from our chairman

Dear ACP Members:

It is my distinct pleasure to share with you the major activities, accomplishments and strategic initiatives your Association achieved this year.  Last year’s report reflected our efforts to be a viable Association and to recover from the unprecedented challenges ACP faced post-pandemic which included a reduction in value-added benefits our members depend on.  This year our focus turned to becoming a “relevant” and healthy Association.

This year’s theme is “The Road to Relevance.”  Defined, “The degree to which something is related or useful to what is happening or being talked about.”  Simply put, we established strategic goals and objectives that ensure ACP’s Mission and Vision reflect the current needs of our members and communities. 

Special Recognition

As many Chapters continue to recognize the outstanding contributions made by an individual member through the Most Valuable Player award, the National Board implemented an enhanced recognition program.  It was my pleasure to present the ACP Chapter of the Year award at DRJ Fall to Chet Bojarski (Past President) of the North Texas Chapter.  As ACP’s largest Chapter, they were recognized for membership growth and retention, community outreach, and innovative programs.  It was also my pleasure to present the ACP Comeback Chapter of the Year award to Andy Lapierre, President of the Alamo Chapter during their Holiday celebration.  As a Chapter that nearly closed its doors in November, they were recognized for revitalizing the Chapter and they are well on their way to recovery. 

I want to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Bernard Jones who coordinated the creation of the “ACP First Book of Best Practices 2^nd Edition: The Road to Resiliency.”  It is a great example of ACP collaboration and teamwork, plus thanks to Fusion Risk Management, every ACP member received a free copy!

As we began 2024, we updated our Vision and Mission Statements:

ACP Vision

To become the premier global membership community for risk and resilience professionals.

ACP Mission

The Association of Continuity Professionals is a diverse community of risk and resilience professionals providing networking, professional development, and a pathway for those new to the profession.

Strategic Goals & Objectives

Our focus areas this year included:

·       Focus on what our current strengths should become.

·       Expansion of live meetings on both a regional and local basis.

·       The growth of new ACP Chapters through Chapter “Champions.”

·       Further expand the professional development opportunities offered to members.

·       Establishment of Special Interest Groups for industries highly represented in ACP.

·       Improve ACP’s financial health through increasing revenue and managing operating expenses.

·       Expand sources of non-dues revenue through ACP’s Strategic Partnership Program.

·       Increase membership retention and growth through target marketing campaigns.

·       Enhance communications with an increased emphasis on social media.

·       Enhancement of the services and support provided to our Chapters by the National Board and FirstPoint Management Resources.

Financial

The financial results for the year ending December 31, 2024, reflected a positive variance as compared to budgetary projections for both income and expenses. To a large degree the fiscal success of the Association and a positive bottom line resulted from an ever-growing membership, excellent retention of our current members, and a steady influx of non-dues revenue. Expenses for the year were also well below budgetary expectations because of careful monitoring and fiscal stewardship by the Finance Committee (James Mitchell, Chair). We continue to focus on increasing ways to generate non-dues revenue and decreasing our dependency on membership dues.

Internal Operations

Your Association is managed internally by Raleigh, NC-based FirstPoint Management Resources. FPMR is one of the most admired association management companies in North America and is accredited by the AMC Institute. Fewer than 90 association management companies in the world have achieved this accreditation. As we enter our fourth year with FPMR and evaluate the Scope of Services provided by them our level of satisfaction with their support is incredibly high. My sincere appreciation goes to ACP Staff (Cecily Wilson, Shayla Taylor, and Mark Prince). If you’ve had the opportunity to interact with the FPMR staff, you can probably state the same thing.

A key member of ACP’s Internal Operations is the role David Brady, Silver Loc Associates, LLC, plays as ACP’s trusted advisor.  Much of our heavy lifting has been made easier due to David’s association management executive leadership and experience. His many contributions include Strategic Partnership management, Association communications, and governance.

Committees

While your National Board of Directors has the responsibility of defining the strategic objectives required to accomplish our Vision and Mission, we owe a great deal of gratitude to each of our hard-working Committees. The National Board of Directors continues to be a “working Board” where committees consisting of National and Chapter Leaders drive our key strategic initiatives.  Literally the work of ACP is through partnership and collaboration between the National Board, Chapters Leaders, volunteers, and ACP Staff (FirstPoint Management Resources.)  Committee members have been appointed to establish and implement the initiatives needed to support the success of our stated objectives. Each of them has established a Charter which includes the Committee Mission, Objectives, Goals, and alignment with the Strategic Plan. The following Committees were chartered for 2024:

Chapter Development Committee

One of our significant goals for 2024 was to grow new Chapters and to help struggling Chapters who are in abeyance status.  Each effort is led by a Chapter “Champion.”  Rich Schierer has successfully launched ACP’s North Carolina Chapter, Andy Lapierre has revitalized the Alamo Chapter, and Kathy Williams and Shannon Copeland are working on the final details to launch ACP’s Oklahoma Chapter. 

