Meetings in the Time of COVID-19 - Zoom Panel Discussion

Taking a page from our friends at Texas Society of Association Executives, you won’t want to miss this lively panel discussion hearing what has worked and what has not worked so well during these fast-changing times. Senior association professionals and a corporate supplier will walk you through the upsides and pitfalls of how they managed to create agility within their departments and meetings and shift their events to virtual or in person. They will also share what may be missing from virtual events and what the future of events can look like. GSAE staff will also offer some key findings from our recent  In Person Meetings Pulse Survey at the end of the session. Panelists to be announced. 

Register today - Zoom Only
GSAE Member - $19
GSAE Guest - $29

Thank You to Our Sponsor & 2020 Annual Meeting Host: Visit Savannah

Thank you to the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. We look forward to working with you in 2021!

Gain access to the only 24/7/365 online compensation benchmarking tool designed exclusively for executives of professional, trade and service-centric associations/nonprofits.

• Compare your organization's key operational metrics to others across the industry
• Evaluate valuable KPI's, including salaries, benefits, positions/departments, and more!
• Generate customized reports to inform decisions and keep your organization competitive

GSAE has conducted a compensation and benefits survey biennially since 2013 through our partnership with Association Societies Alliance (ASA). Moving forward, this information will now be gathered through a 24/7/365 online platform, powered by Dynamic Benchmarking. The Real-Time Compensation Benchmarking tool is available to all GSAE members.

Entering data will always be free. For the first year (2020), generating customizable reports will also be free to all users. Effective January 1, 2021, users will be able to access reports through an annual subscription discounted for GSAE members. Get started now!

Diane Hopkins, CAE has retired as Executive Vice President, Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. During her tenure, Diane played an integral role in the development and advancement of the organization. Diane has been a GSAE member for over 30 years, is a Stephen Styron Award recipient and a Past Chair of the GSAE Foundation Board of Trustees. We wish Diane the best as she begins her next chapter!

Congratulations to Dr. Michael Tatonetti, CAE, CPP for being named to Association Forum's Forty Under 40! The Forty Under 40 program is a prestigious competition that provides recognition to 40 accomplished association or non-profit professionals who are under the age of 40, demonstrate high potential for continued success in leadership roles and exhibit a strong passion for - and commitment to - the association management and nonprofit industries. Learn more.

Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia and its members have partnered with Grady Health Systems to assist health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to donating material for protective gowns, ABC Georgia's members donated over $37,000, which was then matched by a fellow member, to assist with purchasing other necessary supplies. Read more.

In addition to committing to the Ready, Set, Go Safely community-wide campaign and actively pursuing the GBAC Star accreditation, The Classic Center has new event protocols to ensure the safety of its guests and meeting attendees. Learn more.

Conde Nast Traveler has announced their Best Small Cities in the U.S. Readers' Choice Awards. Congratulations to all the winners, including Charleston, SC (number one), Greenville, SC (number six) and Savannah, GA (number eight). Learn more.

Conde Nast Traveler has also released their Top 20 Resorts in the South. Congratulations to The Sanctuary Hotel at Kiawah Island (number three), Barnsley Resort (number four) and The Omni Grove Park Inn (number eight). Learn more.

Atlanta magazine has named their top 99 spots in the South. Congratulations to The Ritz Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee and The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort for being named top stays and Salt Restaurant at The Ritz Carlton Amelia Island for being named a top restaurant. Learn more.

As we begin preparing for our holiday silent auction, we need you to make it a success! We are all in a new and extraordinary environment, and we understand that it may not be feasible for you to donate in quite the way you have in the past. However, every donation, no matter what, helps us reach our goal. 

The Silent Auction will again be virtual, thanks to our friend Tony Rissley, Expo Auctions, and is a great way to showcase your property, product or service. Donating to the silent auction helps raise funds to continue GSAE’s mission of advancing the profession of association management and enhancing the professionalism of association executives. 

WINE TOSS: We are planning on bringing back the wine toss again this year! Please consider donating a bottle(s) of wine, liquor and/or beer for the GSAE Wine Toss. Attendees will purchase rings to toss - whatever they ring, they win!

Please submit your donation form by Friday, November 30. Thank you for your support!

The Nominating Committee will include up to five at-large GSAE association executive members in good standing (Kara Bastarache, CAE, Julia Boyd, CAE, Ragan Cohn, CAE, Shan Haugabrook, Tara Morrison, CAE, CMP and Jacob Wilder, CAE) in addition to GSAE Chair Joel Peacock, Past Chair Gene Stinson, CAE, PCED, CEcD, HLM and Chair-Elect Mary J. Wheatley, IOM, CAE.
 
Four seats for individual association member directors and one seat for a corporate supplier director will be available for two-year terms, beginning January 1, 2021. The slate of nominees will be offered to the membership for review no later than November 9, 2020. Board members and officers will be accepted and installed at the GSAE Annual Business Meeting on December 9.
 
