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As a volunteer on the Membership Section Council, my Annual Meeting experience actually started Friday evening, with the annual Council reunion dinner. I noted in my last post how the Council has really given me a sense of community at ASAE & The Center, and the dinner really reinforced that for me. Being able to gather smaller groups of members with a common interest really enhances an Annual Meeting experience in any type of association. I look forward to helping my new association form small group networking opportunities.

Today, ASAE & The Center volunteers from across the association gathered for a volunteer breakfast. In addition to catching up with colleagues and making new connections, I also got to learn what other councils and committes accomplished last year. The diversity council noted that they have developed a cultural guide to various nations around the world--this will be helpful for me to refer to as I work with the council on updating a membership publication, as well as when I begin working with and developing recruitment and retention programs for my association's members.

As an outgoing member of the Young Professionals Committee, I was glad to hear Bob Wolfe's update on the Committee's accomplishments, and especially his statement that young professionals are the leaders of tomorrow. At some point, the volunteer leaders at ASAE & The Center were young professionals as well. I am positive that there are future board members and section chairs in the young professional membership as we speak. It's extremely important, for the future success of ASAE & The Center, that young professionals continue to be nurtured and encouraged as volunteers. I think the forthcoming leadership academy will be a great way to continue this trend.

After breakfast, like many other volunteers, I headed to my Section Council meeting. We have a number of ambitious goals for the year, and I'm excited to be working with my colleagues to update 1,001 Membership Trends. It will also be a great way to engage ASAE & The Center's ad-hoc volunteers. I'm looking forward to seeing the Council's work on membership-related educational programs, the membership section newsletter, and contributions to the knowledge center and associapedia.

After a great day of work, it was a pleasure to head to the opening reception on Embarcadero. This was the best opening reception I've been to in my three years of Annuals. Once of the best things about San Diego is that you really don't need a rain contingency plan! So, it was a nice, rare treat to be outside, with a great view of the water. And the plentiful margaritas were also a nice touch . . .