So, if you went to ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Expo in Los Angeles last year (or if you read this blog back in August), you might remember that we were fortunate enough to host the Small Staff Association Reception. Well, we’re gearing up for this year’s Annual Meeting in St. Louis already, and we’re honored to be the sole sponsor of the event once again!

The Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of association professionals from across the U.S., and offers education, networking sessions and opportunities to meet with business solution providers.

“This is our second year hosting this event, and it’s a natural fit for us,”  MemberClicks President Thomas Howard said. “We continue to build our company around the needs of small-staff associations, and this is an excellent opportunity to interact with and learn from them.”

The 2010 reception in LA was the largest such reception at the annual ASAE meeting, allowing hundreds of small-staff professionals to network, socialize and exchange ideas.

Of course, we’ll also have team members at the expo in Booth 319 and we’ll be available for private appointments outside of show hours. For more information about attending the Small-Staff Reception, contact MemberClicks at 800.914.2441.

Photo source: Kevin Patrick

Hello from the West Coast! The MemberClicks team has been basking in the excitement of ASAE’s Annual Conference and Expo here in Los Angeles, meeting some great people and learning a lot. I’m psyched for today’s afternoon sessions and Tuesday’s learning labs. I can’t wait to be inspired and learn tons of new information and relate it all back to our readers — through the small staff lens, of course.

Just for fun, here’s some photos of the conference so far. (All taken on my iPhone — I’ll be sharing better-quality photos in the next few days.)

Ryan Seacrest introducing Melissa Etheridge at the Opening Celebration

Melissa Etheridge performing at the Opening Celebration

The team — Duncan, Hannae, Mark and Elyse — ready to go with their iPads on day one of the expo hall

More Clickers — Elyse, Kevin, Thomas and Mark — prepping on day two

For those of you in Los Angeles at the conference, we’re honored to be hosting the Small Staff Reception this evening at 5 at the JW Marriott, right around the corner from the conference center. We would love for any small staff professionals to attend!

In other, non-ASAE-related news, the Splash blog is nominated for an #eventprofs award! We’re honored to be included in the “Best Corporate Blog” category, and would be thrilled for you all to vote for us (if you think we are indeed the best corporate blog) by taking the survey found here. Voting is open until Sept. 9, so spread the word!

Stay tuned for more updates from ASAE10, and definitely follow us on Twitter for the live scoop!

In anticipation of ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Expo, I’ve written quite a few posts about what the MemberClicks team will be up to. But since the conference starts in just a few days (in fact, some of our contingent heads to the West Coast tomorrow), I wanted to condense it all into a nice little schedule for everyone.

We’ll be moving things into booth 332 on Friday and Saturday, and one or two of us may even be participating in the Golf Challenge.

Saturday night, of course, we’ll be at the opening celebration mingling and getting to know attendees and fellow exhibitors.

Bright and early Sunday morning, I’ll be participating in the Fun Run 5K, followed by the Opening General Session. The expo hall opens at 10 a.m., and several Clickers will be in and around the hall. Sunday afternoon at 1:30, anyone interested in chatting about social media for small staff associations should meet me at booth 332 for an informal discussion group. Then, we’ll be hitting up some learning sessions and that evening, I’m sure we’ll be attending some awesome parties.

Monday morning, we’ll be bopping around between learning sessions and the expo hall, with more sessions Monday afternoon. Of course, we’re hosting the Small Staff Reception on Monday evening, and we’re so excited to meet all the small staff association professionals attending that event. Some of the MemberClicks team will be attending the Food & Wine Classic, and then we’ll all be at the YAPStar party that night.

Tuesday will be filled with learning sessions and, of course, the Final Night Celebration.

During expo hours, feel free to stop by booth 332 to see our solutions in action, have your questions answered in person and receive a personalized, one-on-one consultation on how our technology can help your organization. You can also meet with us at your convenience anytime, even outside of show hours.

Whew! It’s going to be a busy, fun-filled few days, and I can’t wait to get to Los Angeles.

Feel free to tweet us (@MemberClicks) if you have any questions about anything related to the tradeshow or where we are. And of course, the Twitter stream can be found at #asae10. We can’t wait to meet you!

I’ll be back later this afternoon with another (ASAE10-related) post, but I wanted to share the top 10 things I’m most looking forward to at this year’s conference. But these aren’t ranked — I’m equally excited for everything, from the various sessions I plan to attend to the YAPStar party to the awesome keynote speakers.

1. Learning labs! There’s no way I can pick just one, but I’m definitely psyched about all the small staff-focused sessions. I looked through the schedule with a fine-tooth comb last week and there are so many awesome ones, and lots of them are at the same time! How to choose? Luckily, there are several of us from MemberClicks attending the event, so we can divide, conquer and share information.

2. The general sessions: Joy Behar will be at one interviewing the chairs of ASAE and The Center, and another focuses on getting your mojo back. The first one, though, will discuss leading during a crisis, which I think is extremely important in 2010 and going forward, especially in these times of economic and communication upheaval.

3. The Small Staff Reception, which will be held Monday evening (8/23) at 5 p.m. Those of at MemberClicks are so proud to be hosting this inaugural event and have the opportunity to meet the small staff professionals who juggle so many different roles on a daily basis. We should all be taking time-management courses from them!

4. The 5K Fun Run/Walk on Sunday morning (8/22): I’ve really gotten into running the past year, and I’m looking forward to running off the treats from the Opening Night Celebration early the next day with my ASAE friends.

5. Cyndi Lauper’s performance at the Final Night Celebration: ’80s music is my not-so-guilty pleasure, and I’m looking forward to bopping along to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” (And if the desserts are anything like last year’s, it’ll be the perfect event.)

6. The YAPStar Party: Last year’s party was tons of fun, and I’m looking forward to this year’s even more since I know so many more people in the community! (Of course, age is a state of mind. Everyone is welcome, and I hope to see you there!)

7. The expo, of course! The MemberClicks team will be at booth 332 with bells on, and of course, some of us will be wandering around the marketplace meeting and greeting. I can’t wait to see other exhibitors’ booths and, of course, meet some of the amazing people I’ve conversed with online over the past year.

8. An informal gathering we’re hosting for small staff association professionals to discuss social media. I’ll have more info on this later today, but it will be sometime on Sunday, and if you’re interested in social media and want to chat with some of the association industry’s leaders in the area, definitely plan to join us. It’ll be tons of fun and super casual! Feel free to e-mail me at shannon@memberclicks.com for more info.

9. Thought Leader sessions – again, how to choose?! I wish I could clone myself so I could attend multiple sessions simultaneously. We’re counting on the ASAE community to tweet and blog about all the sessions they attend so we don’t miss a thing!

10. Last, but certainly not least, I can’t wait to say hello to everyone I’ve “met” online during the past year. I attended last year’s Annual Meeting and Expo, but as a newbie, I was completely overwhelmed. This past year has been an incredible learning experience for me and I’m so excited to finally meet everyone from the awesome association community — in person!

If you’re attending ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Expo, what are you most excited about?

It’s been official for awhile, of course, but I’m excited to announce MemberClicks‘ involvement in ASAE’s 2010 Annual Meeting and Expo in Los Angeles. We look forward to the Annual Meeting every year, and the education, networking sessions and opportunities to meet with business solution providers are just a few of the reasons.

“ASAE’s Annual Meeting is an incredible way to engage with small staff association professionals. It continually gives us the opportunity to both learn from and share our experiences with them,” MemberClicks President Thomas Howard said.

We’re proud to have exhibited at ASAE’s Annual Meeting since 1999. We make it a point to meet specifically with small staff association executives, since it’s our mission to champion their needs every day.

In addition to exhibiting at the event’s tradeshow and participating in the numerous educational sessions, we’re proud to be the official host of the Small Staff Association Reception, which will take place on Monday, Aug. 23 at 5 p.m.

“This is a natural event for us to host, and likely the first of many to come,” MemberClicks Vice President of Sales and Business Development Mark Sedgley said. “We’re all about small staff associations and this is an excellent opportunity to interact with them outside of the tradeshow.”

Our team members will be available at Booth 332 during all expo time slots. The Association Solutions Marketplace will be open Sunday, Aug. 22 and Monday, Aug. 23 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

If you get some free time in LA, be sure to check out Venice Beach, the Hollywood Sign, La Brea Tar Pits, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theater or Universal Studios.

For more information on the many ways you can engage with the MemberClicks team during ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Expo, visit www.memberclicks.com/asae.