2024 NLAE Annual Conference

Conference attendees can look forward to an enriching program that includes industry-relevant topics presented by NLAE members along with professional industry speakers. Come and network with your peers, keep up to date on important association management topics, and gain new ideas and skills. 

Elevating Engagement
Uncommon Strategies for Creating a Thriving Member Experience 

We worry about the members we are not retaining. Then, we lose sleep, wondering about how to engage younger members. Once they have been members for a while, getting folks to participate, contribute, and volunteer can be difficult. If it feels like member engagement is in shorter supply than ever before, you are right! 

Members’ needs are changing—they require more than value to engage with your association. They also want memorable, positive experiences. It is time for every association leader to take on the role of CEO. Chief Experience Officer, that is! 

Join us to learn how engagement builds from our members’ point of view. No matter the size of your association, learn how to transform engagement for all stakeholders. Using uncommon strategies from our speaker’s recent book Elevating Engagement, you will understand how to create an energized and highly motivated membership. By the end of the keynote, you will have the mindset of a Chief Experience Officer!

In addition to being the keynote speaker at the 2024 NLAE Conference, Amanda Kaiser will lead the group in a 90-minute workshop. 

Workshop: Elevating New Member Engagement

Do you worry that some new members join and never use their benefits? According to the New Member Engagement Study, nearly three-quarters of your colleagues worry about this trend and the high level of new members who don't renew. The good news is we can take a few crucial steps to turn this trend around.

During this hands-on workshop, we will explore new members' go and no/go decisions at this stage of the member journey. We will learn solutions you can easily add to what you already do and experience fun new ideas for new member engagement. 

You will leave this workshop with simple processes you can implement or take action with your staff team. Together, let's elevate new member engagement!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the neuroscience behind powerful first impressions.
• Workshop many ways to welcome new members to start a sense of belonging
• Map out the member culture that benefits new members the most. 

About Amanda Kaiser

Amanda Lea Kaiser is a member engagement strategist and author of Elevating Engagement: Uncommon Strategies for Creating Thriving Member Communities. She has been studying engagement for over 25 years—first, consumer engagement while managing the beloved Crayola brand and now member engagement in the association industry. As a researcher, author, and co-creator of the New Member Engagement Study and the Virtual Networking Incubator, she is at the forefront of exploring how member and attendee engagement is rapidly changing within professional communities.

Top Trade Show Secrets for Attendee Engagement

Beth Surmont, FASAE, CMP-Fellow, CAE,

Vice President of Event Strategy & Design, 360 Live Media

With exponential changes in technology, accelerated trends, and shifts in behaviors, the tradeshow market is more complex than ever. The models that once worked no longer suffice, and the expectations of audiences, partners, and organizations are higher than ever. According to CEIR, 2024 is a crucial turning point for the trade show industry, and it is essential to leverage insights from the past 2 years of the return to in-person events to prepare for the future.

Beth Surmont, Vice President of Event Strategy & Design for 360 Live Media, will share her perspective on what is happening with trade shows, changing audience behaviors, and how associations can navigate the evolving landscape. Drawing from her experience across multiple industries, Beth will provide a big picture view of the tradeshow market in 2024 and share case studies and secrets from her playbook for success in this new environment.

You will leave with a deeper understanding of the changing landscape of trade shows, insights into evolving audience behaviors, and actionable strategies for associations to adapt and thrive. Don't miss out on this chance to stay ahead of the curve and ensure the success of your organization's participation in the tradeshow market.

Beth Surmont, FASAE, CMP-Fellow, CAE

Vice President, Event Strategy & Design

360 Live Media

Beth Surmont is obsessed with events. With on-the-ground experience spanning more than 20 years in corporate and non-profit events and trade shows, Beth is an influential designer in shaping what the next era of events will be. She frequently speaks at ASAE, PCMA, MPI and other industry events.

In 2023, Beth was a finalist for the Event Designer of the Year award from PCMA. She was also recently named to the inaugural class of CMP Fellows, and to the ASAE Fellows class in 2022. In 2021 she was listed as one of BizBash’s 500 Most Influential People in Events. Beth is a founding board member of SocialOffset, a nonprofit that encourages local donations instead of destination boycotts. She currently lives in New Jersey with her wife and dog. 

Wes Trochlil
President of Effective Database Management

Top 10 Tips for Managing Your Data

Everyone knows that an association's data is its greatest resource. Yet many associations, regardless of size, struggle with effectively managing their data. In this session, Wes Trochlil, industry consultant and author of Wes’s Weekly Wisdom, will outline the 10 key rules for managing your organization's database. You'll get 10 tips that you can immediately apply to manage data in your organization.

