As we approach the end of our fiscal year, the signs are very positive that we will achieve our budget surplus goal of $60K, a large swing from last year’s $250K loss. This success story is due in great part to strong attendance and sponsorship numbers from most of our events, most recently the Performing Arts Managers Conference earlier this month, and to a tight control of expenses. I know I speak for the board of directors when I say thank you to all of our volunteers and allied supporters who have made all of this possible.
We also continue to grow our membership numbers, with an increase of about 6% over last year, and the iCommit membership campaign is going strong and beginning to show positive results. This campaign is all about members sharing the value of IAVM with other potential members, and your efforts are making a difference. We hope to reach our membership goal of 4,100, but regardless, we will end the year bigger and stronger than ever before.
As always, providing increasing value to our members remains our number one priority, as it fuels any growth we achieve. I’m extremely excited that our brand new Facility Manager magazine will land on your desk soon, and I hope it will be apparent to you why I call this edition “new.” We took in your feedback, heard your desire for more timely, useful, interesting information, and we changed almost everything about our flagship publication. For one thing, it will look vastly different. But the design merely enhances the true mission, which is to share information and knowledge with you in a format that is easy to digest. I hope you take a moment to read it with a critical eye, and please tell us where we hit, or missed, the mark. We expect to keep getting better with every issue.
Finally, I’m pleased to share that we have made significant inroads into partnering with other associations, to increase the benefit to our members. We’ve joined a government relations alliance with the National Association of Concessionaires, the National Association of Theater Owners, the National Automatic Merchandising Association and the National Confectioners Association. The CEOs of these organizations will hold regular teleconferences to share information about important issues that affect us all.
We also are joining the “Meetings Mean Business” coalition, headed by the US Travel Association and supported by many Convention Industry Council members, such as the American Society of Association Executives, Meeting Professionals International, Professional Convention Managers Association and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events. This alliance is a powerful one, and its mission is to educate government officials and the public on the importance and economic impact of meetings and events. For those in our convention center world, the importance of this message to protect our businesses can’t be overstated.
And finally, we are signing an agreement with the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, to share knowledge and resources that benefit both of our members. You’ll see joint sessions from both organizations at both of our annual meetings, we’ll share webinars and other content with all of our members, and we’ll partner on a Women’s Leadership program to be held in Washington DC on May 30. All IAVM members will receive the IAEE member rate to this event. I strongly encourage you to attend what looks to be a very strong program with great networking opportunities.
More to come on the partnership with IAEE and others, with the goal of enhancing the reach and value of IAVM.
Regards,
Vicki Hawarden, CMP
IAVM President and CEO