Relevant Bylaws:
At least ninety (90) days prior to the annual business meeting, the Board of Directors shall appoint a Nominating Committee of at least five (5) persons, each of whom shall have been an Individual member of the Society for at least two (2) years. The chairman shall be the Immediate Past Chair. Others on the committee shall be the Chair, Chair Elect and two or more other members not currently serving on the GSAE Board of Directors. Names of nominating committee members and an invitation for recommendations for candidates for nomination shall be announced to the membership at least sixty (60) days prior to the annual business meeting. The nominating committee shall submit at least one (1) name for each available elective office of the Society and said slate shall be presented, in writing, to the membership at least thirty (30) days prior to the annual business meeting and again, orally, at the annual business meeting.

• Zoom - October 21 Quarterly Luncheon, sponsored by Visit Savannah
• Definitely Zoom - November 11 Tech Showcase
• Zoom - November 18 Wine & Webinars SIG, Advocacy 101
• Hopefully In-person - December 9 Holiday Luncheon, Awards Show, Silent Auction & Annual Business Meeting at Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia
• Check out more upcoming events on the GSAE calendar

Please contact us ASAP if your organization would like to sponsor events in November or December.

Live webinars are worth 1 CAE hour. Did you know? More than 94 CAE-qualifying recorded webinars are available 24/7 on our GSAE website.

GSAE attorney member, John Foster, Esq., CHME will present Coronavirus and Your Meeting Contracts: Understanding the Force Majeure clause and when it Applies at 1:30 pm on November 9.

Additional upcoming webinars:

• October 14 - Elements of Association Management: Strategic Planning
• October 21 - How to Print Money with Online Education
• December 8 - Ethics and Inclusion in Challenging Times - qualifies for the 1 hour required ethics course for CAE renewals

Our COVID-19 resource page and Pajama Brigade resource page are available to our community. Resources include a GSAE meetings tool kit and sample questions list to work through with a facility. We encourage our hotels, facilities, and CVBs to access these resources too. We are all partners in keeping our attendees and visitors safe and using data-based decision-making practices. 

Want to see what's happening with our members? Explore our Take 5 page. It includes the latest updates from our corporate supplier members plus virtual tours of all your favorite locations.

Recordings of our virtual meetings are available on our GSAE1917 YouTube Channel through GSAEtv.

October is cybersecurity awareness month. As a reminder:

1. GSAE does not contract with third-party companies to sell our mailing list or member data. Please disregard any such fraudulent company solicitations. If you would like to rent GSAE’s mailing list legitimately, you may access the contract on our forms page. We do not release your email address as part of the mailing list rental agreement - ever, per Board policy.
2. GSAE staff or officers will never ask you to transfer funds to a staffer, volunteer leader or member for any reason. If one of our leaders is actually traveling and runs into a spot of bother, they will contact a family member - not us, and not you.
3. While we may ask you to log in to your profile to register for an event or update your contact information, we will not ask you to send your social security number, bank account information, or credit card information directly to us. Electronic and paper invoices will direct you to our secure PCI-compliant payment page or to our fax number.
4. If you have any questions about the validity of a message from GSAE - from staff, our officers, our website or our enewsletter provider - please don’t hesitate to contact us directly.

Association and chamber pros will gather together with friends of the industry for a jam-packed day geared toward honing new skills and understanding new mindsets. Speakers will challenge attendees with topics from marketing best practices to leadership to tried and true membership topics. This event is eligible for up to five CAE credits. Learn more and register.

GACVB and STS will host the 3rd annual Group Sales Symposium on December 1-2 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Atlanta – Roswell. Attend sessions with industry experts and peers in various interactive formats to discuss new trends, tactics, and technology for improving meetings business and group market recruitment and production. Learn more.

In light of COVID-19, the CAE Commission has made a few adjustments for those renewing their CAE in 2020:

• The renewal deadline has been extended from December 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
• The cap on self-study has been lifted. All 40 credits needed for renewal may be taken through any amount of live and/or approved self-study courses.
• The early-renewal discount will be extended to completed renewals submitted through March 31, 2021. The discounted renewal fee is $275 for ASAE members and $425 for nonmembers.

These additional options apply only to the renewal cycle for those originally due to renew by December 2020. Learn more.

The 2021 GSAE Membership Directory & Buyers' Guide will go to print soon and we want to make sure everything is exactly how you want it! Did you get a new job? Is your name spelled correctly? Do you have new contact information? Please update your profile by October 23.

Advertising space in the annual GSAE Membership Directory & Buyers' Guide is now available. Ensure your company has a lasting presence in front of GSAE members all year long. Ad sales close October 28. To be included, contact Debbi McClanahan, Media Director, at (352) 333-3490 or at debbim@naylor.com.