WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 1,000 association and industry professionals participated in the 2018 Technology Conference & Expo, December 3-5, and took part in 36 high-level education sessions and the exhibit hall. The event was held at the Gaylord National® Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
The final attendance was 1,001: Execs (Association Executives, Consultants, Speakers) 516, Exhibitors (Industry Partners, Exhibiting Booth Staff) 410, and Other (Press, Staff, and Vendors) 75. Additionally, there were 137 companies representing 173 booths that exhibited in the expo hall this year.
“Our conference focus this year was on moving association technology forward. The five education pathways (Compliance & Security, Project Management & Strategy, Data Exploration & Analytics, Marketing & Content Management, and Digital Engagement & Experience) reflect the growing technology needs and concerns that impact all areas of our attendees daily work,” said ASAE President & CEO John H. Graham IV, FASAE, CAE.
Former White House CIO, current President & CEO of Fortalice Solutions, and star of the CBS TV series “Hunted,” Theresa Payton, opened the conference with a look at how organizations are rapidly chasing new technology to achieve business goals. She challenged attendees to take a hard look at the potential for cybersecurity exposures when they implement new technology in order to successfully provide members with the services they need without putting them at risk.
On Wednesday, December 5, ASAE hosted two general sessions. During the Community Town Hall, attendees discussed the challenges and concerns around privacy and data breaches, with a panel of leaders from DelCor, the American Library Association, RedZone Technologies, and ASAE. An attendee favorite, Fail Fest, closed out the conference. During the interactive session attendees explored how mistakes play a key part when it comes to innovation, growth, and improvement. The stories highlighted how failures led to improved systems and changes within organizations.
ASAE offered association professionals three additional educational opportunities to explore prior to and during the event.
- Digital Convergence – The full-day program held on Monday was hosted by Community Brands. It offered an in-depth exploration of machine intelligence and its powerful impact on how associations will operate in the future.
- Automate Engagement & Workflows with Chatbots – The preconference workshop focused on how chatbots can help association professions be more efficient and create better experiences for their members.
- Women Executives Forum: Use Technology as an Agent of Change, hosted by Choose Chicago, looked at how IT professionals can be a force for positive social change within their organizations, external constituencies, and in the world at large.
Next year’s conference will be December 3–4, 2019, Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.
ASAE thanks the following Alliance Partners for their continued support of the association community:
Strategic Partners
Atlanta CVB
Business Events Canada
Choose
Chicago
Experience Columbus
Community Brands
Greater Fort
Lauderdale Meetings
Naylor Association Solutions
Visit San Jose
Corporate Partners
Visit Austin
Visit Baltimore
DelCor
Technology Solutions
Destination Cleveland
Visit Dallas
Fonteva
GEICO
Louisville
CVB
Visit Omaha
Visit Salt Lake
Event Partners
Advanced Solutions International
The
Broadmoor
CliftonLarsonAllen
Experient
Higher Logic
Johnson
Lambert LLP and Vault Consulting
Mexico Tourism Board
Manifest
MemberClicks
Discover
The Palm Beaches
Global Partners
Dubai Association Centre
Korea Tourism
Organization
About ASAE
ASAE is a membership organization of more than 44,000 association executives and industry partners representing 7,400 organizations. Its members lead, manage, and work in or partner with organizations in more than a dozen association management disciplines, from executive management to finance to technology. Together, they create a vibrant community that makes the world smarter, safer, and better every day. 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. Visit ASAE at asaecenter.org.
