Amy Sondrup Accepts Second Term as EDPA President
At EDPA ACCESS 2020, Access TCA president, Amy Sondrup, accepted the challenge of leading the association for a second year. The youngest person to assume the role of EDPA president, Ms. Sondrup is also in the unique position of being the first person to serve two consecutive terms.
"We announced robust goals at EDPA ACCESS 2019," she said. "2020 was going to be the year EDPA made a significant impact on the industry, provided incredible networking, and inspired young people to consider the event industry in all its facets when deciding on a career. But then COVID happened, and our industry was devastated. This year has been heartbreaking for all of us, and I want to lead our recovery and help EDPA not only get back on track—but to set new goals for our continued work."
In her presidential address at ACCESS 2020, Ms. Sondrup outlined those goals:
Continue to forge coalitions with other associations to drive industry recovery. Our segment of the industry has been devastated by the pandemic. We will continue to fight to ensure our industry segment's specific needs are addressed. We will lead the way by developing a robust strategy, a road map, to steer our industry through the remaining months of the pandemic.
Support our members by providing financial assistance (quarterly dues payment) and enhanced value with relevant content and networking opportunities. More than ever, we need to stay in touch with trends and developments on the progress of the reopening of the face-to-face community and how to meet the challenges the new realities of exhibiting will bring. As marketers, we will explore how to provide experiences, whether the show is virtual, live, or hybrid.
Continue our advocacy efforts with an additional commitment to media outreach. In 2021, we will focus our campaigns to reach government officials with an awareness campaign in the business and popular press that highlights our industry's contributions to the GDP.
Help members and members' families in need through the EDPA Foundation. After increasing our contributions to scholarships this year, we need to determine in what other areas we can give aid to those who need it. While EDPA has struggled like other associations, we are in good shape financially, the Foundation is healthy, and now we need to ascertain where best to provide assistance.
Promote our industry with positive messages not only to current members but to the next generation. We can never let up! We will promote careers in our industry, remaining optimistic about the future of live events. We will support one another and ensure that our members are up-to-date.
Dasher Lowe, EDPA executive director, commented, "I am excited to continue working closely with Amy as she takes on year two of her term as EDPA President. Despite the challenges of 2020, Amy demonstrated her commitment to the industry while also ensuring EDPA continued to deliver on our mission's pillars: advocacy, education, networking, and good works."
About Access TCA
Access is an experience design agency with exhibit house roots. We have the audacity to reimagine face-to-face engagements and the know-how to deliver reliably anywhere in the world. Learn more at www.accesstca.com