To renew or not to renew, that is the question for Greater Washington Society of Association Executives members. In January, a proposed consolidation of GSWAE into the American Society of Association Executives and the Center For Association Leadership was announced. The merger, however, is subject to approval by the boards of directors as well as GWSAE members. The board votes are scheduled to take place in May, while the GWSAE membership vote will occur in June, says Al Rickard, GWSAE spokesman. In the meantime, GWSAE members aren't quite sure what will become of their organization. So, leadership is attempting to cover as many bases as possible.
“We want to offer as much value as possible to our stakeholders going forward, since we do not know what the outcome of the proposed consolidation will be,” says Rickard. That's why some GWSAE members recently received both renewal forms for GWSAE and a 25 percent discount to join ASAE, he says, adding that about 60 percent of GWSAE members also belong to ASAE. If the consolidation goes through, all GWSAE members would receive value equivalent to any unused months of GWSAE membership, Rickard adds.