ssociation staff and performance plastics professionals may not appear to have much in common, other than being great people. We tend to have a symbiotic relationship: the association staff produces events, educational programming and resources such as this magazine, all of which are designed to help performance plastics professionals become more successful. One thing we probably have in common is that we may not have planned to be in our line of work. I know of no kid who wants to grow up to manage an association or sell plastic. We’ve all gotten where we are through a series of events; some were planned, some were by happenstance.
Finding IAPD
Many association executives have had successful careers in various industries before finding their way into an association. A corporate event planner, an accountant, a marketer (and so on) bring their knowledge and expertise to the association world. In my case, I was a magazine editor for technical publications and had just completed my MBA before I answered a job posting for an editorial position at IAPD. Their editor of 23 years was retiring and I was ready to start the next chapter of my career.
That was in the fall of 2011. The first issue I worked on was the December 2011/January 2012 issue about medical applications. Plastics and associations were new worlds to me, but producing a magazine was second nature. I felt at home. After the issue wrapped up, there was some lag time before the February/March issue went into production, so I was tasked with an exciting project: Developing the Top 26 Markets one-page information sheets. My predecessor had identified which articles had been published for each of the markets, and I set forth with those articles. As it turns out, it was the best way for me to start my career at IAPD because I instantly learned so much about the benefits of performance plastics, what applications they can be used in and even how to navigate the tricky spelling of some of the materials (I’m looking at you, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene).
Six months into the job, I inherited the marketing director role, mostly because I was already doing the work. It wasn’t intentional, I just had ideas and couldn’t stand to see opportunities missed. I was given the latitude to design the department and the first thing I did was hire a graphic designer. Prior to having an in-house designer, either the marketing person did the design work or freelancers were used. Having the talent in house was a game changer for the branding of the association and allowed IAPD to expand into video development as well as best-in-class social media.
As time flew by, I grew into my role on the committees, working side-by-side with other staff, excellent chairs and dedicated volunteers. Together, we did great work: branding IAPD’s educational offerings under IAPD University, developing the GreenScene program, redesigning the magazine in 2013, then rebranding it in 2016, launching the first digital edition in 2012, then upgrading it in 2020, rebranding the spring leadership conference, growing the government relations program, launching the IAPD Plastics PAC, plus promoting the growing list of events: convention, golf tournaments, Women in Plastics, etc.
It’s been an exciting 11 years. Every day is different. Every IAPD president brings a new perspective and new priorities. Our job as association staff is to make sure that the Board’s objectives are achieved. Oftentimes IAPD is at the cutting edge of solutions, thanks to the input of the volunteers who are contributing to this big picture thinking.
It’s about people
I remember being on my way from an airport to a hotel for an IAPD event several years ago. A truck with a logo I recognized passed me on the highway — it was from an IAPD distributor in that city. It was, momentarily, surprising. After all, when I think of that company, as I think of all IAPD members, I think of the people I know who work there. I think about the connections we’ve made, whether from IAPD events or committee volunteerism or contributing articles to this magazine. I don’t think about trucks. But I was reminded that we are all working toward a common goal. We want to be successful. We want to overcome challenges. We want to do work that we find fulfilling and that can also provide for a good life for our families and, ultimately, retirement.
As I write this, it is my last week at IAPD after 11 years of learning, growing, being challenged and challenging others. This magazine has been both my starting point and my happy place. It’s given me the opportunity to get to know so many brilliant people in this industry. I am happy that the magazine reaches every IAPD member; it is a connection to the association that arrives six times per year. I am also proud that the magazine delivers on all three of IAPD’s pillars: to grow and advocate for the industry, to provide knowledge and education and, of course, to promote the distribution channel.
It is my sincere hope that I made a difference during my time at IAPD. That you continue to use the work product resulting from the thousands of hours of staff and volunteer collaboration that I was honored to contribute to as well.
Thank you for being my work family for such a long time. I’ve learned so much from you.