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So the government shutdown didn't happen, but it certainly had many people in Washington, DC, including associations, worrying over how to adjust if the shutdown had occurred. Perhaps none more so than the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association, whose legislative fly-in event was scheduled for April 11-12, the first two business days of the would-be shutdown.

I spoke with Tom Fise, AOPA executive director, today about how planning for the event was affected as the shutdown loomed.

"It probably advanced the aging process here a little bit," he said. "It seemed that everything had a contingency to it as we got down to the end."

The AOPA Policy Forum event, which draws about 120 attendees and features education on the first day with meetings on Capitol Hill on the second, had been scheduled about eight months in advance, and by the time the government shutdown became a clear possibility, the event schedule and meetings with lawmakers had already been arranged. Fise and his staff communicated with speakers and Hill staff so they knew who would and wouldn't be available in the event of a shutdown and planned backup options where possible. To a large degree, though, they simply had to carry on with planning and keep fingers crossed that the government would be open.

"There was not a lot of reliable information about what was going on. We took the optimistic view and told everybody, 'Definitely come in,'" he said.

One significant change AOPA made to its schedule—a handy solution, in my opinion—was a kickoff program with two former members of Congress, who would be available in either scenario, to open the event on Monday.

"We had these guys do a point-counterpoint about the budget process and the prospects for a governemnt shutdown, as well as the future issues of debt ceiling and the longer-term budget plan. That was really helpful for the attendees for putting all this stuff that they had been hearing about in context and knowing what they were walking into," said Fise. "When we added that in, we didn't know whether the government would be shut down or not, so it was kind of a way of dealing with whatever the situation was at that moment."

Fise estimated that the contingency planning presented by the prospect of a shutdown increased his staff's prep work by 15 to 25 percent. He credited them with stepping up to the challenge.

"Generally, having the attitude that the show must go on makes a lot of sense," he said. "When you look at the big picture and you think about members who have set aside the time to come in and bought airline tickets that are probably nonrefundable, you've really just got to mount the effort to pull the thing through, if there's any way possible to do it."

In the end, of course, the gamble paid off, as Congress struck a deal at the 11th hour to keep the government running. None the less, AOPA's ability to adjust on the fly is admirable. Many association event planners know the stress of an unpredictable external factor disrupting (or threatening to disrupt) an event. I'm curious how others out there have handled the need for last-minute contingency planning. And have any associations ever negotiated consideration for a government shutdown into their hotel contracts or cancellation insurance for legislative fly-in events?