Micks Corner

Dear ACCE Members,

Big things are happening at our organization. 

In March we took more than 100 members on trips to Dubai and China.  I was in France for the World Chambers Federation board meeting where I serve as vice chair. Last week more than 80 of our top membership sales professionals met in Nashville, and next week we’ll hold our first entrepreneurship support retreat with the Edward Lowe Foundation. 

Our convention planning team just returned from Milwaukee, and Charge! 2010 is shaping up to be one of the best conventions ever.  Membership has held strong throughout the past year and so have our retirement accounts.  Also, I don’t have to remind you that we are in the midst of launching a new strategic plan that will take this organization to new levels.

Big things are truly happening, and 2010 could be a watershed year for our organization and the entire profession.  As we open more international doors for our members and do more to help chambers position themselves as regional leaders, I think it is appropriate that our name reflect who we are and what we do.  That’s why I propose that we change our name to the International Chamber and Regional Association Professionals.

International Chamber and Regional Association Professionals, or ICRAP for short, builds on our strong reputation as the home for chamber professionals to network and share best practices.  But ICRAP also indicates where we are headed as a profession and as an organization.

ICRAP can carry us forward in new and exciting ways. I've had our team create a webpage mockup so that you can see what ICRAP will look like representing our organization - www.acce.org/icrap

Onward,

Mick Fleming
President
ICRAP