An association Soliloquy

Good morning,

Ok, so the last week has been insane to try and get to my blog and post. If you ever decide this for your association, I would highly suggest you do what ASAE does and get a "Blog Board". The following is a reprint from an article in the Midwest Society of Association Executives'Association Focus. It was written by Mark Miller, CMP.

Soliloquy of an Association Executive

I have an advanced degree in Public Relations, Human Relations, Business Management, Political Science, Marketing, Graphic Arts, Hotel Management and Marriage and Family Counseling.

I can instantly recognize the voices of all of my members over the phone and can recite from memory the exact date of their dues renewal and whether they have signed up their spouse or significant other for the Annual Banquet

On demand, I can relate the exact voting histories of every Legislator on every voting issue that was, might have been, would have been, could have been or should have been of interest to my members.

I can make a meeting room both warmer and colder at the same time.

I can predict the exact number of people that will attend a banquet, three days before I even set foot inside the meeting facility.

I will go out of my way to negotiate a $49 rental for a $42,000 Lincoln Town Car for a 24-hour period, but will gladly accept a $265 rental for a $400 VCR for 20 minutes of use.

I take personal blame for poor mail delivery, high gas prices, long check-in lines, poor airline service, wrong zip codes, over-regulation of government and ethnic conflicts around the globe.

I have enough Frequent Flyer points to fly around the world, but don’t have enough time or money to get off the place.

I am expected to smile, empathize, sympathize, console, be political, be apolitical, (and when to do which), sing, dance, program the computer and fix the copier.

I am an Association Executive; I can do all these things and many more, while still finding time to take every phone call from my members.