0:00  
Steven: I'm most passionate about three things, my family, my faith, and my work. Those are the three things that make up who I am.

0:14  
Colby: And there you have it -  just a small nugget of common this inaugural episode of VSAE ConneXions, an original podcast series focused on the interconnectivity of Virginia's Association community, produced by the Virginia Society of Association Executives. I'm Colby Horton, and I'm here with my colleague and co-host, Frank Humada. Hey, Frank. 

0:36  
Frank: How's it going, Colby.

0:38  
Colby: It's going great. You know, we're proud members of VSAE and honestly couldn't be more honored and excited to host this amazing podcast. We're here to talk to some great guests about life, work, and the communities they serve. And we're gonna provide an inside look into the association world through the eyes of what's considered a really close-knit community that calls Virginia its home.

1:01  
Frank: And doesn't it make the most sense to have our first guest be the president of VSAE, Steven Williams. 

1:08  
Colby: I couldn't agree more for Frank. 

1:09  
Frank: Well, Steven and his business partner they own an AMC in Charlottesville, and its clients are primarily national and international associations and the construction industry. And a little bit more about Steven. He loves all things, Virginia, and we're talking about the history and mountains, beverages and the beautiful sandy beaches of Virginia. As I mentioned earlier, he was recently named the president of the Virginia Society of Association Executives as well. 

1:38  
Colby: Wow, we really got a lot to get into. So let's connect with Steven Williams.

1:43  
Frank: So Steven, to get us started, what are some of the biggest challenges facing small step associations right now?

1:49  
Steven: I think one of the biggest challenges for for small associations in particular are having to continue to serve their members as a nonprofit. But think like a business, especially as associations are competing with other organizations and companies for the same resources, the same members, their time and their money. And so that's forced associations to think about how they market think about how they sell think about new products and services, think about how they utilize technology so that they can stay at the forefront of what their members think is important. It's really a challenging time right now for associations, big or small, their issues with the economy, their issues with the workforce. There are issues with infrastructure, there political issues, not only in the States, but globally. And all of this can just be very taxing on the association as an organization, but also as a community. And that's where VSAE...It's just one of the places where VSAE has been incredibly helpful to me. VSAE is absolutely a community of servants of servant leaders that come together to support one another. And over the past two years over the past 10 years. That has absolutely been the case. Executives helping each other by sharing best practices by telling their story that others can relate to by leading by helping folks make decisions. And I mentioned before how VSAE has helped me make connections with other association executives. They do just that when the VSAE staff hears about someone having an issue, they're very proactive about, you know, trying to put executives together that might be having similar experiences, to be able to talk and share and, and work through those together.

4:04  
Colby: So you're going on 25 years in the association space, and you know, you've been in full capacities of marketing, PR, member service and events planning. Heck, you're even a partner in an AMC. Right. So what are some of the most significant changes you've seen in the industry over the last two-plus decades?

4:27  
There have been so many changes to associations over the past 20 years. And I would imagine when you ask folks that question, they often respond with technology. And that really is my response. I'm the operations guy for our association and our clients. And technology has really changed the way associations do business for for lack of a better term and it's been for the good and for the bad. You know, being able to automate things like email campaigns and website transactions and renewals and even entire membership directories can be automated and sent off to print in the mail with a lot less hands on activity than what was required 20 years ago. So it's really helped associations be more efficient and, you know, be able to add on to have more touches with the membership. On the other hand, those touches often are not very human, I think we lost some of that human touch, especially when it comes to picking up the phone or having a conversation about renewing a membership. VSA has done a great job over the years utilizing technology, especially where it helps the society be more efficient, but they definitely have not lost that human touch. And that's one thing that I'm so proud of the Society for doing phone calls to and from other members within the VSAE; VSAE staff making connections at events with other association executives, that they've just done a great job of keeping the human in the society while utilizing the advantages of technology.

6:21  
Colby: That's so important. You know, we talk a lot about generational marketing, and you know, who appreciates that phone call, and who appreciates an email more. But in the sense of things, it's about connecting. And you know, technology certainly does that. But what you just described, it's so important for an association, or a group of associations to continue doing so. Yeah, thanks for sharing that. So during all of this, was there ever a point in your association journey where you consider going down a different path?

