State of the association — Joe Carlson, CFSP

The following was presented by Joe Carlson, CFSP, at the Annual Business Meeting, Feb. 6, Orlando, Fla.

Here are a few brief updates on NAFEM’s 2018 activities and what we have planned for 2019.

First and foremost, there has been tremendous support for the show, our largest ever. Thank you to the members of TSAC and to all NAFEM members for creating what we know will be a fabulous three days. I would like to personally thank, on behalf of the board and all the members at the show, Rich Packer, CFSP, for his innovative leadership building on a great tradition of show leadership together with Buffy Levy and the SmithBucklin team.

We have many other programs to drive more member benefits across your business enterprise beyond just sales and marketing:

ITR Economic Forecasting Data – quarterly data feeds on economic overview forecast ahead, industry overview, and specifics on college & university marketplace to be expanded to other industry segments. A webinar introducing the forecast with tips on understanding and interpreting the data will be held later this month.

Partnership with MRA for HR Hotline and a brand-new Wage & Benefit Study will be distributed later this spring.

Debut of the new NAFEM Learning Center – our online learning management system for webinars, training and online educational programs.

Our advocacy work has been on overdrive all year starting just after FEDA last year when the tariffs’ impact began. Charlie Souhrada, CFSP, NAFEM’s Vice President, Regulatory & Technical Affairs, has helped get NAFEM a seat at the table in Washington on this important issue giving us a national presence.

Expansion of our Operator Association Partnerships going beyond our channel partners will be a focus for NAFEM and the board in 2019.

Watch your email, NAFEM online and the website for more details.