providing business consulting, outsourcing, wealth advisory, and public accounting services to nonprofits with offices around the country. His email address is john.tauer@CLAconnect.com.

Advancing Engagement + Recruitment: Moving Membership

The Ta Da of Teamwork We all want to be awesome team players. Most people do not wake up in the morning, dress for work, eat breakfast and say, “I am going to be negative today. I am going to whine. I am not going to work well with others.”

Your colleagues do not get in the car and head to work planning on becoming a terrible teammate.

We don’t become great teammates because there is no foundation for great teamwork. As leaders, we must create the opportunity and foundation for our team to excel, produce and create. If we create the right foundation, great teamwork will happen. Here are my five tenets of successful teamwork: 1. Be Open and Flexible. We all have different backgrounds, educations, and experiences. We work differently. We think differently. And we all have our own ways to solve problems. The secret to making this work is your choice of openness and flexibility. If you are “it is my way or the highway” type of person, you are going to struggle in the team environment. We can choose to be frustrated or we can choose to be open and flexible. We must answer, “How do I help the other people around me be successful?” We have to be open and flexible to ideas and how people work and engage.

2. Solicit and encourage the team to give ideas.

Sometimes people on the team don’t want to participate.

People want to voice their opinions and ideas. Create the opportunity for the team to contribute to the plan.

Remember to be open to their ideas. When you ask for ideas, the reality is that few of the ideas will ever be used.

That is the nature of creativity. As a leader, the most important action is to reward and appreciate the team member’s time spent creating the idea. We want the team to continue to produce ideas. If we reward the time and energy creating the ideas, the team member will be engaged and want to produce more ideas.

3. Create Ownership and Responsibility. We all want our team to be passionate about our goal, work, customers and event. People do not just walk into a room beaming with passion. Passion happens with a chemical equation.

The fist step is creating ownership and responsibility.

When the team has ownership of the idea, plan, execution, or goals, they start to care. We don’t care about anything unless we have ownership and responsibility.

Once the team cares about something, there is passion.

We don’t have passion for something unless we care about it first. As a leader, sometimes we want to do everything. We want to take control. Sometimes we think, “It is not going to get done unless I do it.” And that could be true. How do you know if you don’t ever give your team the ownership and responsibility? It is hard to let go. The reward is seeing your team engaged and producing.

As leaders, we must create the opportunity and foundation for our team to excel, produce and create.

4. Focus on the Plan and Act. Once we give the team ownership and responsibility, we need to quickly focus on the goal and act. By shortening the time frame of our goal, we force the team to focus. The longer we have to act, the more time we have to analyze or lose focus. Shorten the timeframes and force the team to focus. When we take too long to make a decision, the team will feel less engaged.

They will start to drift and lose confidence in the team.

5. Be Positive and Supportive. The best gift you can give your team is positive support and appreciation. It is their fuel. Everyone wants to be appreciated. When you go home from work, think about all the people on the team. Did you give the team members, encouragement, appreciation and positive support? Then do it tomorrow. There is no expiration date on appreciation and support. One element of being positive and supportive, is sharing credit in our accomplishments. Once the team understands everyone is dependent on each other’s success, they focus more on the goal. As leaders, share the credit with your team.

Joel Zeff is a national workplace expert, speaker and humorist. Find out more at www.joelzeff.com.

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Advancing Meetings + Events: In The Details tool in creating a culture of innovation that thrives.

Go Beyond Lip Service

3 Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation That Thrives I think we can all agree that innovation is important, especially in today’s crazy world. Having a culture of innovation is what allows organizations to harness instead of react to change, stand out from the competition, and in many cases, stay relevant to your audience.

Leaders that have truly fostered a culture of innovation recognize that it’s not about the processes or technology, it’s about tapping your organization’s greatest asset - the innovative minds of your people. Here are three easy to implement ways you can begin to foster and strengthen a culture of innovation with your teams.

The next time you are faced with a challenge, ask the wrong questions.

These are questions that you wouldn’t normally ask and because of that will naturally take the conversation down a new path of thinking for you and the team. Questions like: What would happen if we didn’t do anything about that?

