As an industry, I think we are well positioned to take advantage of whatever the economy hands us.  Certainly an accelerated upturn will be good for all, and we’ll hope for that.  While continued malaise and uncertainty isn’t ideal, under those circumstances, users of space see us as a refuge and resource when their markets are sending them mixed or negative signals.  My point is, either way, we need to position our businesses for success.

As an industry association, I think we are well positioned to extend our successes in 2012 and beyond.  We will continue to do all the basics that you expect like providing educational and networking opportunities and a valuable conference.  In addition, we are stepping up the following:

• Our public relations efforts
• Reaching out to prospective and past members of all colors and stripes to encourage them to join us in our newly expanded tent
• Embracing technology to provide for online payment and registration, and
• Commissioning a study on size and scope of the workspace industry to help further promote our industry.

In terms of governance:

• We will have a financial audit of our books conducted this year
• We have established a task force to consider changes to our bylaws with an eye on bringing them into the 21st century in terms of governance and the realities of our changing industry.
• We have also established a Virtual Office Task Force charged with looking at legal and regulatory issues which could affect virtual office and related products.

Welcome to 2012. We’re glad you’re on board.

John Jordan, Jay Baughman and Michael Howard have been elected GWA’s 2012 Officers.

John Jordan, GWA’s President, is President of BusinesSuites, is based in Austin, Texas. John has been involved in the office business center industry since 1997. BusinesSuites now has eighteen locations in four states. In the past, John has also served in financial and business development roles in commercial lending and private equity investing and served on several non-profit and for-profit boards. John has both bachelors and masters degrees in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin, where he also taught a course entitled Entrepreneurial Finance for six years.  John has served as the Association’s Secretary/Treasurer for the two years.

James (Jay) Baughman, GWA’s President-Elect, is President of Office Suites.  Jay co-founded Office Suites PLUS and has over 25 years of experience running both publicly traded and privately held companies.  Office Suites PLUS operates over 35 suites located in nine states.  Jay has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Transylvania University, and a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Kentucky.  In addition to other advisory and non-profit board positions, Jay is a member of the Board of Trustees for Dupree Mutual Funds, serving on the Valuation and Nominating Committees and as Chairman of the Audit Committee.

G. Michael Howard, GWA’s Secretary/Treasurer, is President  and COO of American Executive Centers, the Delaware Valley’s premier executive Office Business Center. With just one office business center location and five employees in 1981, American Executive Centers has ambitiously grown and expanded to its current status of seven strategically and conveniently located facilities and 65 employees. Locations include Center City, Bala Cynwyd, King of Prussia, Plymouth Meeting, Radnor, Exton and Marlton, NJ.

As American Executive Centers’ Vice President of Leasing for 17 years and appointed as the company’s President in 2007, Howard has been instrumental in elevating American Executive Centers to the position of excellence that it occupies today within the Executive Suite industry. Howard brings a level of dedication and effective results to the company. Howard’s keen attention to the value of providing clients with ‘above and beyond’ services, business support and customer service – rather than just the basics of office space and telephone answering service, has greatly contributed to the company’s 27 years of success. The wide-range of business support available and innovative programs Howard and his outstanding executive team have developed for AEC clients, such as The Virtual Office, My Admin and NetServ IT Consulting, is what sets the company apart within its industry.

Mike Howard is an active member and sponsor of numerous Premier business organizations throughout the Delaware Valley, including, Business Club of America, Mid-Atlantic Business Alliance, The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and the British American Business Council, to name a few. He serves on the Board of Directors for Donors Are Heroes, an organization that helps raise awareness of the importance of the need for organ donors. His most recent community focus has been to actively support READ TO ME Early Literacy Program, a non-profit that promotes literacy for young children within the Philadelphia School District.

Howard is a graduate of the University of Delaware and has an MBA from Drexel University. Howard resides in Center City, Philadelphia, and enjoys weekends on the eastern shores of Maryland.

Meet the Complete GWA Board of Directors

• • • • Electronic Advertising, via The Office Wire and/or the GWA website and/or the Association’s Location List website.
      • The Annual GWA Conference, including all conference materials.
      • Sponsorship of GWA’s Webinars.

Review the ad rates for The Office Wire, globalworkspace.org and the Location List Website
Review the Annual Conference Sponsorship Rates
Sponsor GWA’s Webinars

“The Baltimore Inner Harbor is a dynamic area and our location puts us in between the new and vibrant Harbor East area and the traditional attractions of the Inner Harbor, providing our attendees with the best of both worlds,” said John Jordan, GWA’s President.  “We believe that because of the large number of member companies based in the Washington, D.C. – New York corridor, this year’s conference will see a high number of attendees and a particularly large number of business center managers,” said Richard Meyers, GWA’s Executive Director.

Watch a video promoting Baltimore and the Inner Harbor now

Check out the Conference Hotel

Simply complete the GWA Conference Proposal Form.  If you have a specific topic and/or speaker in mind email Conference Chair Harsh Mehta, or GWA’s Executive Director, Richard Meyers, if you would like the conference program to include a particular topic. Proposals will be accepted by the Committee through February 18th.

“Sponsorship enables the Association to provide its members with a first-rate conference,” said John Jordan, GWA President.  “Social networking activities are included in the registration fees and this would not be possible without the generous contributions of our sponsors.”

The 26th Annual Conference program and registration materials will be available in April.

Read what sponsors get

Contact GWA to sponsor

The new section will “enable operators to more easily find services offered by our dues-paying Associate members,” said John Jordan, GWA President.  “The upgraded and redesigned section will be informative, practical and attractive for our Associate Members,” said Richard Meyers, GWA Executive Director, “similar to what we’ve created with the online Location Directory.”

The new Resources Directory will be completed within the next few months.

Members will also soon receive a new style guide that will include press release distribution information for members, as well as a ‘how to’ on the use of the new logo and other materials associated with the Global Workspace Association.

In addition to distributing the press release, GWA President John Jordan announced that the Association had allocated funds in the 2012 budget “for the creation, distribution and the important component of pitching press releases to the media in 2012.”

“Our plan this year calls for several press releases that will elevate the visibility for both the Association and the workspace-as-a-service industry,” said Martin Senn.  “We are very serious about succeeding in our role as promoter of this dynamic industry.”

The Association’s press release, distributed on November 8, focused on the expansion of mobile workers and the growth of workspace-as-a-service.

“This coming year, members be able to stay in touch with our public relations efforts and association updates, through our online media tools such as twitter, our blog and LinkedIn,” said Senn.

Read the press release in PR Newswire

GWA recently was asked by the U.S. Secret Service to communicate to the membership the agency’s desire to locate several individuals who had frequently used virtual programs who were suspected of illegal activity.  The Association complied with that request.  “Preventing fraud is of paramount importance and GWA stands ready to assist any government entity in its efforts to do so,” said John Jordan, GWA President.  “As such, our Virtual Office Task Force will work toward that end as a component of developing guidelines for VO products.”

If you are interested in joining the Association’s VO Task Force – or any of GWA’s standing committees -  please contact the GWA office.
See the 2012 Committees and Committee Chairs