On behalf of AACS, we would like to thank everyone who attended the 2018 Annual Convention & Expo at Hilton Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, Florida. Our focus at this year’s convention was to take action and put our ideas into motion to elevate the future leaders of the beauty and wellness industry and the broader community as a whole.

One of the highlights from the event happened the first night at the Owner’s Dinner with a year and review by Immediate Past President, Frank Trieu.  AACS members pledged over $119,000 toward the Government Relations General Fund!  If you would also like to contribute towards those efforts please click here to donate.  During the Owner’s Dinner we were also was able to play a tribute video that honored Robert Passage, of Pivot Point, for his twenty- four years of service to the organization.

The event kicked off with keynote speaker Pete Smith, of SmithImpact, who made us laugh out loud while enlightening the audience with the main pillars of significance that allow each of us to know without certainty who we are and that what we do matters.  The educational sessions that followed throughout the weekend focused our audience to ELEVATE our best practices, enVISION innovative ideas and create a LEGACY to carry the industry forward. 

We celebrated past N.F. Cimaglia Award recipients and this year’s winner Kenneth Shuler of Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology.  We also honored our AACS Pioneers with a reception hosted by Milady.  One of the greatest opportunities came from a video conference with Principal Deputy Under Secretary, Diane Auer Jones, of the U.S Department of Education; We were able to share our concerns directly with her and get the latest updates from the Department.  We concluded the conference with Lee Kitchen, Magical Innovation and Creativity Dude, who worked for The Walt Disney Company for 32 years.  He brought us fun and innovative exercises where we were able to experience the importance of how collaboration and creativity can impact change in any organization.

A very special thank you to all of our sponsors and exhibitors who participated in this annual conference.

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N.F. Cimaglia Award - Established in 1975 in memory of N.F. Cimaglia, founder of Milady, this award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding services in cosmetology education and the beauty industry. This year’s award recipient was Kenneth Shuler of Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology.

Director of the Year Award - This award recognizes a peer director who has significantly contributed the most to AACS and our member schools over the past year. This year’s award recipient was Robert Passage of Pivot Point for his contribution to the board. 

Spirit of Service Award - This award recognizes a volunteer’s efforts and is awarded annually to a recipient(s) who has demonstrated dedication and service to AACS. This year’s award recipient was Chris DeLuca of DeLuca Law LLC for his efforts in negotiated rulemaking with the Department of Education.

“Thoroughly enjoyed this conference. I have a whole new perspective from attending this conference regarding the level of commitment and advocacy that AACS invests on behalf of the beauty school community.” - Mary Watson, The Salon Professional Academy - Iowa City

“I do believe this has been my most favorite event to date! I thought the information that was presented in classes was well needed and very much appreciated!” - Teri McLemore, Alabama School of Nail Technology & Cosmetology

“I've been attending AACS conventions for 17 years & this was by far one of the best I've attended.” - Cara Kinzel, Federico Beauty Institute

Learn how to get on-time payments from your students and minimize or eliminate delinquency payments, maximize cash flow for your school. 

Presented by: Leah Packett, CompuWerx

Register Here

Save the Date! Join us at the DoubleTree by Hilton Washington DC - Crystal City for informative sessions and networking opportunities with fellow school owners and industry partners.  Followed by an influential day on Capitol Hill meeting with Senators and Representatives to build upon the ongoing efforts to support the beauty and wellness industry and let our voices be heard.

AD114 - Adapting Your Communication for Successful Connections - Today’s admissions professionals need expanded methods to adapt to where the prospective student is in the decision-making process. Whether you work with students online, face-to-face, or a little of both, adding variety will help you successfully connect with your students. In this course, you will discover ways to improve your connections with prospective students, best practices for inbound and outbound communication, how to address challenges in the moment, and methods for effective follow-up that improve your effectiveness as an admissions professional.

Get your discounted Enrollment Keys here!

AACS is excited to provide our partners more branding and marketing opportunities in 2019.  Registration for the sponsorship lottery is intended for partners to select the level of commitment they wish to participate at for the year and identify the order in which all partners, in each tier, will choose their packages and additional sponsorship opportunities.

Lottery Registration opened today - Thursday, November 1st at 8:00 a.m. ET and will end on Monday, November 5th at 5:00 p.m. MT.

AACS is a committed partner in helping you grow your community network and enhancing your current and new business relationships.  If you have any questions, please contact Linda Williams at linda@beautyschools.org.