The annual meeting and expo answered: unity
The streets of Cleveland were bustling with 5,069 attendees, August 11-13, visiting for the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition 2024. The surrounding hotels were at max capacity; pink-shirted local volunteers cheered the attendees on and welcomed them to the city; the iconic Terminal Tower, each night of the event, was illuminated with projector lights that displayed ASAE’s logo against a red and blue diamond.
All of this set the scene for a gathering that would inspire not only for a few days or weeks, but would leave attendees with a reinvigorated understanding of their role as association professionals centered around one major point: In order for them—and the wider world—to thrive as we move into the future, creating and maintaining unity is essential.
In the words of Michelle Mason, president and CEO of ASAE, “[It’s] really about inclusion. It’s about coming together as one for the common good…This year’s theme, ‘In Unity, We Thrive,’ is so important now, more than ever before.”
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Taking it in, Driving it Home
The opening and closing keynotes with Amanda Gorman and Adam Kinzinger, in the form of interviews led by award-winning speaker and master interviewer Holly Ransom, drove home the point of unity and dug into its nuances, each in a distinct way.
Amanda Gorman
As the youngest-ever inaugural poet in U.S. history—she was 22 years old when she recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration—Gorman has become somewhat of an icon. But, she told the attendees at ASAE, she is one member of a generation of brilliant young people. When asked about the common preconception that a certain amount of maturity is needed to write insightful poetry—or be successful in any other way—she spoke out for the potential of young people, saying that she would respond to someone making that claim, “Have you ever heard of Anne Frank? Of Sappho? Of Frederick Douglass? For millennia, young people have been telling the truth in compelling ways.”
Unity, to Gorman, does not mean being all the same—it’s quite the opposite. “Embrace and revel in our differences. It means that, in spite of our differences, we find the same ground on which we stand: our care, our principles and our values.”
Adam Kinzinger
Adam Kinzinger, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was called a traitor by the many in the Republican party after he served on the congressional January 6th Committee. Death threats were sent to him, his wife and children. In 2023, he published his memoir “Renegade,” which became a New York Times bestseller.
Kinzinger told the ASAE audience it is essential we acknowledge, rather than be complacent about, the deep level of division that exists in our political atmosphere as Americans.
Kinzinger’s words were heartfelt. As he addressed a question regarding how difficult it must have been to be one of the few Republicans who stood against the rest of his party though the January 6th investigation and Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, he began to tear up, saying “I could never talk to my son about doing the right thing if I was not willing to do the right thing myself.”
Leadership—and unity within leadership—explained Kinzinger, is not about being in charge, but rather about taking care of those in your charge. He asked the crowd to consider, “Are you willing and able to take care of the people that need your help? Do you live for something bigger than yourself? Everybody is desperate for inspiration—that’s what taking care of people in your charge is: inspiring people and giving them purpose.”
Creating an Atmosphere to Inspire
The keynotes were not where the theme of unity began, nor where it ended. The value of unity shown through every aspect of the conference. Education sessions addressed everything from destination boycotts to discovering your leadership voice; ethical considerations in using generative AI to creating conscious inclusion through the lens of DEI.
Gatherings throughout the conference sought to include the varying demographics of the attendees present. One was held in The Loft, a fourth-floor gathering space in the convention center, which filled up with young and emerging professionals for the Young Professionals Reception.
Empowering Young Professionals
Gorman’s presence was no happenstance; a central focus of the meeting and exposition was celebrating the intelligence and expertise of young professionals. For the first time ever, ASAE’s incoming board will include a member of ASAE’s Young Professionals Advisory Committee (YPAC). The Young Professionals Reception has been a staple of ASAE Annual for a number of years, and each year, sees greater attendance.
Michael Pereira, CAE, the current YPAC chair, shared, “ASAE has a lot of committees focused on membership or professional development; YPAC is focused on our own demographic…we’re all about advocating for [young professionals] to have the space and resources that will elevate our leadership skills.
“It’s not exactly about being young, or being an emerging professional,” Pereira says. “It’s about being identified instead by the expertise that we bring; we are professionals in our field, and we want to make our space at the table. That’s what YPAC is about; we are making our way in and creating resources—and people are listening.”
Michelle Mason, too, made the point of empowering young professionals and recognizing the expertise they bring to the industry. During a press conference, she pointed out that, just last year, ASAE launched the Future Leaders Professional Development Scholarship, which assists young professionals with access to any conference, providing funding for registration, travel and accommodations.
Since its establishment, the scholarship has raised over $53,000, and Destination Cleveland was the first DMO donor. At the 2024 meeting and exposition, three scholarship recipients were onsite.
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Unity with Destinations
The association and meetings industries and the destinations they meet in are so intertwined that, sometimes, it seems like it’s all one big industry. The degree to which they work together means that unity in their partnerships is essential. ASAE and Destination Cleveland demonstrated a powerful example of this type of unified partnership for all attendees—association professionals and destination professionals alike.
At the press conference, David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland, shared how the city viewed being the host city for the 2024 meeting an immense honor—and how enormous an undertaking it was. As the city prepared, locals rallied around the DMO in support, ready to help. “Over the past four or five years, we’ve hosted some of the biggest events in the country: the NFL draft, the NBA All Star game, the MLB All Star game and the Women’s Final Four; [ASAE Annual 2024] has garnered just as much attention from the community.”
Gilbert explained further, “Hundreds of organizations, hundreds of volunteers have wanted to be part of this because they passionately want to show off their city.”
The day before and after the conference, Destination Cleveland hosted “Cleveland Experiences,” a selection of tours and curated experiences attendees could take part in that brought them out into Cleveland neighborhoods away from downtown, where the meeting was held. All funds raised through those programs went into businesses in those neighborhoods.
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At the opening keynote session, attendees saw Destination Cleveland volunteers march, skip, and run down the hallway, cheering and tossing merch to the crowd, before gathering onstage with Cleveland Browns mascot Chomps. The energy was one of a vibrant, enthusiastic and fun city—with skilled showmanship.
“It wasn’t hard to find hundreds of volunteers to be at the hotels, at the airport, on the street, to wear Cleveland t-shirts and, when they see people wearing these badges, all around…come up just to say, ‘Hey! Glad you’re here.’ It’s as simple as that,” Gilbert said.