What is the problem that caused the problem? (Ask this one 3 layers deep) If we asked our members to solve this problem, what would they say?

See the difference? Innovation is in the questions, not the answers and the wrong questions will take you to the right innovation.

Ask The Wrong Questions Encourage Debate It’s easy to ask the right questions.

They are obvious, get you to the same place and in many cases are the same questions you’ve been asking year after year. Of course, that is also why the results are the same year over year.

Innovation is in the questions, not the answers and the wrong questions will take you to the right innovation.

We are told this myth in innovation that everyone has to be positive, start every sentence with “yes and” and all ideas are good. The challenge is, when everyone agrees, we get lazy. There is no need to push ourselves to think differently when everyone agrees out of the gate. However, innovation isn’t about consensus, it’s about building the strongest ideas. To get to that level of a culture of innovation, there must be debate. In your next meeting, encourage people to speak up, find the holes in ideas, challenge perspectives.

As someone once said to me, “we disagree, agreeably”. To me this means encourage respectful, honest and objective debate about the ideas.

Debate can be a healthy and powerful

As leaders we recognize the importance of innovation, both internally and for the continued success of our organizations.

However, many leaders I work with then get frustrated when they feel that their people don’t live up to the expectations we’ve set.

Having a culture of innovation is what allows organizations to harness instead of react to change.

This is because as leaders we set the mandate of innovation without following up with the tools and resources to make it happen. When we do that our expectation of innovation becomes lip service - sounds great but never happens.

Intra-preneurs on LaunchStreet, our online community platform, tell me they greatly value the templates and tools and the ability to connect with other intra-preneurs because without them they are left wondering how to be more innovative. Follow up the lip service with tools and you’ll create a culture of innovation that thrives.

See Tamara’s keynote, Think Sideways at the Meeting Planners Symposium on November 9!

Tamara G. Kleinberg is a thought leader on innovation, the founder of The Shuuk and LaunchStreet for entrepreneurs & intra-preneurs. She is a nationally sought after keynote speaker, Crossfit addict and dog lover.

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Advancing Communications: Stay Connected

How to Make Innovation Simple Scott Steinberg

Who says innovation has to be difficult? While gamechanging breakthrough technologies and new scientific discoveries tend to hog media headlines, it bears remembering: Evolutionary changes (slight shifts in business strategy or thinking) can often be every bit as powerful as revolutionary advancements. All too often, at the pace today’s market moves, and scale on which associations operate, we often forget – all it frequently takes to get ahead is just a minor shift in tactics or perspective. For example: When medical device leader Medtronic wanted to expand its already successful business throughout Western Europe and beyond? It didn’t double-down on cutting-edge devices. It reinvented its business model instead, expanding its offerings to include services, and establishing new business units that partnered to put owned-and-operated labs inside hospitals.

Not only has Medtronic increased its business and provided partners with significant improvements in customer service and cost-savings by doing so. Having earned their trust, it’s also built a sizable business around ancillary services such as supply chain management and performance benchmarking.

“Minor shifts in positioning, branding, and business strategy can provide significant windfalls.”

While it’s not always obvious to the casual observer, innovation is far easier than you think. All it takes to successfully outmaneuver the competition, or overcome a problem, is simply a greater sense of perspective, and greater willingness to be more creative with how you apply the tools at-hand.

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In fact, as we discovered researching new book Make Change Work for You, it may surprise many association leaders to learn that many minor shifts in positioning, branding, and business strategy can provide significant windfalls.

So if you’re determined to embrace innovation, and your organization isn’t ready to think big yet, here’s the good news: You can still win by helping it start to think on a smaller scale.

For example, national drugstore chain Walgreens faced a challenging market. After a public dispute with a prescription partner, tightened consumer spending, and growing competition caused prescription counts to fall, the company didn’t bump up ad spending. Instead, it reinvented its approach to customer care. Strategies included: • Bringing pharmacists out from behind the counter to provide more clinical and counseling services • Building an online “Find a Pharmacist” tool to match customer needs with pharmacist expertise, clinical backgrounds and native languages • Creating a Pill Reminder mobile app with prescription refill and transfer abilities • Building API middleware tools that let third-party developers create new ways to let patients order refills at its 8000+ pharmacies As you can see, the simple use of cost-affordable high-tech solutions allowed Walgreens to successfully greet business setbacks.

