of keeping them informed (although the organization’s audited financial statements are published annually). The second endur- ing lesson is that ALOA is a business, and if that business does not survive, then neither will this membership organization! Also remember that ALOA presidents have limited power, es- pecially if not supported by the board members, who are elected by the membership. Fortunately, during the ensuing 10 years (2011-2019), under new leadership and board composition, ALOA installed a new executive director and essentially performed a cor- porate exorcism to restore fiscal discipline and management sanity to the organization. Like many dynasties throughout history, the era of the ALOA “good old boy” boards had finally run its course. It’s noteworthy that not only had ALOA emerged from the ashes by rebuilding its financial strength, it had also retired all of its substantial debt. Fundamentally, this achievement can be attributed to actively running the organization more like a business rather than a club. We should also acknowledge the dedication of those board members who set aside their busi- ness and personal interests to intervene and literally save our organization from extinction. This is a good time to remind members that your board works without any form of compensation, and many actually pay their own board-related expenses without seeking reim- bursement! During the early part of this turbulent transitional period (aſter martial law was declared at ALOA in 2011), dedi- cated staff members endured reductions in pay and benefits, along with all sorts of change-induced stress, as they adjusted to the new culture, implemented numerous programs and dealt with tough problems. Back then, we called them “problems” whereas today they are known as “issues.” Don’t you just love euphemisms? Fast-forward to late 2019 and — reminiscent of that scene from the movie Jaws — just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water, along came COVID-19, which be- came a pandemic, and you are all too familiar with the rest of the story. What follows will hopefully provide a glimpse into ALOA’s epic COVID-19 struggle. ALOA’s Special Forces Everyone knows that you can’t have a good story without some heroes. Realizing that we were suddenly swept up in a poten- tially fatal financial tornado, we formed a steering committee to navigate the COVID-19 minefield. This small team comprised just a few staff and board members and began to stack and rack the numerous pandemic-related challenges we faced. To be clear, all staff and board members contributed! Looking back, absolutely no one thought that this band of samurai warriors would evolve into ALOA’s equivalent of a “special forces” unit. WWW.ALOA.ORG So, we scheduled weekly Zoom meetings (real work sessions with no tolerance for B.S.) beginning in early April 2020, wherein we discussed key strategic issues, compiled data, draſted position papers and engaged in all sorts of analyti- cal defensive behavior. All of this was to provide support for our capable executive director as ALOA confronted our nu- merous unprecedented challenges. To be clear, nobody had a playbook for this situation! Decisions were made, actions were taken and, where appropriate, the team’s recommendations (along with supporting rationale and data) were submitted to the full board for approval. We would be remiss if we failed to mention the invaluable contributions and legal guidance provided by ALOA’s attorney, Barry Roberts. Judge Judy re- fused to return our calls! Reflecting back, there were times when it felt as if we were trapped in a sci-fi movie where all the batting cage machines suddenly started pitching baseballs at us at super-high speed. Perhaps a more contemporary analogy would be that we were stuck in the wrong end of some kind of new Call of Duty-type video game called Dodgeball Death. One thing was abun- dantly clear: This was going to get much, much worse before it got any better! ALOA’s Events Let’s hit the pause button for a moment while we provide a bit of context and background. ALOA tries to strike a balance between finding event venues that offer the inherent benefits associated with “tier one” cities while striving to offer eco- nomical and affordable event participation (for attendees and exhibitors), which is usually only available via “tier two” cities. As an example, in larger cities, we are sometimes re- quired to engage an electrician just to plug a device into an electrical socket. Keep in mind that a significant number of participants (members and non-members) travel internation- ally to our events. ALOA typically books its primary events two to three years in advance. This means we’re contractually obligated to some hotels and/or convention centers far in advance of each event’s date. We use the industry’s leading professional events booking company to help us find an appropriate space and leverage their enormous volume clout. The contracted hotels ultimately pay and absorb the event’s booking commission. It may surprise you to know that — owing to our relatively unattractive event profile — it’s common for us to receive only a few responses to our requests for quotations (RFQs). Frankly, sometimes we don’t even get a nibble on our line. More oſten than you might think, our city and venue preferences are irrelevant! JULY/AUGUST 2021 KEYNOTES 17
