ASAE's Great Ideas Conference Will Explore New Education, Sustainable Business Models for Associations

Celebrating 10 years of innovative learning

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year's ASAE's Great Ideas Conference, March 10-12, will commemorate 10 years of innovative education and will be held for the fourth year in a row at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Throughout the history of the conference, four conversation areas have influenced executive management in the association community including: mobile technology, arts & culture, the Web and learning lessons from other associations, which has contributed to the advancement of the association community.

This year, attendees will experience several new learning formats including a Snap Learning Spot, sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission and its partners, featuring 30 minute micro-skills sessions, and creativity stations located throughout the Conference, educational offerings focused on next generation learning, and mobile playground sessions.

The meeting will kick-off with the Opening General Session speaker Sally Hogshead, an international author and leading expert on the science of fascination. She has developed the first science-based personal brand system and will show attendees how to identify and leverage one's defining trait. It will change how attendees see themselves and how the world perceives them, too.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a new one and a half day Executive Leadership Program: Innovating Your Association Toward a Sustainable Business Model, which is designed for executive staff teams to learn together and explore strategic questions to guide their thinking and planning as they develop a relevant business model for the future. This session will be facilitated by Adam Hartung, a leading innovation management guru, columnist for Forbes, a leadership columnist for CIO magazine, contributing editor for the International Journal of Innovation Science, and book author on best practices for evergreen growth.

With the next generation learning sessions, attendees will explore new models for education, how to create customized experiences, how to leverage gaming, hybrid learning, the future of credentialing, and more.

When attendees go to a meeting, they network with colleagues, but some people fail to make meaningful connections. Thom Singer will be the conference catalyst and throughout the conference will give attendees networking tips on how to connect with other participants beyond the "hallway conversations."

"When we started this meeting 10 years ago, we wanted to develop a unique forum for professionals to create innovative ideas they could take back to their respective organizations," said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham IV, CAE. "It has flourished into a relaxed, creative environment where participants share thoughts and are built on each other throughout the conference as well as year to year. It provides executives with insight on how to remain relevant in an ever-changing space." 

During the Closing General Session, Simon Bailey will invite attendees to shift their thinking, learn how to embrace disruptive shifts and celebrate both failure and risk. Attendees will participate in exercises that will help them develop an action plan they can take back to their organization. Bailey is a thought leader and author of several books including his latest, The Vuja De Moment: Shift from Average to Brilliant.

Early bird registration deadline is February 14. To find out more information about the learning sessions and speakers, visit Great Ideas website.

About ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership
ASAE is a membership organization of more than 21,000 association executives and industry partners representing 10,000 organizations. Its members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world. With support of the ASAE Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession, and provides resources, education, ideas and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. For more information about ASAE, visit www.asaecenter.org.

SOURCE ASAE