Did you get a chance to make it to the 100th Anniversary Conference in San Diego?
If not, you missed a fabulous event. It started off with a great Annual Meeting of Members, followed by lots of laughs from Jay Leno. We also heard from futurist Mike Walsh about the true potential of the 21st Century. I learned that robots are not going to be taking over our jobs, but allow us to focus on other areas. Although technology is advancing, it will not solve all of our problems if we don’t analyze its potential and plan accordingly.
IMA also held a centennial celebration which included fabulous food, drinks and some amazing entertainment. The entertainment consisted of Chinese acrobats, Bollywood performances, flamenco dancers and this great electric light dance group. It was really fantastic.
The conference also focused on all the changes that have occurred over that last 100 years. How do you think life will be different when you turn 100! Did you know that IMA didn’t name its first female president until 1998? Also, the first CMA exam was issued in 1972, but did not become computerized until 1997. IMA’s first annual conference was held in Atlantic City, NJ in 1920 and the first four chapters were chartered in Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. IMA has now expanded to more than 100,000 members in 140 countries and 4 Global regions. There are over 70,000 CMAs to date, each and every one earned through testing.
Next year’s conference will be held on June 20-24th, 2020 in Atlanta, GA. I can’t guarantee that it will be as impressive at the 100th anniversary, but I’m sure you won’t be disappointed if you attend.
Sincerely
Nicole Sheets, CPA
Nicole Sheets
President – Golden West Council