ASAE to Deliver First-Ever Virtual Annual Meeting & Centennial Celebration Experience in August 2020

ASAE, in close collaboration with MGM Resorts International, announced today it will cancel its in-person 2020 Annual Meeting & Exposition, scheduled to be held August 8-11, at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas due to public health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

ASAE is instead working with scheduled speakers, sponsors and industry partners to deliver a reimagined Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition the week of August 10. Registration information, exact dates and industry partner opportunities for the Virtual Annual Meeting will be shared with the ASAE community by the first week of June. The ASAE Board of Directors will also hold a virtual meeting on Aug. 7.

“After careful discussion of every aspect of the meeting and experience with our fantastic partners at Mandalay Bay and MGM Resorts, ASAE has made the difficult decision to move the 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo to a virtual experience,” said ASAE President and CEO Susan Robertson, CAE. “As excited as we were to put on a robust, memorable in-person Annual Meeting in Las Vegas this August and to celebrate ASAE’s Centennial with the association community, the public health and safety of our attendees, staff and volunteers and the MGM staff outweighed any other considerations in our collective decision-making process.”

“Our team worked closely with ASAE to build out what would have been an incredible event in August, but we understand the hard decision they had to make in the current climate,” said Stephanie Glanzer, Senior Vice President & Chief Sales Officer for MGM Resorts. “We have long valued our relationship with ASAE and are eager to welcome the association community back to Las Vegas very soon.”

ASAE, MGM and other event partners in Las Vegas were in regular contact during the planning of ASAE’s 100^th Annual Meeting and paid careful attention to the timing of federal and state of Nevada plans to ease air travel restrictions, social distancing guidelines and restrictions on large gatherings once the COVID-19 threat has abated. Given the number of still-unknown factors related to the containment of the virus, and with ASAE Annual Meeting attendees typically coming from all over the country as well as internationally, all parties concluded that cancelling the face-to-meeting meeting was the safe and responsible action.

“ASAE and MGM were beyond prepared to exceed attendee expectations for the 2020 Annual Meeting. We look forward to working with our Las Vegas partners in the future,” said Amy Ledoux, CAE, CMP, ASAE’s Chief Learning and Meetings Officer. “Shifting gears, we are now fully immersed in creating the most dynamic Virtual Annual Meeting experience for our members possible. Virtual attendees can expect the same great content that we were primed to deliver in Las Vegas, so stay tuned. We’re going to structure this reimagined experience to fit every member’s schedule and budget and there are going to be multiple options for engagement.”

Further details about ASAE’s Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition will be communicated as soon as they are finalized and updated on ASAE’s Annual Meeting website. ASAE’s 2021 Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place Aug. 14-17, 2021, in Dallas, TX.

ASAE and ASAE Business Services, Inc. announce its partnership with Passageways as the provider of the ASAE-Endorsed Virtual Board Meeting Management Solution. Passageways’ board meeting management product, OnBoard, serves the governance needs of an array of association and nonprofit organizations across the country and around the world. This partnership will help associations navigate the COVID-19 crisis by offering free access for all new accounts through August 31, 2020.

“During these challenging times good governance is more essential than ever. That is why we collaborated with Passageways to make the ASAE-Endorsed Virtual Board Meeting Management Solution available for free to new accounts through the end of August,” said ASAE President & CEO Susan Robertson, CAE. “Association boards, committees and other deliberative bodies need to be able to conduct secure, focused, effective, and productive meetings. They can do it by using OnBoard’s comprehensive suite of secure virtual meeting tools.”

With 95% of the U.S. population under some form of stay-at-home order, video conferencing integration has become more vital than ever. OnBoard features exclusive native Zoom integration that enables directors and CEOs to meet face-to-face directly within the platform.

“Our goal has always been to enable boards and leaders with everything they need for a successful meeting, so they can focus on governance and strategy at their institutions,” said Passageways co-founder and CEO Paroon Chadha. “This partnership is a unique opportunity for all associations to use OnBoard — the platform that ASAE uses for its own governance and board meeting needs.”

Passageways’ OnBoard meeting solution is trusted by more than 12,000 boards and committees around the world. The solution helps teams govern with eSignatures and approvals and drive ongoing collaboration with secure messaging, real-time document sharing, integrated voting, and shareable annotations.

“During this time when we are all searching for virtual solutions for our most important activities, Passageways is laser focused on providing seamless continuity for governance meetings,” said ASAE Business Services, Inc. President Betsy Piper/Bach. “This focus is in sync with our dedication to help associations succeed in fulfilling their missions by connecting with solutions that help increase efficiency, enhance their capabilities, and reduce costs.”

After undergoing ASAE Business Services’ stringent due-diligence process, Passageways’ OnBoard virtual board meeting management solution was chosen as one of ten top-quality ASAE-Endorsed business solutions.

Five association leaders have been selected for ASAE’s 2020 Class of Fellows. The Fellows program recognizes individual accomplishments and contributions to ASAE and the association sector, and it is a call to service for the profession.

“Congratulations to the 2020 class of Fellows. The ASAE Fellows program is a recognition bestowed upon less than one percent of ASAE’s membership. It represents the best of the association community, and this group truly embodies that,” said Debra S. BenAvram, FASAE, CAE, CEO, AABB (formerly named American Association of Blood Banks) and chair of the ASAE Fellows Selection Committee.

The Class of 2020 includes:

Steven Anderson, IOM, CAE

President and Chief Executive Officer

National Association of Chain Drug Stores

Lowell Aplebaum, CAE, CPF

CEO & Strategy Catalyst

Vista Cova

Patricia Montague, CAE

Chief Executive Officer

School Nutrition Association

Stefanie Reeves, CAE

Executive Director

Maryland Psychological Association

Donte Shannon, CAE

Chief Executive Officer

Association of Equipment Management Professionals

The 2020 Fellows join 268 association industry professionals who have received this designation since the program’s inception in 1986. Serving as role models and ambassadors for the association community, Fellows seek out opportunities to serve on boards and committees and participate as speakers, authors, reviewers, and mentors.

The Fellows selection process includes: endorsement by a peer; an in-depth application describing the individual’s innovation, leadership, and commitment to the profession; an interview with two members of the selection committee; and selection from among a group of highly-qualified candidates.

For more information about ASAE’s Fellows program, https://www.asaecenter.org/programs/awards-and-recognition/asae-fellows.