The ACE network has also been of tremendous value to Brett Ruffing, executive director at the Kentucky Concrete Association.
“I can’t stress enough how valuable ACE is,” Ruffing says. “Every question you have, you have a peer you can call, email or text and probably get an answer within 10 or 15 minutes.”
At the state level
While the ACE Summer Meeting is a key gathering place for the industry’s state executives, many also get together at National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) events.
Through NSSGA’s State Association Executives Council, some state execs convene to discuss and strategize on legislative and regulatory issues of interest. The execs typically meet at NSSGA’s Annual Convention each March and again at the association’s Legislative & Policy Forum in September.
“What we do at that meeting is not a whole lot different than ACE, but it’s with NSSGA staff,” Kleinsorge says. “We’ll talk about complying with the new silica rule, for example, and what’s the best way to get resources to our members.”
Wansley currently chairs NSSGA’s State Association Executives Council.
“That [group] kind of came together in the last seven or eight years,” Wansley says. “Out of that came the NSSGA board having a state executive on it. I’m the state executive on the NSSGA board, and we’re now included in all [NSSGA] Executive Committee meetings as a representative of the states.”
According to Ruffing, the American Concrete Paving Association (ACPA) to which he belongs has a similar group for state executives that provides value.
“We have our own independent group called the Chapter/State Committee,” Ruffing says. “It’s made up of the chapter/state executives. We, like ACE, run our own separate meeting. It’s a fantastic group.”
But in Ruffing’s estimation, nothing proves quite as beneficial as ACE.
“[The] ACE [Summer Meeting] is the No. 1 trip I make every year,” says Ruffing, adding that he’s attended three or four in-person meetings to date.
Ruffing has made some of his best use of ACE remotely, posing real-world challenges to peers with the hope for solutions.
“It’s usually done through emails,” he says. “It’s everything from policies and regulation to association management and even staffing issues. What I’ve used it for most recently is creating internal association policies.”
Shaw looks forward to making use of her new ACE network in a similar fashion.
“[It’s useful] just to have the ability to call and say: ‘You’ll never guess what happened,’” she says. “Or, to share something good or bad with somebody who can sympathize.”
ACE meeting components
At their summer meeting, ACE members can traditionally share firsthand experiences through planned roundtable discussions.
Several hours at last month’s ACE meeting were dedicated to working through association issues with roundtables.
“We share the regulatory things happening in our state; political and legislative things; federal things; and different ways people address those issues,” Kleinsorge says. “We discuss different ideas for PAC (political action committee) events for state associations.”
The ACE Summer Meeting also usually includes a keynote workshop. This year, Reputation Management’s Anthony Huey spent several hours with ACE members.
Huey, whose career includes stops as a crisis management specialist, media relations consultant and executive speech coach, offered ACE members communication tips and techniques they can use on the job.
Group dynamics
The members of ACE are also skewing younger in recent years. And more women are heading a state association today versus, say, 10 years ago.
In some ways, the evolving demographic dynamic at ACE is reflective of what’s taking place industrywide.
“On a national basis, the diversity across the board has been more significant over the last four or five years,” says Ruffing, who’s 38 years old. “All of a sudden, you show up to a conference and there’s a lot more young people. There’s a lot more diversity.”
Kleinsorge, who’s headed MLPA for four years, notices the change, as well.
“It’s just the natural progression of retirements,” he says.
Related: NSSGA deploying long-term strategy for advocacy event
