Welcome to AAPO's New Committee.

The following office bearers were elected unopposed -

• Roz Howland as President
• Sarah Cottman as Vice President
• Bec Johnston as Treasurer
• Natalie Morey as Secretary

We received 4 nominations for 3 General Committee positions.  The successful nominees were -

• Carolyn Brown
• Wendy Hanes
• Karen Koedding

Thank you to all those who put their name forward for election. And Congratulations to the Committee – It’s going to be a great AAPO year!

A strong AAPO relies on its volunteers - please support your representatives so that they can work to make AAPO stronger.

Looking back over the past 12 months, I feel a personal satisfaction for all that’s
been achieved. That’s not to suggest I had a personal hand in all AAPO’s
achievements, but I do feel proud to have been involved this year. The year has
presented us with challenges but overall I feel we, as an Association, have met those
challenges with success.

It is my pleasure to record AAPO’s accomplishments and news for the 2010/2011
year.

• Membership has dropped slightly, currently at approximately 165 active
members and more pending. Exit surveys suggest that most leave AAPO
because they are no longer in business.
• The number of Accomplished members stands at 7 and 26 members have
been awarded Expert level.
• The 3rd Dymo NOW (National Organising Week) was a success once again,
and we are grateful to our partners, Dymo, for their continuing support. This
year again promises to be even bigger and better. We now have a dedicated
NOW subcommittee who have been active in developing new ideas and
strategies.
• The 2010 Conference became the 2011 Conference when Christchurch
suffered an earthquake one week before the scheduled start. Those who
attended the postponed conference in February this year were rewarded with
an excellent educational and inspiring program. With numbers down, partly
due to the perceived distant location and partly due to the postponement,
those delegates who made the journey were treated to an intimate
experience.
• The 2010 President’s Award was to be presented at the 2010 Christchurch
conference. When this was made impossible, I took it upon myself to present
that award to the very deserving Sarah Cottman in a virtual meeting.
• The 2011 President’s Award was presented at the 2011 Conference in
Christchurch at the Awards Dinner. All agreed that Roz Howland was a
worthy recipient, and it was especially good to be able to celebrate both Roz
and Sarah’s awards in the company of other members.
• Plans are already underway for the 2012 Conference to be held in Melbourne
on July 19th to 21st.
• Our Forums have been in a state of flux, with some becoming unviable, but
others reaching greater success. Enthusiastic volunteers to lead Forums are
key to their viability, as with many of AAPO’s programs.
• AAPO’s website attracts an average of 75 unique visitors daily. There are
plans for minor improvements in the coming months.
• AAPO is also embracing the world of web 2.0, ensuring the security of our
documents, and also allowing for ease of approved access by using cloud
technology.
• Our Public Relations subcommittee has been active, developing media
releases available to all members and implementing the strategic plan which
was developed last year.
• AAPO’s Social Media Co-ordinator has been a great success, overseeing and
facilitating AAPO’s presence on Facebook and Twitter, and growing our
readership and fellowship.
• Our newsletter continues to grow and improve and enjoys over 30% open
rate, which is considered good in e-newsletter circles.
• AAPO’s annual survey of members was conducted. This allows us to
accurately measure the industry, deliver best programs to our members and
engage with corporate sponsorship. Thank you to all those who completed
the survey.
• AAPO was represented at the NAPO Conference in San Diego by Vice
President, Roz Howland. Roz held meetings with our IFPOA (International
Federation of Professional Organizing Associations) alliances and other
international and US-based NAPO members. Roz made an impression on all
those she met. Several have already indicated their enthusiasm for attending
and speaking at AAPO’s next conference.
• A Professional Development subcommittee was established. Their thorough
work looked at how AAPO can best serve its members in this area, and their
Discussion Paper has informed and assisted the Executive committee.
• Member Benefits have grown slightly. I encourage all members to take
advantage of these, as those businesses who generously offer us a discount
can only continue to do so if it is commercially advantageous to them.
• Something which does not draw fanfare but which quietly makes a huge
difference to AAPO’s productivity and workability is the development of key
policies. This year the committee has focused heavily on working smarter not
harder. This is critical to the future of our Association. We cannot have a
situation where our volunteers burn out. Laying foundations with good
policies is one major factor which will assist us to continue our work and
attract “new blood”.
• Recently we continued that theme by working on AAPO’s first ever Strategic
Plan. I know that this action will have a lasting and positive effect on our
Association, and secure us a bright future.

