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Regional Association Council Marks 10 Years Of Service
By: Staff
Issue: 2009jul
PPAI’s Regional Association Council celebrates 10 years in 2009, and to mark the milestone the council has planned commemmorative activities at the 2009 RAC Leadership Development Workshop, which will be held in June in Grapevine, Texas.
RAC was born out of the need for “a more organized and integral council to assist regional associations in protecting their individual interests, more recognition for the individual associations and the group as a whole, and to provide input for the industry on a regional and national level,” says Ed Marder, who co-authored the council and served as its first president. Today, RAC represents 28 regional associations across five districts.
The goals of RAC, according to its mission statement, focus on
fostering cooperation and positive relationships among the regional and the national nonprofit trade associations within the industry, as well as developing and implementing strategic programs and services to meet the common interests and needs of the industry.
In January 1999, the newly formed Regional Association Council was just settling into business. They held their first Board and Delegates meetings, during which the council discussed financial allocations and responsibilities, dues structures and representation in RAC. Two associations, Promotional Marketing Association of Northern California (PMANC) and Promotional Products Association of Wisconsin (PPAW), pledged to become premiere participants in the council.
Margie Price, MAS, one of the authors of the council’s bylaws, remembers the atmosphere at the time as one of excitement and determination “to make sure all regionals had the same power in their voice, and all had the same vote.”
Five years later, RAC had grown and was expanding opportunities for members in several ways. In 2004, the council conducted the first annual RAC National Education Day, shared news of the inaugural PPAI Regional Pyramid Awards program and saw record attendance at its Leadership Development Workshop.
In 2006, PPAI introduced the Regional Affiliate program, which supports regionals through a variety of benefits including professional development opportunities, advertising discounts, marketing expertise, a regional database, strategic planning assistance, templates, tools and discount programs such as FedEx and Cvent.
“Cooperation through communication has always been the theme of building RAC,” says Price. “It’s wonderful to see what’s happening, and it’s exciting to see that it’s gotten bigger than we ever thought it would be. I think we are going to see much greater things as time goes on.”
Garth Huettl, CAS, is the latest in the line of RAC presidents to carry the torch for the council. “I have had the good fortune to visit with many of the past presidents and I found it interesting not how different they are, but how much alike they are,” Huettl says. “They are all champions who give credit to their boards for their success. Teamwork with both volunteers and staff was their key to success.
“And as we move forward we must build on the past and present by providing relevant and valuable tradeshows, regional events, education and marketing,” continues Huettl. “The RAC regional delegates are the voice of regionals and the regionals are the voice of the members—a road map to give us true direction now and in the future. With the support of PPAI staff, the input of RAC delegates, regional associations and RAC Board, we will continue to move forward and be of even greater service to the industry.”
Michele Packard-Milam, CAE, PPAI director of member and regional relations, says every RAC leader and volunteer is passionate about the industry. “They are involved in RAC because they believe in the importance of the industry on a grassroots level.”
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