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First-Timer Experience at the AMC Institute

By Jennifer Rzepka posted 02-25-2015 04:42 PM

  

I have been with Svinicki Association Management, Inc for 15 years and in a key decision making position for almost as long. After my experience at the Association Management Company (AMC) Institute’s Annual Meeting this February, I’m now ashamed to say that it was only my FIRST time attending. What I experienced was so valuable that I feel I’ve missed out on over a decade of the most valuable networking in our industry.

This event offered a more intimate setting of a highly specialized group of individuals than the large annual American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) meeting. ASAE does provide an extremely broad spectrum of everything related to Association Management, which offers great value in the ability to network with very diverse participants, but being among all AMC owners and key decision makers made for stronger and more immediate connections. It wasn’t a forum to learn about one another’s business and identify common ground for discussions, that hurdle had been removed by the narrow scope of participants. Due to the direct parallels in our day-to-day experiences, that focus made possible the specifically targeted breakout sessions for the most critical conversations to occur. This was not generalized education, this was precise, direct and had more impact on me than any other event I’ve attended in my career.

To be in these rooms and converse with companies facing the exact same challenges as ours does on a daily basis, and for it to occur in an environment that fostered such open networking and sharing of best practices and creative ideas, was invaluable to me. I spoke with dozens of people over three days and heard similar stories about other attendees’ first-time experiences. If you are an owner or key decision maker in your AMC, I strongly urge you to attend and join this group of esteemed colleagues. Learn from them, share your stories and make long-lasting relationships. These are the people who really understand what you’re facing and experience those same “things that keep you awake at night”. These are your allies, your colleagues and your partners. These are people who want to share real examples and help broaden your horizons. 

Don’t miss out on a decade of learning like I did. I look forward to sharing with you in the future since I will certainly be attending next year and for many to come…will you?

Jennifer Rzepka, CAE


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