Settling into my position as president, I recently attended AWCI’s Executive Committee meeting, a two-day retreat with the executives in Colorado. One of the topics we discussed was our annual convention held earlier this year in Las Vegas. A bellwether of our association, it gives us a snapshot of our direction and growth. At the retreat we discussed what went well, what we could improve and strategies we might adopt for future conventions.
Identifying the benefits that members are looking for (measuring their satisfaction level) and building on those assets improves future convention agendas and helps us understand what members want and need from their association overall.
To develop a longer-term strategy we are collecting data from that spring convention to share with our membership and partners. Right off we see that by expanding the number of exhibitors showcasing their newest products, materials and technologies, we stand to draw even more delegates to the convention.
It’s worth noting that we’ve only had one full cycle of normalcy since the pandemic. We’re still booting up, so gathering feedback from participants on what they liked and what they would like at the next convention will help give us a clear direction forward, a difficult objective to chase during the pandemic.
This work is just a start though. We need to identify the metrics for other AWCI events, including educational forums, to help us enhance them as well. We have amazing programs such as the one for emerging leaders and our Doing It Right and safety programs that too can continue to thrive as we as an association grows.
Fortunately we have a very robust organization that recognizes our needs and is willing to provide more services to the membership in general as well as to our company partners that depend on the resources provided by the great staff at the AWCI. Michael Stark, AWCI’s CEO, is doing a great job, especially when you realize he navigated the organization through COVID-19 and beyond soon after be joined AWCI. It is a testament to his skill set.
On a side note, one of my observations during the executive meeting retreat was how varied the economic experiences are among members, depending on their region of work. Some of our contractors are concerned about the drop-off in backlogs, jobs delayed or canceled. Others have different concerns. We at The Raymond Group are seeing more jobs extended out. It can become a red flag for us, raising questions about whether the job will be redesigned, postponed or canceled outright.
All and all, it is a dynamic time in our industry, and as I continue to dig deeper into my new role as your president, I hope to engage more with you, our members, because you are instrumental in making this already great association even better.
In addition to being 2023–2024 president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry, Travis Winsor is president and CEO of The Raymond Group, which has offices in California and Nevada.
