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March 2021: Our Favorite Event, Easter Eggs, & the Little Things

  

For the CMAA HQ team and me, our favorite National event by far is the World Conference. It is our chance to see so many of you in one place over the span of several days. Ok, I used the wrong word – see. While it was good to get to see so many of you last week virtually in one place, what I missed most was the chance to be with you in person and give a handshake, a hug, and share a moment or two! We cannot wait for next year in San Diego, CA, when we are together in person. I know you feel that way too. Still, I am proud of our virtual Conference this year.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to our speakers, our volunteers, our partners and exhibitors, and the National Board for all their contributions to the 2021 World Conference and Club Business Expo. I am also thankful for the technology that did not exist five years ago to create such a multi-faceted event. It is people that make any conference come alive. So most importantly, I am thankful to each of you who attended. Attendance exceeded our in-person 2020 World Conference numbers and I sincerely appreciate all the faith you had in us to create something complementary to a normal World Conference virtually. Thanks for stepping into the unknown with us.

For the CMAA HQ team, we experienced the excitement of creating something brand new using a traditional roadmap of our in-person experience. But we also had the opportunity to add some “easter eggs” or surprises that you had to look for, which could not be done at an in-person event. Did you see them? …the celebrity drop-ins? …the networking event fun? …live musical artists for just chilling? …the staff sunglasses handoff? …Mark Bado dressed as a pirate? It was a lot of fun to do these things, as well as nerve racking for the CMAA team. We were providing conference via an online medium that required everyone at CMAA to learn and perfect new skills. I am so proud of the professionals at CMAA Headquarters for all their hard work, creative abilities, and willingness to do whatever was necessary to provide a great experience for you last week! Thank you Team CMAA!

Congratulations to Brian Kroh, CCM, on becoming CMAA’s National Chairman, and thank you to Mark Bado, MCM, CCE, for your service as CMAA’s National Chairman this past year. What a year Mark and all of us had! Speaking of last year – congrats to the entire CMAA membership for being named the “Club Executive of the Year.” While no one gets a trophy, everyone can take pride in a job well done throughout the pandemic.

World Conference also signifies a change in committee appointments. On behalf of CMAA, thank you to all those many volunteers who served on National committees and in other capacities this past year. And welcome to all those returning and new CMAA National Committee members for this coming year!

A few more things to share as we turn the page to a new CMAA leadership year:

As I close this month, I am reminded of something the writer and author Robert Brault said, “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” I am not sure if last week’s event will be one of those big things you remember for years to come, but we sincerely hope it left you with a lot of little things from education to camaraderie that will get you through the next few months as we continue to exit the pandemic.

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