The National Gay Pilots Association learned this after a plane crash claimed the life of its executive director. Planning for the unexpected departure of an executive director or CEO is not something that many associations do well. Just 33 percent of the organizations surveyed for ASAE’s 2012 Benchmarking in Association Management report said they have a formal succession plan in place—and that number shrinks to less than 25 percent for organizations with five or fewer employees. MORE

Association 141+. Association Marketing: Do You Want to Get Rocked? So we may not have a Super Bowl as a draw in the association world, but that doesnt mean we cant try to make our own marketing approaches memorable and something the customer comes back to again and again. To speak openly to our members and professionals, and make our message less about us (whether us is the association or the product/service it is advertising) and more about them? MORE

The American Society of Veterinary Medical Association Executives is making some changes to start a new era of carrying out its mission, starting with a new name and its own CEO. Looking to expand the role of the group in the industry, the American Society of Veterinary Medical Association Executives has shortened its name to Veterinary Medical Association Executives and introduced its first CEO. MORE

I know how much time I’ve spent researching and experimenting-- time I couldn’t have found when I was a full-time association manager. The best part: many of the popular tools are free and readily available for associations to use. Let’s say you are the Bittersweet Association of Realtors. Your landing page might say something like “Welcome to the Twitter site for the Bittersweet Association of Realtors. Financial Management. MORE

Your weekly list of free webinars and events for the association community… “I’ll do that but not right now.”. I finally got off my butt, pulled up the site, and entered my digits after hearing Chuck talk about it on a recent Association Chat. I’ll be envious when I see the tweets but I rather hike (and see Tom Petty) in Colorado. I still get an uneasy anxious feeling when I think about leading an AMS implementation project at my last association job. MORE

He was heading to TEDActive (the live Palm Springs simulcast) where he anticipated learning about association management from a dolphin researcher. I can feel for them because for eight years I was the general manager of an independently-owned (and very successful) restaurant, long before the days of social media. Steal this idea from Association Media & Publishing: sponsored small group dinner discussions. I’m not the only one who likes being a content curator. MORE

Goal setting and annual evaluations are standard fare for the human resource roles of association executives and senior managers. As an association executive, I really disliked the annual staff evaluation sessions. As the owner of an association management company, I tried to modify the process and eliminate the “grading system” in favor of written comments and no grades. Our daughter is an awesome first grade teacher in Colorado Springs. MORE

global association strategy, regional planning and local infrastructure to grow your business. Manheim, Germany; Shizuoka, Japan; Colorado Springs, USA). As MCIs Senior Advisor, Global Development Strategy, I help associations build and execute global growth strategies. Over the past 30 years I have served three associations (ASAE, MPI and IEEE Computer Society) as a leader of business, product and partnership development. Association Management. MORE

Coursera, a Silicon Valley-based company, is announcing today that it will partner with university systems in Colorado, Georgia, New York, Tennessee and Texas to develop and evaluate the potential of technology that is fueling dramatic changes in how higher education is designed and delivered. What does this mean to associations? Leadership Is A Vital Role For Association Executives via The Forbes Group Do you see yourself as a manager? MORE