6:55  
Steven: Well, not seriously. So you know, coming out of college, I had pursued a communications degree and I really wanted something that would be more general in nature and allow me to pursue different paths, depending on where I would end up. So coming out of college, I returned to to Charlottesville, I saw that there was a position open at what was then called the AIMR -The Association for Investment Management and Research. Now, I worked there for a couple of years, learned a lot at such a large association and seeing so many different departments and services, and so many association professionals doing just a variety of tasks. And then ended up taking that on to my role at the modular building Institute where I was member services director. NBI was a small association at the time. And they just had one and a half people working on staff. And it was great to apply a lot of what I learned to the modular building Institute, there was a time when I thought, you know, this is a lot of work. And you know, is there is there something different and as they say the grass is always greener on the other side. So, I applied for a job at UVA's Darden School of Business, and their communications department. After the interview, I thought, you know, what the heck am I doing? You know, this, I love my job. Yeah, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work being in the association, industry and profession, but I love it. I love working with people. I love serving people. I love helping people learn and network and connect and be recognized and see how how much joy they have when they're recognized for their achievements. And I love reporting on the industry news. So yes, there was a time when I thought about switching gears, but not seriously.

8:56  
Colby: Okay, so you alluded to something several times here, just kind of this passion for communications, right. There's something in your bio that I I'm really, really interested in. So this is a great time to talk about it. I think in your bio, it says that you became interested in communications after interviewing Oliver North for the Bluefield College paper that's that's the college you went to. I have to know what what was said that sparked that interest.

9:25  
Steven: You know, it really wasn't so much what was said it was the experience. It was the experience of interviewing such a polarizing individual. That was really my first taste of news and communication and telling a story and seeing firsthand it because I was in school, right? I was learning about communication, and I was learning what it meant to communicate. Are you simply telling the story or are you shaping now that story is told and what is your response? ability there. And so that was that was really what got me interested in communication. And then over the years, you know, working for associations, I've really been able to put a lot of that into practice. Because, you know, there are a lot of times where you do have to just tell the facts, you got to get something out there very quickly, and you need for people to know about it. But then there are other times where you have to tell a story, you get just little pieces of information about someone or a new service or a new project, something exciting that's happening within an association, and you have to tell that story. So you know, having done both over the years has been very, very rewarding. But that's really what came out of that experience interviewing Oliver North.

10:43  
Colby: That's great. I won't go into the less polarizing folks, I've had to interview my, during my journalism career, particularly in school, so I commend you for being able to do that. Much better than my stories.

10:58  
Steven: I can only imagine.

10:59  
Frank: And Steven was all of your experience in the industry, what would you say are your top three tips for association executives?

11:08  
Steven: I've got four tips, but they're quick, be kind sarva serve others be humble, and outperform your colleagues and your staff. So to kind of summarize that, let other people see what an association executive is at every possible level all the time. Those are my tips 

11:34  
Frank: Ilike that. We got a bonus one there.

11:35  
Colby: So you're now president of the VSAE, your partner within an AMC that you're an exec at the Modular Building Institute. In your opinion, what does it take to be a good leader?

11:51  
Humility, compassion, flexibility, and absolutely leading by example, you know, anyone can be in that position of leader: director, co-president, owner, you name it, they can have that title. But at the end of the day, what does your team or organization, what do they think of you? And I mean, literally, at the end of each and every day? What did they think of you? And the experience they had with you that day? Did you help them? Or did you hurt them? Did you encourage them? Or did you discourage them? Did they see you working hard or hardly working? Do they know whether or not you appreciate them? Are they meeting the goals that you have set for them? And why? Or why not? The only way as a leader to really answer those questions and to know if your style or your capability as a leader is working, is to engage with the team that that you're leading, and to know them, and to know what makes them tick and to know what excites them and to know what pains them. And so that's why I say you have to be humble, you have to have compassion. And you have to lead by example. They need to see what it is to to work hard, and to see what it is to value the organization that they work for. So I love that answer.

13:38  
Frank: And then Steven, if you could, you know, could you explain how important it is to have that CAE designation?

13:45  
Steven: Over my entire career, which is 20 plus years now, in the association industry. I've known about the CAE and I wanted to obtain the CAE I saw others, especially within the VSAE community that had the CAE and I was so proud of them and proud of what they accomplished and I wanted that. But man, I was busy. I was so busy over the years, especially when working for previously a very small Association, where I wore many hats. And I was just working all the time. And you know, you have to make choices during life and I just didn't have a chance to to work on obtaining the CAE I just didn't have the time. But VSAE forced my hand. I was nominated to serve on the board of directors. And I knew that if I was going to do that, I should get my CAE It is after all the industry designation. And if I was going to be in a position of industry leadership, I needed I needed to have it so that was only a relatively few years ago. Then I started to study for it and work on it. So For the exam and as you just mentioned, I obtained my ca. Last year, VSAE has been so instrumental itself and supporting Association Executives obtain their say they've got an incredible library of resources that folks are able to borrow and utilize. They've got study groups, of course, they've got events in education that allow you to get the hours you need to even qualify for sitting for the exam. It's always been an extremely supportive group. And then just the access that someone pursuing the CAE credential has, to others within VSAE is just amazing. I mean, I personally do not know of an individual that I couldn't walk up to a VSAE event and say, Hey, I've got a question about this part of what's going to be on the CPA exam. And I need some help understanding that concept. Can you help me? I don't know of anyone that I couldn't ask that question to, or anyone that wouldn't help me.

