Almost exactly one year ago, PSDA announced that it had chosen SmithBucklin Corporation to manage its organization and to build on the tradition and foundation that the membership, Board of Directors and PSDA staff had built.

At that time, WhatTheyThink spoke with Board President George Crump to better understand the reasons for the transition and what the organization hoped to gain from this change in management structure. He stated that a key objective was to "restore PSDA's prestigious training program," adding, "If you didn't work for a major, we were the place to come to be successful in the industry. I believe that we need to step up our game in order to be competitive and relevant, and training and education, especially for our customer-facing people in this industry, are critical, as is networking. SmithBucklin seemed to have all of the resources PSDA needed to achieve those goals and more." Crump pointed out that outsourcing the management of the association wasn't that different from the outsource business model many of its members pursue.

One year later, and with a successful Print Solutions Conference and Expo under its belt, current Board President Bill Prettyman says, "There have been some good advantages for the association as a result of the SmithBucklin partnership. For one, our operating expenses are actually lower than they were before.  And we have more flexibility than we ever had.  For example, in the past, we had one person who was responsible for education, a fixed expense whether there were any educational efforts underway or not. Now, with the shared resources model SmithBucklin offers, if we need to have three people focus on an educational program for six months to deliver a program our members have been asking for, we can do that.

Prettyman goes on to explain that in the old model, the organization may have had 20 full time staff members, all a fixed cost.  Now the team is made up of both full time and part time staff –with the flexibility to draw in additional resources as needed according to plans and budget. This gives them access to specialists, and doesn't require staff to work in areas outside their expertise.

"Our members truly believe that the association will not only survive but thrive, and we will be able to move on from here to provide better education, networking and information for our members"