Happy Saturday, and welcome to CEO Speaks for Saturday, February 25th, 2023.

What it means to be more connected through TMA, and what it means to have a world of opportunities that show how the "one connection" that is each of you creates the collective organization, was bigger than many understood it to be until we brought that to life in real time these last two years.

Now with a foundation built on strong leadership, historicity high member retention and engagement, creative forethought that has resulted in elevated member value, and chapter growth all around the world, the stage is set for a much different kind of year.

This is a year where critically important infrastructure upgrades will take TMA to the next level and will allow us to continue to be the leading organization in the corporate renewal, reorganization, and corporate health space because these changes will take the best technology and put it to work to vastly improve the member experience.

Just a few weeks ago, we launched a new association management system (AMS), the culmination of a year-long undertaking led by TMA Director of Membership and Chapter Support Mike Donovan, that will affect everything from member engagement to data collection, how payments are made for chapter and global events to community platforms that will create greater connectivity and an opportunity for sharing of information between leaders and members better than ever before.

The launch of this new AMS system is the first step in the deployment of next-generation technology to create a futuristic experience, and the foundation for the next iteration of member and chapter support, not just for our North American chapters but our international chapters too.

Although the general membership will see many of these upgrades as seamless, the power of what we have embarked on is anything but and will empower our members with more ways to both share about themselves, as well as to more seamlessly connect with other members around the world.

Member profiles will be more detailed.  There will be expansive demographic information. Members from a single firm, wherever they are in the world, will be cross-referenced through each of a firm’s members. There will be more accessible ways to search for professionals you may want to connect with in different states or countries, and there will be email access to reach those members from within our new system.

At the chapter level, there will be more detailed information on leadership and committees.  And all chapters will have a chapter member directory that will be available to all members who want to search for member information at the chapter level.

With this new system being 100% cloud-based, we will be able to bring more international chapters into the fold, particularly our European Chapters, where GDPR had long been a challenge, preventing us from collecting even the most basic data to aid in improving global support for those chapters.  That will no longer be an issue, and now as we continue to grow our support in our fastest-growing segment of the association, we will have meaningful data to drive decisions, thought leadership, and elevated member value, as being a part of something bigger means greater connectivity and ease of access to member information around the world.

Phase 2 of the infrastructure upgrade effort, already underway, will be the building of a next-generation TMA Global website.  That effort, which is being led by our Director of Marketing and Communications, Jodi Talley, will culminate in deployment in the third quarter of 2023.

The new website, like our new AMS system, will be 100% focused on an elevated member experience, with the goal of making access to information easier, more obvious, and more accessible than ever before.

We want our new website to bring the member into an experience, where they may come to find one thing, but in that one visit, they are introduced to and reminded of the many opportunities to access information on education, past and future programming, upcoming events, global opportunities and more.

Our new website will not only be more functional but more exciting so that we drive more people to it more often, and by doing so, bring our members into the vastness of TMA nation, its resources, cultural and professional diversity, and all that being part of something bigger means in real-time and every time a member goes in and touches that website.   

Together these two major capital projects stand to set the standard for association excellence, and an elevated member experience, and will further bring those new to our industry and association entry touch points that will support member growth in years to come.

I hope, like me, you share in the excitement of what it means to be part of something bigger.   Everywhere you look, and in every aspect of our organization, there is a point of opportunity, connectivity, enhanced member value, and the continued elevation of the TMA brand power worldwide, and the two state-of-the-art technology-driven initiatives will serve to support our worldwide members in their pursuit of the many opportunities our actionable organization holds.

As always, thanks for taking the time to listen today. In the one connection that is you, your input is critical, your contributions paramount, and your engagement is the foundation that will create a better TMA for all of our members.

Until next time, I’m Scott Stuart.  Be safe, resilient, and TMA Proud.