ACA’s IGNITE 2022 spring conference brought together new industry professionals, long-time members and vendors, creating an ongoing buzz throughout the event and on social media platforms.
03/24/2022 2:30 P.M.
4 minute read
Excitement from the education and networking at last week’s ACA International IGNITE continues, especially in discussions and feedback about the event on social media platforms.
“ACA IGNITE was amazing!” Prodigal Tech posted on LinkedIn.
Before the event, the Prodigal team posted, “Ready for ACA IGNITE at Caesars Palace today! Our team is looking forward to meeting everyone.”
Jennifer Ewesiobi, marketing account manager at Stratabeat Inc., and in business development with MotiveMetrics, posted, “It was so great seeing everyone at IGNITE. The colorful personality within this realm is definitely what keeps me coming back! And of course, a huge thank you to Jack Gordon and Nora Golden for initially introducing me to this community. Looking forward to the next one!”
After his session, “Finding New Clients for Your Collection Agency,” Daniel Green, chief revenue officer for EverChain, shared, “Such a fun panel with these two legends, Kenneth Peck and Adam Parks, discussing sales and client acquisition at [the] ACA International … IGNITE conference at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. I always learn so much from participating in these discussions and today was no exception.”
Continue the conversation on social media using #ACAIGNITE22.
Connections and Ideas
Connections were built at ACA’s IGNITE and attendees left with new ideas to implement at their agencies, all the result of getting input from colleagues across the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry.
Several leaders also arranged for their employees to attend IGNITE, including Maria Soria, training specialist for Gulf Coast Collection Bureau Inc.
“An investment in your team members is a wise investment in your company,” said Jack Brown III, president of Gulf Coast Collection Bureau Inc. “Sending my team member to ACA’s IGNITE conference was well worth the investment. Maria was able to meet new colleagues that face the same challenges she does in training our team members. At the event she was able to hear tips on how to be a better trainer from other trainers, including Beth Conklin, Greg Ruffino, Kelli Krueger and many others.”
Steve Raevsky, IT manager at Account Recovery Specialists Inc. (ARS), attended with Irene Hoheusle, vice president of collections and education at ARS— particularly for the technology track.
“I was interested to learn how we can use technology to make collections easier,” Raevsky said. “The connections here seem to be long term, and I felt the vendors were looking to meet my business’s needs. I felt there was a sense of collaboration.”
Hoheusle thought attending IGNITE would be good for Raevsky because he is new to the industry and ARS is always looking for new ideas in its various departments.
“ACA’s face-to-face events give this to attendees,” Hoheusle said. “He met so many people and now has contacts and friends and some education and tools learned at the event to help him along the way.”
IGNITE featured 8 hours of in-person networking opportunities in addition to the education sessions.
“The networking alone is worth the cost of admission,” Hoheusle said. “The education is always top notch. I’ve been attending events for many years and always leave with new information, new understanding of a vendor and new contacts—every single time.”
New this year, attendees were able to preview the expo hall to connect with exhibitors before the welcome reception. ACA also used an app for attendees to ask questions during the education sessions, which was easily accessible through a QR code.
Mindy Chumbley, owner of Solverity and vice president of the Washington Collectors Association Inc., said she left IGNITE feeling the impact of the connections she built and new ideas she learned, which were especially exciting after going without in-person events for so long.
Jennifer Whipple, ACA board member and president of Collection Bureau Services Inc., added that she feels a sense of community at ACA events like IGNITE.
ACA has many more opportunities to learn and network if you were not at IGNITE this year.
Check out our online education for March on data reporting, business operation tips and more. The May 18-19 Washington Insights Fly-In is open for registration, and registration for the July Annual Convention & Expo in Orlando, Florida, will open soon! Speaker proposals are being accepted for Convention and due April 4. Fill out the form with your proposal idea here.
Did you meet someone new at IGNITE or would you like to have follow-up conversations on takeaways? Try connecting on The Hub, ACA’s online member community, which features a new user-friendly online community platform.
If you used the Guidebook app during IGNITE, an evaluation is available to share your thoughts on the event. You can still download the app now, using passphrase IGNITE22, to share your feedback.
Thank you to all our IGNITE attendees, speakers and sponsors Provana, WebRecon LLC, Observe.AI, TEC Services Group Inc., Payscout, Prodigal Tech, VoApps DirectDrop Voicemail, Solutions By Text, ezPay365 and Finvi.
If you have executive leadership updates or other member news to share with ACA, contact our communications department at [email protected]. View our publications page for more information and our news submission guidelines here.