Wes Trochlil, president of Effective Database Management, is the most published author on data management in the association market (including his wildly popular “Wes’s Wednesday Wisdom” newsletter). For more than 30 years, Wes has worked in and with over 250 associations, non-profits, and membership organizations throughout the US, Canada, and Australia. From helping organizations select and implement data management systems, to using the database and data for improved marketing and communications, Wes helps organization’s advance their mission through more effective data management. 

Check back. Other conference speakers to be announced.

Conference participation is open to all NLAE members. Need to renew your NLAE membership for 2024, you may do so here. 

The registration fee is $400 per conference attendee. 

The fee includes conference participation, and all group meals (reception, 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 1 dinner), and conference materials.

Each conference participant must register individually. 

The 2024 NLAE Annual Conference will be held in St. Louis, Missouri at The Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch – 2 South 4^th Street, St. Louis, MO 63102. Tel: 314-231-3003, website: durryhotels.com. 

A block of rooms is available for NLAE participants at a discounted room rate of $197 per night, plus fees. As part of the NLAE group, you will receive discounted parking of $20 per night. 

To make room reservations, click here.

In addition to the discounted group rate, take advantage of the following hotel amenities:

• Free Hot Breakfast –Free hot breakfast service is provided to all guests, and we will grab our breakfast from the service area, and you can sit in that area or take your meal to the NLAE meeting room. The menu includes Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, fresh fruit, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, KELSO+BROS® coffee and more. This is served daily from 6–9:30 a.m. on weekdays and 7–10 a.m. on weekends.
• Free Wi-Fi Throughout the Hotel - Get the score, check your social networks or email family members from anywhere in the hotel – for free!
• On-Site Facilities - Take advantage of the business center, fitness center or pool while you’re away from home. 

Please make your reservations no later than Sunday, April 7,2024 to receive your group rate. Reservations made after this date will be subject to prevailing rate and availability. 

Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 and refer to your group number 10057403.

St. Louis is often referred to as a city of neighborhoods. Each one has its own identity, with a unique character, style and vibe that adds to the vibrant patchwork of the region. St. Louis also boasts world-class attractions from the famous St. Louis Arch to the Missouri Botanical Gardens and historic monuments. The area offers a variety of green-space paradises to enjoy hiking, biking, running, walking, paddle boarding and more. Home of Anheuser Busch and the St. Louis Cardinals, there is never a lull in this fine city.

St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It is famous for being home to the world’s largest collection of mosaics. The city sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers, on the western bank of the latter. History began with the settlement of the St. Louis area by Native American mound builders who lived as part of the Mississippian culture from the 9th century to the 15th century, followed by other migrating tribal groups. Today it is home to over 300,000 people while its bi-state metropolitan area, which extends into Illinois, had an estimated population of over 2.8 million. It is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second largest in Illinois. The city's combined statistical area is the 20th largest in the United States.

Learn more about the St. Louis, Missouri area, check out their visitor’s bureau information, and the list of Top 25 things to do in St. Louis. 

Travel to St Louis, Missouri

For those flying to St. Louis, the STL airport is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. However, the TSA and airlines are independent of the airport and their hours are subject to vary. If you are unsure of when check-in begins for your flight, please review your ticket information or contact your airline.

The TSA security checkpoint hours are below:

• T1, A Gates: 4:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Serving Air Canada, Delta, United and charter flights.
• T1, C Gates: 3:45 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. Serving American, Southern Airways, Alaska, and Frontier
• T2, E Gates: 3:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Serving Southwest and international charter flights.

St. Louis Airport provides a free Terminal Shuttle which runs 24 hours a day between Exit Door 12 at Terminal 1 and Exit Door 10 at Terminal 2 in 8–15-minute intervals. There is no route to walk between terminals. Shuttle ride time is approximately 10 minutes, as Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are just over one mile apart. Shuttles are scheduled to pick up passengers every 8-15 minutes. If you encounter an extended delay, please call (314) 890-2880 for a dispatch.

The Metrolink is available at both Terminal 1 and 2. You will find information about the Metrolink as well as other ground transportation options at FLYSTL.com.

Taxi Zones are in Terminal 1 at Door 14 to the Garage Yellow Level, and in Terminal 2 at Door 12. Ride App companies operate at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, reservations must be made online and pickup zones are Terminal 1 – Door 6 on the ticketing level, and Terminal 2 – Door 10. 

MetroLink is the St. Louis metropolitan region's light rail system and is operated by Metro Transit as part of a fully integrated regional transportation system. With 38 stations MetroLink stretches 46 miles and  serves several municipalities in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Clair County in Illinois, and the City of St. Louis. Advance fare is required. Purchase a ticket at the Ticket Vending Machines located at both stations and through the Transit app.

Metrolink Station Terminal 1 is at Exit Door 1, Ticketing Level, east of all ticket counters. Metrolink Station Terminal 2 is at Exit Door 12, through the parking garage.