The 2022-2023 Association Leadership Leadership (ALV) class was recognized by their peers during graduation ceremonies on May 8 at the VSAE's Annual Conference in Hampton, Virginia. Over the past seven months, these professionals have gained valuable leadership and association management skills, built professional and personal relationships with colleagues from across the Commonwealth, and mapped out a plan to achieve their individual goals. The graduates:

Rebecca Butler, Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Development, VA Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
Ali DiGuardo, Director of Marketing & Communications, Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS
Lucy Firebaugh, Communications and Membership Specialist, Association of Consulting Foresters
Katharine Garner, Vice President, Education and Communications, VA Association of Community Banks
Kelli Gaudreau, Director of Operations, VA Beer Wholesalers Association
Eric Hash, CEO, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS
Priscilla Monti, Convention Sales Manager, Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront
Haley Osborne, Manager, Corporate Governance, National Restaurant Association
Jamie Rawls, Convention Sales Manager, Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau
Kristen Reid, Vice President, Education & Training, VA Bankers Association
Laiya Haywood-Rollins, Membership & Workforce Development Coordinator, LeadingAge Virginia
Erin Schrad, Communications Manager, VA Association of Chiefs of Police & Foundation
Beth Stockner, Senior Director, Marketing & Program Development, Independent Petroleum Association of America
Samantha Walsh, Operations Coordinator, Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools
Kelsea Watson, Director of Marketing and Events, Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools

"We congratulate each of our graduates for achieving this milestone in their professional careers and look forward to witnessing the great things they will achieve individually, within their organizations, and on behalf of Virginia's association community in the months and years ahead,"  said Terry Monroe, VSAE Executive Director.

Thanks to Design Build Institute of America, Retail Alliance, VisitNorfolk, and Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge for sponsoring this program and to our generous donors.

What drew you to the association industry?
My father had started our Richmond based medical association management company in the 70s. For my first 10 years out of college (1982-1992), I worked in a few different Washington DC area hotels. I was fairly well-groomed by the time I left the DC hotels to start as Director of Meetings at my father’s AMC and it seemed like the logical next step.

What goals do you have during your presidency of VSAE?
Like most presidents I’m going to say it’s all about membership. I would love to see continued progress in gaining new members outside of Richmond. I’m also a big believer in engagement. We need to give jobs to as many members as possible. I know when I wrote my first VSAE newsletter article years ago, I was hooked on remaining active in the society.

To say that today’s buyer has changed would be a bit of a massive understatement. In fact, we’ve never seen such change in such a short period of time. When you consider how we’ve evolved since the advent of the internet (it became mainstream in 1996) and then throw on top of that all the digital behaviors that were catapulted by the recent pandemic, the results are stunning.

To name a couple:

• Today’s buyer, on average, is more than 70% through the buying cycle BEFORE they actually speak to a sales person. (Forrester)

Things will get better. Just keep saying that. And when we come out on the other side of the pandemic, we will face a world far different than the one we left behind.

The past year has brought new meaning to “working from home”. It has challenged personal and professional relationships, while also helping us appreciate and in many ways re-discover the simple pleasures in life. We have cooked more, watched TV more, (thank goodness for streaming!), experienced more time outdoors, and spent more time with our pets (or got a pet for those who did not previously have one).