I believe challenges lay ahead, but that with the team that’s assembled to take us
into the next year, we will meet those challenges head on.

We cannot grow and develop without a team of dedicated behind-the-scenes
volunteer members. I’d like to thank all AAPO volunteers. Without your participation
and enthusiasm, we do not have an AAPO. Thank you to the Committee, who have
great ideas and work hard, and who are supportive and respectful of each other. I
have learned so much from each of you.

Thank you to the team from Admincorp, who keep AAPO ticking along. Their work
on the day-to-day little things allows us to focus on the big picture.

Thank you for allowing me to be your President. I have appreciated serving in my
role tremendously. I look forward to continuing to serve as Immediate Past
President, and will do all I can to support Roz Howland. Roz will make an excellent
President and I wish her all the best for the coming year.

My time as President of AAPO is coming to an end and I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the confidence you've shown in me over the 2 years I've been in the job.  It has been tremendously rewarding personally and professionally.  I have really enjoyed working with a dedicated team of fellow members and watching AAPO grow and develop.  I cannot say it enough.

Thank you!

I hand over to our new President, Roz Howland, on July 1st.  I know she'll be a wonderful representative for us all.  I hope her time in the role is as rewarding as mine has been.  And I want to encourage you to fully support her.  We each have special talents, and it's in the sharing of these with our AAPO community that we can grow and flourish.

Have you ever wondered why people volunteer to help out at AAPO?  Have you ever considered doing so but are just not sure of the benefit to you?  Have you ever wanted to volunteer but don't feel you have the confidence/skills/years of experience required?  Well, by the end of this article I hope you'll feel encouraged to jump in and do your bit to shape the industry in our neck of the woods.

At our recent conference, I had the great pleasure of catching up with people I rarely meet face to face but with whom I've shared many phone calls, skype calls and meetings.  Working closely with these people, learning from them, facing challenges and problem-solving together, achieving results as a team, creates a close bond.  It was great to see them in person and celebrate our year's achievements.  And it reminded me of all the things I get from volunteering my time for AAPO.

While at the conference I was very pleased to have people approach me, and others in leadership, with offers of help.  Sometimes these were for a specific task, and sometimes just "I'd like to volunteer, please tell me how I can help."  Woo hoo!  AAPO really needs people like that who are willing to get stuck in and take on a task, no matter how small... or large!

During conference, as a way to get people mixing, we played a networking game.  You had to meet various people and ask questions of them.  One such question was, "What's one benefit of being an AAPO volunteer?"  We've collected the responses and here is a brief summary -

• You get to know a lot about a lot!
• Being part of the decision-making team
• Learnt a lot
• Increased learning opportunities and networking
• Building rapport
• Strengthening professional relationships
• Feeling and being important in the industry
• Giving back
• Credibility
• Working with organisers
• Help to improve AAPO
• Stretching comfort zones
• Being able to influence the direction of the industry
• Helping build our industry

Convinced yet?  Perhaps you'd like to do something but you feel "too new", not confident, not experienced enough?  When AAPO started 6 years ago, I was "new".  I was new to the career as well as in business, and joining the AAPO committee as a committee member was one of the best things I ever did.  I'm still learning to this day, and that's one of the biggest take-aways for me.

These days there are so many positions available for anyone willing to lend a hand, and you'll be working in partnership with others who can offer guidance and assistance.  All it takes is to ask "How can I help?"

One of my favourite photos from our conference in Christchurch is of our President's Award winners - check it out here.  See the joy on their faces?  That comes from knowing you've made a difference.  It comes from giving but also receiving.  Will you say, "I'll have what she's having?"

The 2011 President's Award was presented at the Gala Dinner during the 2011 AAPO Conference in Christchurch on February 9.  It was a great pleasure to be able to present the award in front of industry peers, and to have the awardee acknowledged publicly.

Here is the speech announcing the Award -

The winner of this award has been in business and a member of AAPO since 2006.

She is an award-winning businesswoman and an industry pioneer in her community.

She is serious and passionate about professionalism in our industry.