Chapter Champions are partnering with the National Board to potentially launch Chapters in Chicago, Kansas City, Indianapolis, South Florida and Upstate New York. If you are interested in being involved in the launch of a new Chapter, please reach out to ACP Staff.

Chapter Relations Committee

Under the leadership of Lori Adamo, the Chapter Relations Committee provided support and resources to Chapter Leaders by assisting them in board development, leadership training, Chapter growth strategies, and the establishment of valuable strategic partnerships and relationships.  This year the Committee assigned “coaches” to Chapters who were in potential distress, implemented a set of Chapter tools and resources, and established a monthly Chapter Relations Roundtable which will continue in 2025.  Note: The RoundTable has effectively replaced the President’s Council.

Marketing & Communications Committee

This Committee went through many changes this year that will result in a reorganization effective January 1, 2025.  Cathy Robbins has been selected to serve as Director of the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) which will consist of three primary functions: Marketing, Communications, and Digital Content.  As a former Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee and architect of the OPA Framework, she brings the experience and knowledge required to perform this role.

One of the Committee’s major accomplishments this year was the development and implementation of ACP’s “Brand Book” which is available on the ACP website.  This effort was led by former co-Chairs Joanne Storbeck and Alicia Boe.

Professional Development Committee

In the spirit of enhancing ACP’s value-added benefits, Dr. Robbie LaRocca coordinated a variety of professional development opportunities that included 23 webinars and workshops.  Our members provided feedback regarding areas of interest, and we focused on understanding how learning opportunities lead to new members and the retention of current members.  Check out the event calendar or ACP News & Views for future events.

This year also provided members with an opportunity to gather for a one-day regional conference.  The 2^nd annual Northeast Regional Conference was held in June, and unfortunately the 3^rd annual Greater Tampa Bay Regional Conference at the Tampa International Airport was postponed until January 2025 due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and Milton.

Special Interest Groups (SIG’s)

The Association recognizes the need to evolve the structure of how our members are served.  When ACP was founded in March 1983, local Chapters were provided in-person networking and education opportunities.  This model served us well until the pandemic.  In response, we moved to a hybrid meeting format which saw a significant return of our members.  And now … we have announced the creation of Special Interest Groups or SIG’s.  SIG’s provide a unique format that brings together practitioners from the same industry.  Under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Bernard Jones, we launched the EarlyCareerist SIG, and there are plans to launch 7 more by the end of 2025.  Here are the SIG’s under development: Healthcare, Banking/Finance, Technology, Cybersecurity, Retail, Power/Utilities, and Education.  Note: the cost to join a SIG is included in your ACP membership.

Strategic Partnerships Committee

This Committee is charged with the creation and maintenance of partnerships with organizations seeking to enhance their recognition and visibility by the Association’s members and stakeholders and resulting in new sources of non-dues revenue. The success of this Committee in identifying new sponsorship commitments and maintaining a similar commitment from our existing partners allows ACP to significantly expand the current scope of services and identify new sources of value-added membership benefits.  My thanks to James Mitchell (Chair), David Brady, Paul McGonigal, and Kelly Williams for significantly expanding the number of Strategic Partners.

Technology Committee

Avery Church and Walter Lawn led the Technology Committee that was faced with the challenge of migrating off multiple legacy technology platforms to a new membership database (known as “Wild Apricot”).  Working with ACP Staff, they provided coordination and communication on a 1:1 basis to those Chapters impacted by this change.  The benefits for ACP are improved efficiency and reduced operating costs.

Meet Your 2025 Leadership Team

I am extremely grateful to all the National and Chapter Leaders for their dedication to our members and to their respective communities.  As we begin 2025, we are fortunate to have a very experienced and diverse leadership team.  Members of the 2025 Board are: Lori Adamo, Scott Balentine, Avery Church, Ron Derrick, Michael Gifford (Chairman),

Dr. Bernard Jones, Dr. Robbie LaRocca (Secretary), Paul McGonigal, James Mitchell (Treasurer), Cathy Robbins, Nina Wyatt, and Kelly Williams. My thanks to Todd Ray who leaves the Board after serving a 3-year term.

We have a great leadership team, and we are committed to achieving our 2025 goals and objectives.

2025 Focus

In 2025, we have simplified our strategic objectives (Key Results Areas) into the following that support the theme: “Growing, Learning, Collaborating Together To Enhance The Resilience Of Our Communities.”  We will accomplish our objectives by:

·       Focusing on ACP’s financial health.

·       Fully implement the Office of Public Affairs with a focus on social media.

·       Continued implementation of the Special Interest Group strategy.

·       Membership Retention and Growth.

As I begin the fourth year as ACP Chairman trust that you have my focused commitment and that your National Board of Directors continues our incredible progress towards enhanced relevancy and future success. As is always the case, we invite and sincerely appreciate your diversity of thought, concerns, and valued input both on a national level and at the local Chapter level. Each of you has played a part in our success!

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the Association of Continuity Professionals.

Sincerely,

Michael Gifford

Chairman of the Board

Previous Annual Reports From Our Chairman