ASAE, in close collaboration with MGM Resorts International, announced today it will cancel its in-person 2020 Annual Meeting & Exposition, scheduled to be held August 8-11 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, due to public health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

ASAE is instead working with scheduled speakers, sponsors, and industry partners to deliver a reimagined Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition the week of August 10. Registration information, exact dates, and industry partner opportunities for the Virtual Annual Meeting will be shared with the ASAE community by the first week of June.

The ASAE Board of Directors will also hold a virtual meeting on August 7.

“After careful discussion of every aspect of the meeting and experience with our fantastic partners at Mandalay Bay and MGM Resorts, ASAE has made the difficult decision to move the 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo to a virtual experience,” said ASAE President and CEO Susan Robertson, CAE. “As excited as we were to put on a robust, memorable in-person Annual Meeting in Las Vegas this August and to celebrate ASAE’s centennial with the association community, the public health and safety of our attendees, staff, and volunteers and the MGM staff outweighed any other considerations in our collective decision-making process.”

“Our team worked closely with ASAE to build out what would have been an incredible event in August, but we understand the hard decision they had to make in the current climate,” said Stephanie Glanzer, senior vice president and chief sales officer for MGM Resorts. “We have long valued our relationship with ASAE and are eager to welcome the association community back to Las Vegas very soon.”

ASAE, MGM, and other event partners in Las Vegas were in regular contact during the planning of ASAE’s 10oth Annual Meeting and paid careful attention to the timing of federal and state of Nevada plans to ease air travel restrictions, social distancing guidelines, and restrictions on large gatherings once the COVID-19 threat has abated. Given the number of still-unknown factors related to the containment of the virus, and with ASAE Annual Meeting attendees typically coming from all over the country as well as internationally, all parties concluded that canceling the face-to-meeting meeting was the safe and responsible action.

“ASAE and MGM were beyond prepared to exceed attendee expectations for the 2020 Annual Meeting. We look forward to working with our Las Vegas partners in the future,” said Amy Ledoux, CAE, CMP, ASAE’s chief learning and meetings officer. “Shifting gears, we are now fully immersed in creating the most dynamic virtual Annual Meeting experience for our members possible. Virtual attendees can expect the same great content that we were primed to deliver in Las Vegas, so stay tuned. We’re going to structure this reimagined experience to fit every member’s schedule and budget and there are going to be multiple options for engagement.”

Further details about ASAE’s Virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition will be communicated as soon as they are finalized and updated on ASAE’s Annual Meeting website. ASAE’s 2021 Annual Meeting & Exposition is scheduled to take place August 14-17, 2021, in Dallas.

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