Message from the CEO

ASA’s CEO letter to members and friends 

This past month has marked a flourish of operational planning activities by myself, staff and member volunteers in preparation for our upcoming 2021 conferences, including a brand new event for financial securities experts. Starting in March, registration, website launches and promotions will begin for four key events: 

• 2021 ASA International Conference, October 24-26, Las Vegas & Online 
• 2021 ASA Complex Securities Conference, May 20, Online 
• 10^th Annual ASA Equipment Valuation Conference, June 9, Online
• 2021 ASA Fair Value Conference, June 10, Online  
  

In addition to these events, ASA’s Houston chapter will also be hosting their popular and award winning, 2021 Energy Valuation Conference, May 12, Online. 

Speaking of chapter’s, there has been a significant uptick throughout the Pandemic in local chapter activities. The ease and convenience of meeting virtually has opened new doors for many to learn and network. An upcoming event to spotlight is the ASA International Virtual Chapter’s “The Deal” – A BV, RP and MTS Case Study, March 10, Online. 

Continuing our spotlight on education, ASA’s ARM discipline has completed the update of its Principles of Valuation (POV) courses and has reopened its pathway for appraisers to earn an AM or ASA designation in Appraisal Review & Management. The full upcoming schedule of ASA ARM classes may be viewed online. 

Efforts have also been taken to support our Gems and Jewelry discipline, whose members have faced many challenges during the pandemic. First a new benefit partner, Jump Suit Group (JSG), was added to ASA’s exclusive list of vendors providing discounts to members. JSG provides expertise and services to help small business owners better manage and promote their services online. In case you missed it, news about this exciting partnership was covered by Instore. ASA is also working with JSG to develop a new Facebook Group for gems & jewelry appraisers. More news about this will be released shortly. Second, an awareness campaign was run during the Valentine’s Day holiday period promoting the expertise and need to hire qualified ASA-GJ appraisers. Our news release was picked up by 88 leading media outlets, like Morningstar, Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch, with a combined audience of 122 million followers; and was opened by over 1,000 individuals of whom 84 clicked on links to ASA. Last, a new strategic partnerships was established with Jewelers of America (JA) to help promote ASA’s education, credentialing and membership programs to more than 8,000 JA member jewelers across America. 

On the government relations front, ASA also participated in the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) public listening session on appraisal-related policies, practices and processes. Strategic Partnership Officer, John Russell presented on behalf of ASA. View session video, transcript and presentations here. 

Last, I had the opportunity to share my thoughts about what 2020 taught me about leadership with my fellow association CEOs via the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Lead2021 Playbook. Read my and other leaders reflections here. 

To read other important news visit my Message from the CEO column on ASA’s Blog, or follow me on Twitter @johnniewhiteCEO and LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnniewhiteceo for more ASA updates.