In this episode of The Association Insights Podcast, host Colleen Gallagher sits down with Jamie Shibley, Co-Founder & CEO of The Expressory, to talk about how thoughtful appreciation can become a real strategy for retention, sponsorship loyalty, and long-term trust—not just a year-end “nice to have.” Drawing on her roots in her grandfather’s relationship-driven flower shop and years in corporate and e-commerce, Jamie shares how associations can use simple, intentional touchpoints to make members, sponsors, and donors feel genuinely seen.

🎧 Whether you’re behind on holiday planning, rethinking how you thank sponsors and donors, or looking for new ways to support member renewals in 2026, this conversation will help you move beyond generic swag to meaningful, strategic engagement.

Key Highlights

Holiday Triage Without the Panic: Why it’s not “too late” in late November—and how to use New Year’s or other moments as powerful appreciation windows.

Donors & Sponsors as Long-Term Partners: Ideas for gifts and messages that reflect their impact and values, instead of one-off branded items.

Member Renewal with Heart: How to use mailed touchpoints, stories of impact, and small gestures to support renewal and year-round engagement.

Personalization at Scale: Ways to make appreciation feel personal using shared challenges, goals, and themes—without custom gifting for thousands.

Measuring the ROI of Appreciation: Practical ways to track retention, referrals, and conversations sparked by strategic gifting.

🎧 Tune in for a practical, encouraging roadmap to investing in relationships—not just technology—in the year ahead letting you turn appreciation into a strategic lever for member, sponsor, and donor loyalty—all year long.

Stay Connected: Subscribe to The Association Insights podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube Podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode.

Follow us on LinkedIn at OnWrd & UpWrd for the latest in association trends and strategies.

Coming Soon: In December, we’re launching our Big Ideas & Trends Series, sitting down with association CEOs and senior leaders to explore the shifts, strategies, and bold bets that will shape associations heading into 2026. Stay tuned!

In this episode of The Association Insights Podcast, host Meghan Henning takes listeners to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a powerful conversation with Ed Silver, Vice President of Business Development at Explore Asheville. With more than 25 years in travel and hospitality—from Flight Centre and American Express Travel to GBTA and Lodging.com—Ed brings a unique blend of tech, business development, and destination strategy to his role.

From supporting Asheville’s recovery after Hurricane Helene to rethinking how DMOs show up as true partners for associations, Ed shares how Explore Asheville is aligning events, community needs, and long-term impact.

🎧 Whether you’re scouting future host cities or rethinking how you choose destinations altogether, this episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at how to move from “room blocks and contracts” to mission-aligned, high-impact meetings.

Key Highlights:

From Shareholder Value to Community Value: Ed shares why he shifted from global travel tech roles to destination leadership in Asheville—and how he’s now channeling his private-sector experience into building economic opportunity and resilience for his local community.

DMOs as Strategic Partners, Not Just Vendors: Explore Asheville doesn’t start with a list of hotels—it starts with your goals. Ed breaks down how his team co-designs the attendee experience, matches association missions to Asheville’s creative energy, and helps shape events from concept through execution.

Beyond Room Nights: Measuring Real Economic Impact: Visitor spending in Asheville reaches nearly $3 billion annually, and Explore Asheville looks well beyond heads-in-beds. Ed explains how his team models direct spend and broader economic impact, times meetings for “shoulder seasons,” and helps planners understand how their events support local restaurants, small businesses, and year-round jobs.

Sustainability, Inclusivity, and Balance as Core Pillars: Sustainability isn’t a side project—it’s one of Explore Asheville’s strategic imperatives. Ed shares how they:

• Invest in projects that serve both residents and visitors (like restored sports complexes)

• Encourage safe, responsible travel

• Promote local suppliers, creatives, and small businesses

• Welcome values-aligned associations looking for destinations that reflect their commitments

Data + Storytelling: The Next Chapter for Destination Marketing: Drawing on his technology background, Ed talks about how Explore Asheville is leaning into data, personalization, and marketing automation to deepen relationships with planners—while keeping the human, relationship-driven side of the meetings business front and center.

Why You Should Call the DMO First, Not Last: Ed’s biggest advice for association professionals: involve the DMO early. From incentive funding and venue matchmaking to bringing local leaders into your program and designing community engagement, DMOs can dramatically multiply the impact of your event—if they’re at the table from day one.

🎧 Tune in for a candid, future-focused conversation on what it really means to choose a destination partner in 2026 and beyond—and how places like Asheville are redefining what meetings can do for both attendees and communities.

Stay Connected: Subscribe to The Association Insights podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube Podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode.

Follow us on LinkedIn at OnWrd & UpWrd for the latest in association trends and strategies.

Coming Soon: We’re continuing to sit down with association executives, destination leaders, and industry innovators to explore what’s working, what’s changing, and how to build events and strategies that truly move your mission forward. Stay tuned!

In this episode of The Association Insights Podcast, host Colleen Gallagher sits down with Denny Lengkong, President of IntelliData, for a candid, jargon-free conversation about turning association data into decisions. From “Dashboarding 101” to building a culture that breaks down silos, Denny shares practical ways teams of any size can start small, prove value, and scale their analytics—without blowing the budget or waiting on IT.

🎧 Whether you’re leading a lean staff or modernizing a large association, you’ll get clear steps to move from scattered reports to a repeatable, data-driven rhythm.

Key Highlights

Start Simple → Scale Smart

Stop waiting for the perfect stack. Denny’s “cup-of-noodles to pizza oven” analogy shows how to begin with an Excel table and a basic chart—then evolve into multi-source dashboards as your literacy and needs grow.

Three Questions Before You Build Anything

Reverse-engineer your dashboard:

1. What problem or goal are we answering?

2. Who’s the audience (peers, execs, board, members)?

3. Do we actually have the data—and is it clean and complete?

These answers shape the visuals, the data model, and your collection plan.

What “Data-Driven” Really Means

It’s not a buzzword: it’s making routine adjustments based on what the numbers say—mid-campaign, mid-year, and not just at year-end. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Kill the Silos, Create a Single Source of Truth

Membership says 5,000; events team says 5,500? You’ve got silos. Denny outlines how successful associations share data, align definitions, and anchor reporting to one trusted source.

You Need a Champion (and Ideally, a Small Data Team)

Lasting change needs ownership. The most effective associations appoint a cross-functional lead or lightweight data team to set standards, prioritize asks, and coach the organization.

Cost, Time, and Bandwidth (The Honest Answer)

You can DIY and learn—start small for near-zero cost—or bring in help when bandwidth, speed, or complexity outgrows your team. Either way, show quick wins to build momentum and buy-in.

Share Early, Win Early

Publish simple visuals, gather feedback, iterate. Early exposure sparks better questions, better data collection, and stronger internal demand for insights.

A Case Study with Dual Impact

Certification programs + learning products: by connecting exam outcomes with course and resource usage, one association identified what helped candidates pass—then proactively guided non-passers to the right prep. Members succeeded faster; the association grew non-dues revenue. Win-win.

🎧 Tune in for practical steps, real examples, and a playbook for moving from “we have data” to “we use data” across your association.

Stay Connected: Subscribe to The Association Insights podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube Podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode.

Follow us on LinkedIn at OnWrd & UpWrd for the latest in association trends and strategies.

Coming Soon: We’re continuing to sit down with association leaders, builders, and problem-solvers to unpack what’s working, what’s changing, and how to lead with clarity in 2026 and beyond. Stay tuned!