The Nominating Committee and the Board of Directors present the following slate of officers and directors for the 2021-2022 year (May 1–April 30).

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT
Maureen Dingus, CAE

If you're looking to deepen your engagement in VSAE, now is your opportunity!  VSAE's volunteers are instrumental in a variety of activities. They assist in developing educational content, mentoring new members, speaking at VSAE events, engaging members in community service projects, and much more.

From short-term projects to leadership roles, VSAE offers a variety of opportunities to be involved. See the list of volunteer opportunities.

Congratulations to the 2020 graduates of the Association Leadership Virginia (ALV) program! This is the second class to graduate from the program, following on the nine who graduated in 2019. 

Launched in 2018, ALV aims to develop leaders for the Commonwealth’s association management industry. The program brings together association professionals from across Virginia and from all levels of association management to discuss and explore strategies for leadership. Tom and Melissa Laughon of Catch Your Limit designed and facilitated the year-long program, guiding participants as they learned about their own leadership style and how to harness it to have a positive impact in their organization. 

“VSAE congratulates its latest ALV class. We continue to be impressed by Tom and Melissa’s program leadership and focus on excellence in association management and we commend the 2020 graduates for their resilience and commitment in the face of the unprecedented challenges this past year,” said Phyllis Errico, ESQ, CAE, VSAE President and General Counsel of the Virginia Association of Counties.

For more details about the ALV Program, visit vsae.org/association-leadership-virginia or contact Terry Monroe ([email protected]).

I have a confession to make – I don’t read very many books or journals focused on leadership. My reading tends to be more focused on fiction, and my leadership is more often guided by gut instinct. But I did recently share an article on LinkedIn that I thought summed up much of what my gut usually tells me to do as a leader. Many of my connections on the platform were inspired by the article, and it spurred an invitation to write this column for VSAE about servant leadership.

Being a servant leader requires a combination of humility and confidence. Asking for help, especially from the very people we are charged to lead, can make us feel vulnerable. It takes courage and strength to do it, and especially to do it authentically. The perspective you gain from truly listening to and empowering your team members, though, is incredibly valuable. It builds trust and mutual respect that I believe brings out the best in people and enables high performing teams.

On November 18-19, VSAE hosted its annual CEO and Senior Staff Retreat virtually. The two-day retreat was facilitated by the tandem of Seth Kahan (Founder of Visionary Leadership) and John Sarvay (Founder of Floricane). 35 people attended the event, including several recent VSAE members and even a few non-members!

The retreat proved to be an engaging and through-provoking combination of small group discussions, interactive exercises, and candid conversations about the challenges and subsequent opportunities associations face headed into the new year.