Despite geographic isolation she has sought out ways to contribute to AAPO - organising a conference far from her home, heading up a sub-committee, and constantly striving to deliver direct benefits to our members.

She uses her skills as an Organiser and Productivity Specialist for the betterment of our Association.

She's a clear thinker and she get stuck in!

She's a fabulous right-hand woman and sounding board for me personally.

The 2011 President's Award goes to Roz Howland!

Congratulations Roz.  You so deserve this award for all the hard work, long hours and strategic planning you put into AAPO.

As President of AAPO, nothing gives me more pleasure than to present this award to someone who has distinguished themselves as a leader and a toiler for our industry.  Simultaneously, nothing gives me more angst than deciding who will be the next recipient.  AAPO is blessed with strong candidates, people who give selflessly, think strategically and work tirelessly.  Previous recipients Wendy Hanes and Wendy Davie are a testament to this.

This year I am honouring a woman who has served AAPO well over several years.  She displays the highest standard of ethics and integrity and strives to defend these values whenever and wherever she sees an improvement can be made.  She has attained Expert accreditation, and was one of the first to do so.  She has served on the Executive committee, made significant contributions to National Organising Week, served on the Website and Public Relations sub-committees, has been the leader of 2 chapters or forums as they are now known.  She has in fact been the Forums Leader, mentoring forum co-ordinators and developing the manual and policies which guide and support our forums and their leaders.  She continues to contribute to the Public Relations sub-committee and has recently taken on the role of Professional Development Co-ordinator, and I frankly had to tell her to take a rest from her many other roles.

I am pleased to present the AAPO 2010 President’s Award to Sarah Cottman.

I've just returned from presenting at the Melbourne Forum meeting.  The subject under discussion was Chronic Disorganisation and Professional Development in general.  Even if I weren't presenting, I would have attended.  I just love spending time with my peers and learning more about our profession.

But one of our members has taken dedication to Professional Development to a new level.  Twice now she has driven over 3 hours each way to attend the Melbourne Forum meeting.  Way to go!

Last month I talked about Twitter and how you can use it to grow your business. This month I’ll discuss Facebook.

Facebook claims to have 500 million active users worldwide, and it’s estimated that between six and nine million of them are in Australia and New Zealand, so it’s a great place to promote your business and let your followers know what you’re up to. Facebook differs from Twitter in that you can post a lot more than 140 characters, as well as photos, discussions, competitions and more – so you can really interact with people.

In order to fully understand the possibilities there are with Facebook, it’s a good idea to look at how some of the big companies use it. Here are a few examples:

Ben & Jerry’s – http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/benjerry?ref=ts

Starbucks – http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/Starbucks?ref=ts

They use these pages to interact directly with their customers by asking questions, getting them to suggest new ideas or flavours and posting photos of their products being consumed. It’s a great way to do market research, let customers know about new products or services and stay in touch.

Also check out Peter Walsh’s page http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/PeterWalsh?ref=ts and the AAPO page http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/aapoinc?ref=ts to see how people in the organising industry use Facebook.

The other great thing about Facebook is that it’s cheap to advertise there. You can target who you want your content to go to by choosing their demographic and location, so your ad will only go to the types of people you choose.

When setting up a Facebook account for business you need to be aware of Facebook’s policies. Facebook does not allow businesses to have their own profile. You must set up a page that is linked to your personal profile. If you don’t already have one it’s easy to set up. You don’t even have to use it, but you must link your page to this profile. You can also have more than one page, so multiple businesses can be managed from the one profile. For more information click here http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=904 and read the conditions.

As with Twitter, the best way to work out how to use it is to watch what other people do, then jump right in and have a chat with your followers!

- Claire Lane, AAPO Social Media Coordinator

Each year at AAPO’s annual conference, the President bestows an award to recognise outstanding service to AAPO and the organising industry in Australasia. Congratulations to all recipients of the President’s Award. Your contribution is much appreciated.

Take a look at out the About Us page to see previous Award recipients.  Perhaps you'd care to send them an email of congratulations?

Who will receive this year's President's Award?

Do you still need convincing about the value of attending the AAPO conference next month?  Read Sarah Cottman's blog post - Is Your Business Big Enough to go to New Zealand?  Well said, Sarah!