Elizabeth B. Armstrong, Association & Society Management International, Inc

ELIZABETH B. ARMSTRONG, CAE, MAM, QAS PRESIDENT, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, ASSOCIATION & SOCIETY MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL, INC.

BY GEORGE SELI

Falls Church, VA-based Association & Society Management International, Inc. (ASMI) manages all aspects of meeting planning and production for a variety of association clients, including the American Textile Machinery Association, American Trauma Society, National Homeland Security Association and others. A specialist in emergency management, Elizabeth Armstrong holds a Master of Association Management degree from The George Washington University and is a Certified Association Executive and Qualified Association Specialist. She is a member of the Association Management Company Institute, the Council of Manufacturing Associations at NAM and the American Society of Association Executives. In the following discussion, Armstrong provides insights on how ASMI, its clients and industry partners have been adjusting to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Q. How have your new contracts with venues been impacted by the pandemic? A. The ongoing impact of the disaster on our ability to convene anywhere has given us pause to think more holistically. A crisis in one part of the country (or globe) impacts the ability to gather an audience drawn from other locations, not necessarily just those potential attendees based in the “disaster zone.” Facilities need to recognize that. For any contracts we have negotiated since March, we are including a very developed force majeure clause that addresses any unimagined event that would prevent a reasonable percentage of our usual attendance.

Q. Do your contracts also address the contingency of government restrictions on attendance numbers at the destination tightening before the meeting date? A. That makes it easy: When the locality’s laws make it illegal to gather [or gather over a certain number], it’s easy to address the contracts. It’s harder when [attrition results because] our members don’t have an appetite or can’t attend because of work-related duties. Q. Have any particular suppliers been great to work with during the pandemic? A. The supportive CVBs recognize that we’re all in this together.

And they realize that if we can strike the best outcome for all parties contractually, it’s going to pay off in the long run.

I guarantee that I’m going back to the venues that were flexible with us. The first major event that we canceled was in the first week of July in Chicago, and the Hyatt there just blew our socks off: Although they were not contractually obligated to do so at the time, they released us from the minimum F&B and minimum hotel pickup. They basically just wanted an event of any size at any time we could do it — and I will keep coming back to the Hyatt in Chicago “The supportive because of that commitment. CVBs recognize Also, the Long Beach CVB has that we’re all in done a tremendous job: They this together. And they realize that have provided visuals showing how you can have a hybrid event, how you can space out if we can strike the attendance. Although the best outcome we cancelled an event we’re for all parties having in November in Long contractually, it’s going to pay off in Beach, we’ve already made the decision to re-sign with them for our next available the long run.” 2,000-person event as a result of their being proactive and demonstrating a long-term commitment to the collective hospitality and conference industry. However, I have encountered a few destinations and brands that are less willing to consider the collective impact of what’s going on today, and I won’t forget them either.

Q. Do the new cleanliness and safety accreditations that facilities are obtaining factor into your site selection? A. We will definitely give preferential consideration to venues that have been proactive with these kinds of standards, such as GBAC STAR accreditation and VenueShield.

Q. Are some of your clients breaking their large annual events into smaller, regionalized meetings? A. I think that is something we need to take a hard look at. One of my groups is the International Association of Emergency Managers. Typically, they have 2,000 attendees in person, and we’re going virtual in November. Continued on page 20

KIM LEWIS Continued from page 18

Q. Which offsite venues or activities would you recommend to planners seeking to express the local culture through their event? A. With numerous indoor and outdoor events planned,

Jackson offers ample activities during downtime. Jackson is home to 30 museums, including the Mississippi Civil

Rights Museum, which has recently extended its hours to include Sundays, allowing more time to accommodate additional groups. Numerous markers along the

Mississippi Writer’s Trail, Blues Trail and Freedom Trail are located in Jackson. These trails make for a perfect outdoor tour. Each marker provides history and insight into some of the world’s most famous people, places and events.

Q. Are there any new infrastructure developments in the city that will be advantageous to meeting groups? A. Most certainly, even during COVID-19, the city of

Jackson has continued to grow and move forward.

Many attractions, restaurants and hotels have used this time for renovations to their property. Homewood

Suites is a brand-new, 125-room hotel that has recently opened in the Fondren District. The city’s planetarium and zoo have begun extensive renovations. Numerous restaurants have invested in providing an area for outdoor dining. The Jackson Convention Complex has a new building management company eagerly looking forward to welcoming groups back to their facility. The new Mississippi Trade Mart has been completed and offers meeting groups 110,000 sq. ft. of meeting space in three halls that are seamlessly connected to the newly renovated, 6,500-seat Coliseum.

ELIZABETH B. ARMSTRONG Continued from page 19

We explored organizing “watch parties,” and ultimately we decided that because of the composition of our audience of emergency managers, we didn’t want to overtly sponsor any kind of organized gathering. But local watch parties can be added to the list of innovations meeting planners can do to help maintain member connectivity and engagement.

Q. What is an example of your efforts to make the meeting experience compelling for remote attendees? A. We’re having virtual awards presentations and virtual certifications honoring the class of 2020. We’re doing everything we can to enrich the experience. For example, we have produced a huge electronic book for the honorees; it provides a snapshot of each honoree with their certificate or plaque, so they have some kind of keepsake. We didn’t have that [keepsake] as part of our live presentations before, so that’s been a silver lining [to the situation]. However, I can already anticipate for our big

November virtual meeting that nothing can replace the connectivity of in-person.

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