Again, innovation is easier than you think. And no matter the size of your association, you can absolutely, positively put the same strategic principles that today’s most successful change management practitioners leverage to work at every level.

Award-winning professional speaker Scott Steinberg is a bestselling expert on leadership and innovation, and the author of Make Change Work for You: 10 Ways to Future-Proof Yourself, Fearlessly Innovate, and Succeed Despite Uncertainty. Among today’s leading providers of keynote speeches, workshops and seminars for Fortune 500 firms, his website is www.AKeynoteSpeaker.com.

Advancing The Essentials: Invaluable Insights

Twin Cities Adopt Sick and Safe Leave Mandates When it comes to initiating employment legislation, we’re living in a time when city lawmakers are the change agents. One notable example is the recent sick and safe leave mandates in Minneapolis and St. Paul, both of which may ultimately be the basis for state-level leave statutes.

Below, we’ve provided a summary of the requirements of these new ordinance and tips for ensuring that your organization is in compliance.

Which employers are covered?

Minneapolis: As of July 1, 2017, • Employers who employ between 1 and 5 employees will be required to provide the sick and safe leave, but it may be unpaid.

• Employers with 6 or more employees will be required to provide sick and safe leave, but it must be paid.

• From July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2022, an employer with 6 or more employees is permitted to provide unpaid sick and safe leave for the first 12 months after hiring its first employee so long as it is not a “chain establishment” as defined by the ordinance.

St. Paul: As of July 1, 2017, • Employers with 24 or more employees.

• As of July 1, 2018, employers with 23 or fewer employees.

Which employees are covered?

Minneapolis/St. Paul: Employees who work at least 80 hours within the city each year.

When must employees be permitted to start accruing sick time?

Minneapolis/St. Paul: Commencement of employment or the ordinance’s effective date, whichever is later.

At what rate must employees accrue sick time?

Minneapolis/St. Paul: One hour per 30 hours worked Can we impose a cap on the amount of leave accrued and/or carried over?

Minneapolis/St. Paul: Employees must be permitted to accrue up to 48 hours per year and to carry over any unused leave, although an employer may impose an overall cap of 80 hours or more.

How soon after the commencement of employment must employees be permitted to use leave?

Minneapolis/St. Paul: 90 days after commencement of employment.

For what reasons must employees be permitted to use the leave?

Minneapolis/St. Paul: Employees must be permitted to use leave for: • The employee’s own illness, injury, or health condition or preventative care; • The provision of care for a family member with an illness, injury or health condition or who needs preventative care; • The employee’s need to deal with domestic abuse, stalking, or other personal safety issues; • On employee’s need to care for a family member whose school or

place of care has been closed due to inclement weather, loss of power, loss of heating, loss of water, or other unexpected closure; • The closure of the employee’s place of business by order of a public official to limit exposure to an infectious agent, biological toxin or hazardous material or other public-health emergency; or • On employee’s need to care for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official to limit exposure to an infectious agent, biological toxin or hazardous material or other publichealth emergency.

If our organization already provides leave that meets or exceeds the minimum standards of these laws, do we need to provide additional leave?

Minneapolis/St.Paul: No. What kind of notices must our organization provide?

Minneapolis/St.Paul: • Post notices created by the city.

• Include notice of employee rights and remedies in any handbook provided to employees.

To view complete article and learn more about the Minneapolis and St. Paul Sick and Safe Leave visit Associations North website and search SICK LEAVE. Veena Iyer and Lisa Schmid are labor and employment attorneys at Nilan Johnson Lewis in Minneapolis. Veena can be reached at viyer@nilanjohnson.com or (612)305-7695.

Lisa can be reached at 612.305.7549 or lschmid@nilanjohnson.com.

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Celebrating 95 Years of Focusing on Our Clients and Our Community.

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To learn more, call 651.483.4521 or visit us on the web at otcpas.com.

Conversations: In Focus

Different view points. Different solutions.

How is Creative Thinking Encouraged in Your Organization?

