





Dear IAMC Member,
One thing you may not know about IAMC is we have almost a year’s worth of operating expenses in reserve as insurance against contingencies. Money-in-the-bank like this is an association best practice implemented by Bill Pearson when he was treasurer in 2003. With this rainy day fund established, now we’re planning how to invest new net revenues in services and programs that directly benefit the membership.
The February 4-6, 2014, IAMC meetings dealt with this as a strategic planning opportunity. In addition, we conducted Governance Institute training for new volunteer leaders and deliberated the usual flow of issues we see as a board of directors.
Board of Directors Vice Chair Kevin Dollhopf titled the 2014 strategic planning exercise the “$50K Challenge.” The purpose was to identify ways to invest revenues to improve the member experience and create new programs and services. Well before the February meetings, the vice chair had asked the chairs of each committee to craft innovative proposals for group consideration at the strategic planning session.
Over 30 proposals were put forward; a few of the similar ones were combined. The revised list was put before the group of board members, committee chairs and staff for a vote. Here are the top five choices selected for funding:
The Governance Institute (GI) was convened the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 4, to provide new board members and committee chairs comprehensive association background, organizational and governance-process information. Most of these leaders already knew a lot about IAMC, but GI’s purpose is to fill in any important gaps so the new leaders can begin their roles without a long period of on-the-job training. Topics covered included organization history, mission, vision, an overview of the staff group, committee descriptions, the by-laws, policies and IAMC’s code of ethics.
During the board meeting itself, I, with board support, provisionally expanded the board’s executive committee (EC) by adding economic developer member Gary Tonjes and service provider member Steve Kozarits. The EC, which previously had consisted of the chair, vice chair, treasurer, secretary and past chair, is authorized by the bylaws to act on the board’s behalf subject to reporting and review by the whole board. The change adds Associate member voices to the EC, which already exist on the full board. The change is not permanent but can be continued at the discretion of each future board chair. (Note: IAMC’s bylaws authorize the board chair to add members to the executive committee, if they so choose.)
The February 2014 IAMC meetings were notable for the openness and breadth of their discussions and for the amount of work transacted. The board, committee leaders and staff have attained an impressive level of communication and collaboration that bodes well for the organization’s future.
Best Regards
Roger Nestihe International Advisory Committee (IAC) experienced a year of solid successes in 2013. To maintain the momentum, we’ve added resources for 2014 and recruited new leadership for the team.
IAC’s 2013 accomplishments included two events in the United Kingdom, two in Munich, two in Singapore, two in Shanghai and one in São Paulo. The activities were responsible for the recruitment of five new Active members. As a result of financial sponsorships, IAC was able to return a net $20,000 to the IAMC operating accounts. During the year, IAC initiated collaborative arrangements with other committees including Honorarium, Membership and Associate Advisory.
At the February 2014 IAMC Board meeting, IAC Co-chairs Kevin Dollhopf and Mike Wolff announced exciting committee goals for this year and next. These include holding two events in each of the U.K., Munich, Singapore, Shanghai and São Paulo, plus one in the new territory of Mexico.
Additional goals are to accelerate the process of recruiting Active members from among the end-users attending the local events, beef up the cohesiveness and organization of local planning groups, collaborate with the Marketing Committee to build IAMC brand awareness outside North America and bring on additional resources to assist IAMC staff with the logistics of putting on the overseas events.
“IAC’s 2013 accomplishments included two events in the United Kingdom, two in Munich, two in Singapore, two in Shanghai and one in São Paulo.”
IAMC concluded an agreement with the Moventus Group in January to fully support the IAC’s sponsorship development program and provide production and logistics support for the 11 events planned for 2014. Moventus bills itself as a “strategic events planner” and has associates on the ground in several of the IAMC event locations.
Last, I’m pleased to report Active member Colleen Caravati has agreed to join the IAC leadership team. She’ll be getting up to speed on our work, and at the Pinehurst Professional Forum will replace me as IAC co-chair. I’ll become IAMC Chair at the Quebec City Forum and won’t have time to do justice to the IAC job. Mike Wolff will stay on as co-chair to provide continuity.
I’m proud to report that the International Advisory Committee is contributing to IAMC’s growth and progress. We’ve got a great team that brought us through 2013 with an impressive list of accomplishments. And for this year I anticipate more of the same.
— Kevin Dollhopf
Vice Chair, IAMC Board of Directors
Vice President, Global Real Estate, Hanesbrands
uickly and succinctly describing IAMC to potential members has become a priority need among volunteer leaders in order to successfully invite non-member corporate real estate executives (CREs) to IAMC Local and International events. Further, the organization has to recruit new Actives to fill in for ongoing attrition due to retirements, job changes and moves to other companies. According to popular wisdom, a good elevator speech should not exceed 30 seconds.
The organization’s governing principle has always been “quality over quantity.”
What should an effective IAMC pitch consist of?
These eight principles describe the essence of IAMC, and they fit easily into a 30-second pitch. The next time you’re with a non-member CRE, give this a try. Most corporate managers are interested to hear about education and networking organizations that might enhance their career growth and management effectiveness.
— Joel Parker