Gail Bast, CEO and owner at Association Acumen, has received the Hall of Fame award from the Wisconsin Society of Association Executives (WSAE). The annual award is presented to the individual who has demonstrated involvement and commitment to the association management field and WSAE on a continuous basis and is viewed as a mentor or role model within the association industry. The award was presented October 30 as part of the 2017 WSAE Innovation Summit held in Middleton, Wisconsin.
Bast founded Association Acumen in 2006 to provide individualized headquarters, project management and consulting services to professional membership associations. She serves as Consulting Director for the following Association Acumen clients: Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI), Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA), Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS), Ophthalmic Anesthesia Society (OAS), and Women in Ophthalmology (WIO). She received dedicated service awards from FOCIS for her service as Executive Director from 2006 – 2013 and from the Society for Mucosal Immunology for her service as Executive Director from 2008 – 2015. She has also served as Executive Director of the Movement Disorder Society and the World Allergy Organization.
“I’m honored to receive this award,” Bast said. “I’m proud to serve the association management community and am committed to bringing creative, efficient and effective solutions to our association clients.”
Her ability to guide and inspire others to achieve excellence through advanced education has resulted in seven employees receiving their Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation.
“I’m a strong believer in WSAE’s ability to provide great professional development opportunities for our employees and I’m a big advocate of life-long learning,” Bast said.
Bast is a Certified Association Executive, granted by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from Concordia University-Wisconsin. She has facilitated the WSAE Certified Association Executive Study Group and has served on WSAE’s Innovation Task Force, the ASAE Financial & Business Operations Council and the ASAE Finance & Business Operations Committee. Other memberships include TEMPO International and the National Association of Women Business Owners.
Association Acumen is an award-winning accredited full-service association management company based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, providing headquarters services for state, national and international professional associations. Services include: membership and financial management, governance, website and database integration, meeting and convention management, marketing, public relations and strategic planning. Acumen was named to the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s Future 50 company list, recognizing companies with significant revenue and employment growth. For more information, visit www.associationacumen.com. For more information about WSAE, visit www.wsae.org.
Education: Bast holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from Concordia University-Wisconsin.
Company:
Association Acumen, LLC
N83W13410 Leon Rd
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 53051-3306