16:11  
Frank: That's great. Steven, you're you're heavily involved in the planning and execution of the world of modular, there's a lot that goes into event planning. But what's the one thing people often take for granted in event planning?

16:25  
Steven: How much work it is, yeah, how much work event planning is, it takes months it sometimes it takes years, to plan in an event not to execute it. But to just plan the event, every imaginable part of the event is planned out. And often, especially with a small association, that's by one person. So every beverage you drink every hors d'oeuvre you eat, the music that you hear the colors of the lights that you see the microphones that the speakers are wearing, how the speaker got to the venue, the flowers on the table, the graphics on the sides, every single thing is planned in advance, and it takes a lot of time. You know, over the years after a great event, I've heard attendees, even board members say, Wow, that was a great conference, we really need to return to that venue often not thinking about the event planners work or their their role in creating what the attendee just experienced. When you secure a meeting room at a venue, often you get just a big empty room. And that's all you get. It's the meeting planners job to fill it with every conceivable sensory experience that's going to give the attendee a great experience. And of course, that comes with the help of many partners and the hotel and that sort of thing. And I've got to say within VSAE, we have some of the best hotels and venues anywhere in the United States, even the world. I've been to so many VSAE meetings over the past 20 years. And these hotels and venues in particular really understand what it means to partner with organizations and meeting planners to deliver exceptional events. In fact, you know, I'll just be honest, some of the best meetings I've ever attended were planned by VSAE staff and their hotel partners.

18:36  
Frank: What's an underrated travel destination?

18:39  
Steven: I can think of a lot of overrated traveled I'd probably have to say southwest Virginia, southwest Virginia is just a very beautiful part of our state. You know, I get down there often because my my kids both go to Emory and Henry College, which is in Emory, Virginia, just outside of Abingdon, Virginia. And it's just a beautiful area of the state. Lots of good hiking. Really good distilleries. Lots of good music comes out of the mountains down there. It's just a great place a great place to visit.

19:17  
Frank: I like that. What do you prefer more? Virginia wines are Virginia beers.

19:22  
Steven: Definitely Virginia beers. I love both. But in and around Charlottesville. We have some incredible breweries that are producing some great beer, some great IPAs, and they're just delicious. So yeah, I'd have to say Virginia beer. Likewise.

19:37  
Colby: So Steven, what makes you a proud Virginian?

19:40  
Steven: Virginia is such an incredible place to live and work and play. I mean, what's not to love? I mean, Virginia is it's just it's just an incredible place. I mean, we've got incredible cities. We've got a lot of incredible history. We've got good food and wine and music, beautiful horse country. We've got beautiful beaches. It's a great place to fish and hike and camp. got beautiful golf courses. It's just, it's just an incredible, absolutely incredible place to live and work and play is just I love Virginia. It's just a great place.

20:25  
Colby: Man, we'll include your contact information for CVBS to give you a call on that, that was that was a great testimonial. What are you passionate about?

20:36  
Steven: I'm most passionate about three things, my family, my faith, and my work. Those are the three things that make up who I am. Whether someone likes me or they don't. That's what makes me who I am. And my family drives me to work hard and do the best that I can to provide for them and give them a good quality of life. My faith drives me to serve other people. And my work gives me the opportunity to do both of those things.

21:13  
Colby: Well, Steven, that really wraps up this podcast, we really appreciate again, your your authenticity, your candidness I really feel like any association exec, any business owner, any aspiring leader, can certainly listen to what you just said and take their career, take their vision and take their mission to the next level. So thanks, Steven. We really appreciate you being a part of it.

21:38  
Steven: It was my pleasure. I appreciate the work you guys do. Thanks, Colby. Thanks, Frank.

21:43  
Colby: And thanks to everyone for listening to this inaugural episode of VSAE ConneXions. Join us each month as we have more conversations about the interconnectivity of Virginia's Association community. Coming up on episode 2, Frank and I talked to Rear Admiral Cari Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Coast Guard Mutual Assistance located in Alexandria. Be sure to subscribe to our podcasts on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. And on behalf of VSAE, I'm Colby Horton with Frank Humada. Thanks again for listening.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai