ASAE Annual Meeting: Getting Ready for Detroit

You may have heard that the 2015 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition  (opens in a new tab) is taking over Detroit this weekend. Heck, you may even be going.

Need a starting point or five? Then check out some of these guides to help you with your planning process:

DelCor CEO Loretta DeLuca, FASAE, has the kind of insights  (opens in a new tab) that could come only from a seasoned pro who’s been to numerous ASAE annual meetings.

MemberClicks writer Callie Walker recommends some offerings  (opens in a new tab) that are specifically helpful for small-staff associations, including a lounge designated for them. (Also worth checking out is Walker’s guide for ASAE rookies  (opens in a new tab).)

And MemberSuite has great advice on getting more out of the expo-hall hours  (opens in a new tab) at Detroit’s Cobo Center. Key point: Keep an open mind.

And, of course, don’t forget our own Samantha Whitehorne’s tips on prepping for a conference as large as ASAE’s.

Dressing up for Company

The old Detroit Free Press building got its plywooded windows covered today w/graphics. Still no sign of life inside pic.twitter.com/30uJto2M49  (opens in a new tab)

— JC Reindl (@jcreindl) August 1, 2015  (opens in a new tab)

When you’re in The D, be sure to get a gander at the Detroit Free Press building, located at 321 W. Lafayette Blvd.  (opens in a new tab) The historic building hasn’t been occupied by the newspaper since 1998. (It recently gained some new tenants  (opens in a new tab), however.) Just just in time for Annual though, the building has gotten a colorful face-lift to highlight the city’s many offerings.

“We were happy to do it, and we do want to show that we are moving forward,” Ken Creighton, a representative of the building’s owner, DongDu International Group, told The Detroit News  (opens in a new tab). The company agreed to put up the posters for, as well as sponsor, the ASAE event.

Other Links of Note

Handwriting doesn’t get the love it used to, but having good penmanship still matters. Lifehacker scribe Andy Orin explains the notable benefits of this lost art  (opens in a new tab).

Mulling over putting on a summer festival? The Event Manager Blog has some tips  (opens in a new tab) for what you should do as well as what you should avoid.

When it comes to designing an online community, SocialFish‘s Maddie Grant says  (opens in a new tab) the focus should be on the end users—not on what benefits the organization.

(iStock/Thinkstock)