Dear valued members,

The world looks much different today than when we updated you in December on NYSAE activities. On behalf of the board, I extend our best wishes to you as you address the unparalleled challenges presented by this pandemic and strive to move your organizations forward in an upside down world.

NYSAE is here to help you address your challenges.

In March, as most of us transitioned to home offices, NYSAE launched a virtual Engagement Lounge to continue to provide you with opportunities to gain valuable insights from your fellow association professionals. We have since offered a series of free sessions on COVID-19 related topics such as Meetings, Special Events and Trade Shows and Membership and Member Value. These sessions have helped us share best practices and innovative ideas from across the industry, and offered us an opportunity to network and learn from the comforts of our home. These sessions are a perfect example of the value that NYSAE can provide to its membership. Visit our home page and scroll down for upcoming sessions.

In early April, we launched Office Hours, a new member benefit to address your challenges. Office Hours, already in great demand, provides members a 20-minute session with a subject matter expert to address your association concerns. You can also review past Ask the Experts columns and post questions there. Additional COVID-19 resources and information are on our website and in issues of InView.

Reflecting back on this NYSAE year...

We delivered some excellent programs this year; NYS Privacy Regulations for Associations, Upping Your Ask Game and more, including our largest Meet NY to date. We partnered with ASAE to offer the CAE Kick-Off in February for the first time outside of D.C., and we restarted our New Member Orientations.

Our Executive Women in Non-Profits and Exec Connect Engagement Groups continued to expand this year, and both have seamlessly transitioned to offering online discussion groups, and we successfully re-launched the Next Generation Engagement Group. Keep an eye out as we will be launching a new PR / Marketing Engagement Group in Summer 2020.

The current situation has caused some scheduled events to be postponed, but we are happy to announce the following events have been rescheduled: NYSAE’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting on June 11, Associations 101 on July 14, a half-day program for association newcomers, and our Annual Synergy Awards on August 20, boasting new award categories.

Remember, that through all of this, NYSAE is here for you. Our primary focus is to help you navigate the current environment and resume your activities in whatever way you can. We strive to bring value to our members and welcome your feedback (info@nysaenet.org). Finally, we give a shout out to the Kellen team who are approaching their one-year anniversary managing NYSAE; thank you for all you've done!

In the coming weeks you will receive a notice to renew your membership. We look forward to your continued support and participation.

Stay well. Stay safe. We hope to see you online or in person soon!   

Charles Riotto, NYSAE Chair