The Bat that Broke the Mold

Used by Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig and countless other baseball legends, the Louisville Slugger is as famous as the great ballplayers themselves and comes with an origin story just as legendary.
In 1864, J. Fredrick Hillerich, a German immigrant and woodworker, opened a woodworking shop in Louisville, Kentucky. Hillerich’s shop thrived in the city and when the time came, his eldest son, John Andrew "Bud" joined him as an apprentice.

Bud had a passion for baseball and when he was not working in his father’s shop, he was playing or watching the game. During an 1884 Louisville Eclipse baseball game, a seventeen-year-old Bud watched as player Pete Browning's bat broke while he was at the plate. After the game, Bud offered to make him a replacement. Using Bud's bat during his next game, Browning had three hits, ending a long slump.  

Made of white ash and handcrafted, Bud’s bats continued to grow in popularity with local ballplayers. Despite the fact that his father wasn’t interested in making baseball bats and thought the future of the business was in more traditional items like bed posts and their patented swinging butter churn, Bud continued to craft the bats; and it was only a matter of time until the bats were getting attention from professional players.   

By 1894 Bud and his father, realizing his son's enthusiasm and the potential of a future in bat manufacturing, registered and trademarked their baseball bats ("Louisville Sluggers") with the U.S. government.  

courtesy of Lisa Padilla'sPhotostream

With the addition of Frank Bradsby, a Louisville Slugger salesman joining the company as a partner in 1916 (when the company renamed Hillrecich & Bradsby Co.) the Louisville Slugger soon became the highest selling and most popular baseball bat in the United States.  

More than 125 years after Bud made his first bat, Hillerich & Bradby Co.'s Louisville Slugger is the best known baseball bat in the game. 

For more information about Louisville Sluggers, visit www.slugger.com or www.sluggermuseum.com. You can visit the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory during the AAMSE Annual Conference in Louisville this summer.

http://www.sluggermuseum.com/timeline/

Apply to Serve on AAMSE's Board

Your vision and leadership are needed to help shape the future of AAMSE and the medical society management industry.

Apply to serve on the AAMSE Board of Directors
by Friday May 2, 2014. 

The AAMSE Board sets policy and provides overall leadership for AAMSE, including the mission, goals, priorities and resource allocation. If you believe you or someone you know would be a strong candidate to serve on the AAMSE Board of Directors and are interested in taking on a leadership role in the association, let us know! 

 

**You must be a current member of AAMSE to apply**

How to apply:

If you are interested in submitting a nomination for the AAMSE Board of Directors, please contact AAMSE Executive Director Ben Bütz, MPA, CAE at bbutz@aamse.org. You will then be provided with a nomination packet containing instructions to complete an official application.

Board facts:

• The term for an AAMSE Board member is three years
• The Board meets in-person four times per year and holds approximately three teleconferences per year

If you have any questions about the nomination process, please contact AAMSE Executive Director Ben Bütz (bbutz@aamse.org) or AAMSE Past President Ed Whitver (ewhitver@iowamedical.org).

Welcome to the 2014 Annual Conference Blog

The 2014 Annual Conference Blog is the central hub for the latest information about the AAMSE Annual Conference. Be sure to follow the blog (just enter your email address under the "follow by email" box on the right side of the page or add it to your bookmarks) to ensure you maximize your experience at the 2014 Annual Conference - the only conference planned specifically for and by medical society professionals.  

Following the Annual Conference Blog gives you a sneak preview of:

• Fun facts and interesting places you may want to visit while in Louisville, the host city of the 2014 Annual Conference

• Speakers and session information, including posts from our speakers and guest bloggers

• Exhibitor and sponsor updates

• News and important information about the Annual Conference, including hotel, transportation and registration.

You can also look for blog updates via Facebook and Twitter using #AC14Blog.

And make sure you keep an eye open for chances to win great prizes from Louisville!

You'll Lobby for Me Whether or Not I Join

Bob Harris, CAE, The Nonprofit Center

Non-members benefit from lobbying --- maybe you call them “freeloaders.”  I call it a “legislative welfare” program. We respond to their objections with rationale like: “your membership allows access to influence the process,” or, “your participation increases our clout.”

The fact is, successful lobbying benefits everyone, not only dues paying members.

Solving the Dilemma

The issue is how to make lobbying a member benefit; an activity respected by prospects and members alike. 

Do this by transforming lobbying efforts and results into tangibles. A tangible benefit is one you can publish, sell, share, distribute and control. It positions the organization as a leader by managing and controlling the information. 

