CAA News Today

A message from CAA Executive Director Hunter O’Hanian about the 2017 Annual Conference

Greetings,

I am very much looking forward to my first Annual Conference as CAA’s new Executive Director. I think the Annual Conference Committee has done a great job presenting an amazing lineup of sessions and the CAA staff has worked hard to make sure that this will be one of the best conferences ever.  Many thanks to Tiffany Dugan, Paul Skiff, Katie Apsey and the rest of the Annual Conference staff who have put in so many hours.

But we also need your help at the Annual Conference.

I’d like every attendee to think about three central ideas which will make the experience more rewarding for you and your fellow attendees.

Create an atmosphere of Inclusion – We’ve heard from past participants that they have not always felt welcome by other CAA members. Some have said that they felt marginalized due to their age, experience, or even the color of their skin. Others have said they felt somewhat judged by other CAA members based solely upon what is  printed on their name badge.

Obviously we do not want any CAA member to feel this way. While the CAA staff and board will work to make everyone feel welcome and included, we ask they you do the same. Extend your hand and say hello to a stranger. Say hi to the person sitting next to you at a session. Chat with someone new in the elevator or in a coffee line. Together, we can work to make all of our members feel included.

We want to solve your problems – This year there will be more than 4,000 people in attendance at the conference. In essence, we will be creating a small town at the New York Hilton Midtown for the week. Inevitably, problems will crop up – and we want to solve them.

If you find you are having problems with membership, registration, locating information, please look for one of the CAA staff members wearing the “Ask Me!” button. They will try to quickly understand the issue and get you to someone who can resolve it as soon as possible. We are here to help and that’s what we intend to do!

We want your feedback – Building a CAA for the 21st century is the most important work ahead of us. We cannot do that without hearing what you need to help you in your respective professional fields. We need to hear from you. If you completed the recent survey, many thanks. Those results will be processed shortly.

The field and the organization is changing rapidly and we cannot strengthen it properly without hearing what you need and want. We encourage you to vote in the election for the new board of directors, either on the CAA website or on the CAA Annual Conference App. We encourage you to attend the myCAA session on Friday, February 17, 2017 at 12:15PM. If you cannot attend the session, email us noting a few things that you appreciate about CAA and a few things you would like to see improved. Or leave your comments on CAA Connect in the myCAA Discussion Community. What are the current benefits you value and what benefits would you like to see us add in the future?

Many thanks for taking the time to think about these key messages and I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference.

Best,

Hunter O’Hanian
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer