Association Leadership - May/June 2008 - (Page 15)

he readily took on the task. From there, recognizing that counties around the state could use more help with their technology issues, the association created an internal position Ð CIO Ð and Reid was just the man for the job. So although he has shifted far aÞeld from days as a private practice lawyer, Reid says his current position in fact makes perfect use of his many skills. ÒI think that there are a lot of parts to my background,Ó he said, Òand all of those skill sets come to play in the association environment.Ó Associations Matter Research looks at associations by the numbers and how the sector is a key driver of America’s economy Did you know? ¥ Association jobs top 1 million. ¥ More than 190,000 jobs are with trade and professional associations. ¥ Associations create jobs in every state. ¥ Top 10 areas for association employment: California, New York, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas (No. 6), Ohio, District of Columbia, Virginia and Massachusetts. Wearing Many Hats Making an avocation into a vocation is a tried-and-true path into association work, of course. The Texas ExesÕ director of public policy, Leticia Acosta, says her position marries her two passions: the University of Texas and politics. As a student, Acosta got involved in government and worked for a state representative on higher education issues. Through many contacts made, she learned about the position with Texas Exes and has found the job a perfect Þt for seven years. In fact, she has yet to Þnd a single negative to working in this world. ÒThe nice part about working for a non-proÞt is that it is a smaller community of employees, and so lends itself to a more family type of environment,Ó she said. ÒPerhaps a lot of people would say that pay is a concern, but we are very fortunate here to have a number of things that help supplement the salary, whether itÕs picking up our parking around campus or our great retirement package or our insurance coverage. But really, the best part is the team environment and the support system.Ó In terms of expanding her role beyond her title, Acosta echoes the other executivesÕ experiences. ÒDuring my time here, IÕve certainly put on more and more hats and have had the ability to grow,Ó she said. ÒI think that weighs a lot on the executive director to position their employees. If we want to keep the young talent around, we have to keep them engaged and involved and that has worked well here. IÕve been allowed to try and ¥ Nearly one in 10 workers in the nationÕs capital is employed by a trade or professional association or other membership organization. ¥ The average association wage in 2006 was $40,250 and jumped to $58,500 for trade and professional associations. Compare that to the average private sector wage of $42,400 in 2006. ¥ Associations bring in $33 billion in revenue nationally. From new ASAE and the Center study, titled “Associations Matter: Associations by the Numbers.” For a copy of the survey, visit www.tsae.org. TSAE: Our community Membership in TSAE Executives AfÞliates 563 382 Types of Associations Professional Trade Mgmt Fundraising Other Unknown 89 96 14 5 20 58 Years in Association Management 1-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41 Unknown 42 46 51 38 9 1 351 Scope of Associations State Local IntÕl NatÕl Region Unknown 169 30 27 19 8 29 Members’ Organizations Associations AfÞliates Total 282 338 620 Staff sizes 1-5 6-10 11-20 21-50 51-100 101-200 201-250 Unknown 73 30 18 10 9 5 3 139 Association Budget size Greater than $5 million $1 million to $5 million Less than $1 million 25 76 181 Number of Texas CAEs 124 May/June 2008 | Association LEADERSHIP 15 http://www.tsae.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - May/June 2008

Association Leadership - May/June 2008 Contents President’s Column Homepage 60-Second Solutions Cover Feature: Associations As a Profession Positivity: Key to Retaining Young Talent Perspectives Association Case Study TSAE Annual Conference TSAE's Newest CAEs New Members Community Spotlight Grand Membership Campaign Committee Thank-yous Austin Dallas/Fort Worth Index to Advertisers Advertiser.com The Lighter Side of Associations- New Feature

Association Leadership - May/June 2008

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