We have fostered a culture that encourages relevancy, we don’t keep doing things just because we have in the past.

Maria Huntley, CAE Executive Vice President MN Academy of Family Physicians

Scott Billey Director of Innovation & Technology Professional Liability Underwriting Society

An organization needs to recognize that creative solutions to problems are sometimes obvious, and sometimes elusive. Creative ideas come from everyone – not just from people who are tasked to innovate. An organization supports a creative culture by listening to ideas and not dismissing them out of hand. They are willing to hear challenges to the way things are done and what might be achieved by doing things differently. An organization implements creative ideas knowing that there might be mistakes. Thinking creatively is risky – and if mistakes that come out of creativity are punished, the flow of ideas will dry up.

We are supported in our efforts to try new ideas. If those ideas don’t go as expected, we are encouraged to keep trying.

Alyssa MacLeod Communications Director St. Paul Area Association of REALTORS®

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Calendar Of Events: Mark It + Make It

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Wednesday NOVEMBER

Meeting Planners Symposium Hyatt Regency Minneapolis 8:00 am - 4:00 pm It’s all about experience - for you and your members! Get ideas and resources to do your job better. You’ll discover new formats, layouts, resources, speakers, quick 30-minute sessions, hub groups and more!

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

2017

FRIDAY

DECEMBER

IS GOING TO BE

Holiday Celebration The Commons Hotel 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

GREAT!

Join Associations North for our annual Holiday Celebration & Silent Auction with over 150 items, Wall of Wine, entertainment and much more!

Watch for details on upcoming webinars, conferences, symposiums and special events.

Upcoming Events October

November

6

Communications Networking Group

8

CEO Networking Group

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Webinar: Inclusion - Beyond the Law

9

Meeting Planners Symposium

15

Membership Networking Group

16-18 Leadership Conference

15

25

Financial & Accounting Networking Group

25

Webinar: Content Marketing for Associations

December

Coming 2017!

2

Jan

Mastering Membership

Feb

Legal & Financial Hot Topics

Mar

Marketing & Sales Symposium

Holiday Celebration & Silent Auction

Brain Power

D&I Discovery Survey Associations North Diversity & Inclusion Committee Associations North partnered with Creative Catalyst to work along side the Board of Directors, staff and D&I committee in our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion. Creative Catalyst was essential in building knowledge, increasing organizational effectiveness, creating value and conducting a discovery survey for our membership to get a glimpse of where Associations North members are on the diversity and inclusion spectrum.

Thank you to those of you who participated in Associations North Diversity & Inclusion Discovery Survey in April 2016. We had 168 survey respondents out of 800. Here are some highlights from the survey: 1. On an individual level, most members reported an understanding of the role of diversity and inclusion in organizations and are able to work with others across differences, but most are not actively involved in direct efforts to advance diversity and inclusion.

Majority of respondents have not had the knowledge or skill building in the past year and training and development were cited as most important.

2. On an organizational level, most members reported an understanding of the role of diversity and inclusion in organizations and are able to work with others across differences, but most don’t understand the competitive advantage or the business case.

3. Top member needs: resources and training 4. Top 5 diversity and inclusion strategies or practices organizations are currently pursuing:

1. Inspiring or engaging the next generation of talent

2. Creating a culture of inclusion

3. Broadening the talent pool

4. Employee/member learning and development

5. Work-life balance policies and practices Associations North is actively working on building the business case for diversity and inclusion and being a model for members.

Lakeshore Room

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16

MOVE FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE Give your management and board a clear vision and no surprises with a team of experienced advisors.

05-0197 | ©2016 CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

ADVISORY OUTSOURCING AUDIT AND TAX

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IT’S

CONNECT TIME Sometimes business has to be taken care of, and sometimes it has to be in person.

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17

Signature Event

November 9 Meeting Planners Symposium

Think Sideways – A Playbook for Disruptive Thinking Wednesday, November 9 | Hyatt Regency Minneapolis This one-day Symposium is about creating innovation that gets people thinking sideways, shakes up status quo mentality and generates ideas that impact the bottom line. Learn why creativity is the competitive advantage today and get the framework for unleashing your creative potential. You’ll discover new meeting formats, layouts, resources, speakers, 30-minute sessions, hub groups and more!

