The American Society of Association Executives has canceled its in-person 2020 Annual Meeting & Exposition, which was scheduled for August 8-11 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, due to public health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, ASAE is working with its scheduled speakers and event sponsors to deliver a virtual Annual Meeting & Exposition the week of August 10. Registration information, exact dates for sessions and activities, and industry partner opportunities for the virtual event will be released by the first week of June.
“As excited as we were to put on a robust, memorable in-person annual meeting in Las Vegas and celebrate ASAE’s centennial with the association community, the public health and safety of our attendees, staff, and volunteers and the MGM staff outweighed any other considerations in our collective decision-making process,” said Susan Robertson, CAE, president and CEO of ASAE.
“Our team worked closely with ASAE to build out what would have been an incredible event in August, but we understand the hard decision they had to make in the current climate,” said Stephanie Glanzer, senior vice president & chief sales officer for MGM Resorts. “We have long valued our relationship with ASAE and are eager to welcome the association community back to Las Vegas very soon.”
The 2020 event not only was to offer educational and networking opportunities but also serve as a celebration of the association’s centennial. For example, there was to be a large walk-through exhibition highlighting industry and societal achievements that advanced the association community over the past 100 years. The exhibition, which debuted at ASAE’s Technology Exploration Conference in Washington, D.C. in December, details notable achievements such as the development of the interstate highway system in 1956 and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990—things that forever altered how associations bring together their members.
Amy Ledoux, CAE, CMP, chief learning and meetings officer for ASAE, said that “we have now shifted gears and are immersed in creating the most dynamic virtual annual meeting experience possible. Virtual attendees can expect the same great content that we were primed to deliver in Las Vegas. We’re going to structure this reimagined experience to fit every member’s schedule and budget, and there are going to be multiple options for engagement.”