Try these ideas to transform lobbying into tangible member benefits:

• Compliance Manual – When a law is enacted, create a compliance manual that describes how the law came about, the exact wording, definitions, how to comply and where to go for help. Every law has a history and there is plenty of content to create a manual.
• End of Session Report – A summary of the legislative session is valued by members and retained for reference. It summarizes the organization’s platform, efforts and results. 
• Legislative Directory – Create a legislative directory with contact information and committees of interest. Or, adapt an existing directory by imprinting the cover or inserting several center pages describing the organization’s issues or key bills. A legislative directory is an excellent member benefit and sellable to non-members.
• Legislative Platform – The organization or lobbyist determines a legislative agenda for the upcoming session. Prepare the legislative platform in a brochure to inform members of issues and goals. 
• Legislative Audit Checklist – Most businesses comply with regulations enforced by multiple agencies. For example, a restaurant complies with licensing, smoking, safety, taxation, and labor laws, at a minimum. Describe all the regulations monitored and influenced by the association to create a legislative audit checklist. Distribute it to members annually as a checklist of the many laws requiring compliance. The checklist format serves as a practical guide to conformance.
• Regulatory Audit Service – Expand the value of the legislative audit checklist by employing staff to visit with members who want help in understanding and complying with the laws influenced by the association. One great value of the audit service is that the association has an engaging relationship with members wanting help. A second advantage is the collection of data about compliance problems that will result in better lobbying. 

To protect your lobbying program as a member benefit, consider ways to transform information into tangibles. Let non-members access the information at reasonable fees.   
Bob Harris, CAE, offers free governance tips and templates at www.nonprofitcenter.com. 

We want to hear from you!

What does your medical society do to ensure its lobbying efforts are a tangible member benefit? Leave a comment and share your ideas!

A Lesson from the Disney Playbook

By: Sheri Jacobs, CAE
Visit Sheri's blog at www.avenuemgroup.com
 
One of my favorite races, The Walt Disney World Marathon, offered a clever new way to give runners a race experience unlike any other. They partnered with the magazine, Runner's World to offer customized training plans, connections to experts and VIP treatment during the race weekend. Runners also received a private packet pick-up, exclusive pre-race walkout to the race start corrals, books and publications and an invitation for VIP access to a post-race celebration. Only a limited number of spaces are available and I've heard that the offer quickly sells out each year even though runners must pay an additional $300.


Can this approach work in the association world? Absolutely.

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) took a new approach to pricing a highly valued and often sold-out course that prepares individuals for the hospice and palliative medicine board certification exam. Similar to the approach taken by Disney or the airline industry, AAHPM staff created a pricing structure that offered practitioners the opportunity to attend the intensive board review course at a budget-friendly price (coach class) or with additional benefits (first class).

As part of the process, AAHPM staff identified a list of benefits that would provide additional value to attendees and provide a boost in revenue for the organization. In addition to offering member and nonmember prices to attend, AAHPM offered a limited number of "premium seats" for an additional $250. Participants who paid the extra fee received:

• Reserved seating in the "preferred section" (the first five rows of the middle section of the room);
• A special "express" registration line and entrance into the lecture hall;
• A wine and cheese reception with course faculty; and
• A special gift from AAHPM, including two popular AAHPM books (Primer of Palliative Care and the accompanying workbook), an AAHPM pen, mints and a Starbucks gift card.

The result? According to Steve Smith, CAE, AAHPM's executive director, AAHPM sold 120 of 126 premium seats prior to the course, generating an additional $25,000 in net revenue. On site, staff sold the last four seats and raffled two remaining seats to other attendees.

Excerpted from the new ASAE-Wiley Series book The Art of Membership: How to Attract, Retain, and Cement Member Loyalty, by Sheri Jacobs, CAE. Used with permission of Jossey-Bass Publishers, © 2014. (Available at ASAE Bookstore, Amazon and Barnes and Noble)

We want to hear from you!

Has your organization tried this approach at one of its events? Leave a comment and let us know what you did and how it worked!

Upcoming Webinar on Practice Innovation

The Physicians Foundation will be holding a webinar, titled "Practice Innovation: New Models for the 21st Century," on Wednesday, October 2nd, from 1-2pm Eastern Time. It will be an opportunity for participants to learn about new and innovative practice models being tested and used around the country.

The session will be led by Mary Phillips of GMA Foundations, and speakers include the following past grantees of the Physicians Foundation:  

• L. Gordon Moore, M.D. of Ideal Medical Practices
• Sandra Robinson of the California Medical Association Foundation
• John M. Wiecha, M.D., MPH of Boston Medical Center  

Those interested in attending the webinar can register by clicking this link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3137800929693808896

Budgeting for 2014 - Don't Forget about your Professional Development!

For more information and event details visit www.aamse.org/Rates, or contact AAMSE at aamse@aamse.org.