1

2

3

4

5

1. Not your traditional seating for a meeting 2. Hub groups allowed attendees to get to know each other throughout the day 3. The idea wall was full of ways to bring new and revolutionary ideas to meetings 4. Teambuilding marshmallow challenge 5. Interactive education sessions

18

&

Turtlenecks

Tini’s

Connect with over 225 members and support Associations North scholarship program and charity of the year, Arthritis Foundation.

Holiday Celebration & Silent Auction December 2 | The Commons Hotel

associationsnorth.com/holiday

Welcome to your prime destination for meetings and group events. We have the venues, dining and activities to make your stay incredible.

MEET. PLAY. STAY. 320.251.4170 800.264.2940 VISITSTCLOUD.COM 19

Et Cetera: Association Extras

NEW MEMBERS Jay Bergland

Grain Elevator & Processing Society

Kristen Faber

Explore Alexandria Tourism

James Feist

Explore Alexandria Tourism

Megan Firl

Industrial Fabrics Assn Int’l

Jennifer Fisher

Industrial Fabrics Assn Int’l

Mark Foster

Builders Assn of the Twin Cities

Daniel Lightfoot

MN Dental Association

Barb Luehmann

MN Milk Producers Association

Lexalee Momchilovich

Mystic Lake Casino Hotel

Jeff Papas

Industrial Fabrics Assn Int’l

Thomas Seaberg

Treasure Island Resort & Casino

Lucas Sjostrom

MN Milk Producers Association

Laurie Varpness

Holiday Inn Willmar

Janelle Wells

Industrial Fabrics Assn Int’l

Tou Xiong

Minnesota HomeCare Assn

2017 YEAR LONG SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM Set your budget and customize your sponsorship level for the entire year. Secure sponsorship items for 2017 and enjoy exclusive benefits. If you would like to discuss 2017 opportunities, call Angela at 651-647-6388 or email angela@associationsnorth.com. Details can be found at: associationsnorth.com/sponsor

150 SILENT AUCTION ITEMS + 100 BOTTLES OF WINE Associations North is seeking donations for our silent auction and Wall of Wine for charity. Every year, attendees enjoy over 150 silent auction items to bid on and to complete our wall of wine we are in need of 100 bottles of wine. Please consider a donation. All items and wine are needed by November 21. Donate today! associationsnorth.com/holiday

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING? Associations North is always looking for volunteers to help with planning committees, articles, presenters, CAE proctors, photographers and many others. Consider giving back and making a difference. Details at: associationsnorth.com/volunteer

20

Spotlight: Member In Motion

Get to know industry movers and shakers.

Mary Gillen Education Marketing Specialist Marine Retailers Association of the Americas

My Motto is...

If everything is bold, nothing is bold.” In marketing, it’s a great reminder that if you bold everything, nothing will stand out.

Something I’ve saved is...

Hand written cards. Whether for birthdays, Christmas or special occasions, it’s nice to have something that isn’t digital.

What’s one goal you have for the year?

To further improve my leadership abilities. I’m fortunate to work in a place where continuous learning and development are highly valued and offered routinely, through this I’ll be able to grow my strengths and improve my leadership abilities.

3 Favorite Apps 1. Snapchat 2. Instagram 3. The Apple News app

A splurge-worthy investment Traveling. It’s always a good idea to take a break from reality and travel somewhere. There’s always so much you can learn from visiting different cultures.

What talent would you like to have?

Gymnastics. It would be fun to be able to do all those flips and jumps you see during the Olympics.

If there was a movie produced about my life...

Lucille Ball would play me. I like to think our personalities are similar, and she may be one of the most iconic actresses with red hair…and in general!

3 Things I can’t live without 1. My phone 2. Coffee 3. A good pair of jeans

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Website I frequent most Buzzfeed.

Reason #28:

5 STAR

CATERING

Skip lunch. Come hungry.

rivercentre.org | 651.265.4800

Deacon’s Lodge Golf Course

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(800) 432.3777

www.breezypointresort.com 22

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