ASAE Annual Meeting 2019: What I’m Excited About

We’re less than a week out from the ASAE Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio and the anticipation has certainly peaked. As a Michigan-based company, we’re spoiled to have had ASAE’s biggest conference in Chicago last year and just a few states over in 2019. After studying the schedule, looking up the backgrounds of the keynote speakers, and training hard for the conference 5K, I’m already thinking that the meeting in Columbus will be every bit as fun and informative as Chicago 2018.

Without further adieu, here’s what I’m looking forward to most this weekend in Ohio!

Let’s Talk Content Strategy 

Marketing is telling a story, so effective content marketing is sort of a huge deal. Molly Marsh is leading a talk on Sunday, August 11 focused on starting or revamping your organization’s content marketing initiatives that I’m really pumped to attend. Molly has over a decade of experience in the association marketing space, and I’m really looking forward to hearing new ideas and trends. Sure, we’re a publishing and marketing company with lots of experience. But the minute a marketing person says, “I know everything already,” that’s the moment you start to fall behind. I can’t wait  for this one because I want to know what I don’t know. You know?

Off to a Running Start

Sure, the event begins in earnest on Saturday, but ASAE really kicks things off on Sunday morning with their annual 5K fundraiser. This year, the event is being held to raise money for the Columbus Foundation’s Gift of Kindness Fund. One of the coolest things about ASAE is their goal to give back to each community that hosts the annual meeting. It’s such a cool thing to get up, get a run in for a great cause, then start the day with the big keynote. Last year in Chicago, I met a ton of really nice folks out for the run, and I’m sure there will be even more cool folks lacing their shoes up at dawn this year. 

They also have yoga this year, which will get dozens more people to set their alarms nice and early on Sunday morning. You can get more info on the 5K and yoga class here. 

Young Professionals Reception

Also on Sunday, Experience Columbus is hosting a Young Professionals reception that I’m really looking forward to. In all honesty, when I graduated from college, I had no idea that there was this enormous association industry out there. When I meet other young professionals, they turn out to be just as pleasantly surprised as I am to be in the association space. Meeting and connecting with these future leaders of the industry is always a pretty fascinating experience, and gives me a lot of confidence that the future of the association industry is incredibly bright. 

The Opening Keynote

For me, nothing beats the excitement of the opening keynote at the annual meetings. The energy of a few thousand association industry leaders, the best speakers on the planet, and a light show that makes SXSW look like community theatre, the ASAE crew sure knows how to kick off a conference. 

This year, the keynote speakers are Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms. I don’t have the space to go into great detail on their stories, but you can get a glimpse of their impressive biographies and experiences here. On every occasion, it was the opening keynote that has set the stage for a vibrant, exciting time at every ASAE conference I’ve attended. I have no reason to believe this keynote won’t deliver the same level of excitement and positive energy. 

Here’s a link to the full event schedule. If you’re attending the meeting, send me an email. It’d be great to meet some new people, explore the meeting, and take in all the ASAE Annual has to offer with a new friend. 

You can follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter for more ASAE all weekend long. Thanks for reading!