I'm pleased to let you know that you can now listen to archived audio of my first two "Inside Associations" show. The inaugural May 25 show and the June 8 show that was pre-empted due to technical difficulties are now up on the Web. I hope you'll take the time to listen in.
In addition, I really want to encourage you to join me next Tuesday, June 22 at 1 pm ET when I will offer my advice and guidance to GWSAE association professional members as they consider how to vote on the proposed ASAE/The Center merger proposal on June 30. In the beginning, I admit, I was vehemently opposed to this proposal. Put simply, I thought it was a terrible idea for a variety of reasons. Over time, however, I have come to see some of its possibilities and I have been encouraged by how the leaders of the four organizations have allowed some of their thinking to evolve since the initial announcement back in January. Still, like many other people in the world of associations, I have misgivings about whether this idea is the best thing for the association community as a whole and for GWSAE members in particular. There are arguments on both sides and I continue to sort them out even now just weeks before this decision will be made by GWSAE's association CEO and professional members.
I've discussed my thoughts and feelings on this very important issue during my first two Inside Associations shows and now the time has come to take a position, as leaders are expected to do. And so I will on June 22! If you have any interest in what I think about this watershed moment in the history of the association community (and it's okay if you don't, I don't mind :>), then you should absolutely tune in at the Association Internet Radio Network one week from Tuesday at 1 pm ET!
If there is one piece of advice I can offer to all GWSAE members who are eligible to vote it is this: VOTE! I strongly encourage you to visit the merger website, download the proposal and read it carefully. Check out my May 31 posting for thoughts and questions to ask about the proposal. And, above all else, please either attend the June 30 meeting to cast your vote or request an absentee ballot. (Absentee ballots must be submitted by June 29, 2004 at 5 pm ET.) It is only a very small fraction of the GWSAE membership that will determine the course of our community and so it is incumbent upon EVERYONE who has the right to vote to exercise that right in this situation. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for failing to vote! You must act to ensure that your voice is heard. I hope you will.