After attending IGNITE and the Level Up Leadership Experience, members Nicholas Aurzada and Jennifer Whipple’s takeaways show the benefits of association events, including education opportunities and connections with fellow members.
04/13/2022 8:45 A.M.
4 minute read
For Nick Aurzada, collections specialist at Collection Bureau Services Inc. (CBS), attending his first ACA International conference this spring led to insights that have been helpful for every level of his company in Missoula, Montana.
Aurzada attended the Level Up Leadership Experience in March as well as ACA IGNITE with the support of his boss, Jennifer Whipple, president of CBS and an ACA board member.
“IGNITE was a great conference,” Whipple said. “My best takeaways were related to hiring and retention. I’m a firm believer in treating your staff right, so I always look for new ideas that feed into that.”
Aurzada, who has been with CBS for nearly two years, said he was most looking forward to learning about new trends on the horizon for debt collections.
“With the release of Reg F and the ongoing Hunstein case, I was very interested in hearing how professionals around the country and the industry were going to move forward while staying compliant with all the new regulations,” Aurzada said.
Additionally, Aurzada participated in leadership training and education with his peers at Level Up, led by ACA International Director of Education Kelli Krueger and President-Elect Courtney Reynaud, president of Creditors Bureau USA in Fresno, California.
Aurzada shares more about Level Up here:
“The strongest connections I made with my debt collection peers were made through Level Up,” he said. “It was on a smaller scale, and I think that allowed for more personal connections to be made with everyone. Getting the opportunity to speak with and learn from Kelli and Courtney in a one-on-one, smaller environment, was great. Both were incredible resources for answering any questions attendees had about day-to-day activities in their own agency, long-term industry changes, effective communication strategies and optimizing their workday.”
Aurzada noted that both events presented a “wealth of knowledge.”
“I believe I may have been one of the only, if not the only, collector to attend Level Up, and I cannot express how much I benefited from attending the leadership experience and ACA IGNITE. I brought back insights for every level of the organization. Whether it is what other companies are doing for emails, what attorneys feel gives you safe harbor under Reg F, or new ideas to reward other collectors for hitting KPIs, I was able to bring back useful information for everyone in the company.”
With ACA’s Washington Insights Fly-In, Convention & Expo and Fall Forum all coming up this year, you too can experience these educational benefits and opportunities to learn from your peers.
“I would strongly recommend sending employees from all levels of an organization to the ACA events, because the knowledge gained will not only make that person stronger, but the information they bring back will benefit every facet of the company,” Aurzada said.
Here’s a look at what’s coming up at our in-person conferences:
2022 Washington Insights Fly-In
Join ACA and its members in advocating on several pressing issues during the May 18-19 conference, including medical debt and credit reporting. We’re bringing the lawmakers and regulators to you for the conference, also featuring panel discussions on medical debt and a federal regulatory update on trends impacting the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Communications Commission. Registration is open now on the Washington Insights Fly-In website. Reservation options to stay at the event hotel, the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, are available at ACA’s room rate through April 27.
2022 Annual Convention & Expo
ACA’s 2022 Convention & Expo is heading to Orlando, Florida, this year at the Rosen Shingle Creek, July 20-22, and registration is now open. The convention will feature a lineup of inspiring keynotes on the main stage, as well as industry innovators and experts who will share business operation tips and insights during education sessions. It is our largest event of the year, with networking opportunities and social gatherings for everyone including first-time attendees, new members, young professionals and women in collections. Limited tickets are available for ACPAC’s event at Stumpy’s Hatchet House.
If you’re attending Convention, join us a day early by adding our Blueprint Quality Management System Workshop training to your registration. This workshop is the first step to earning the Blueprint Quality Management System certification. The 18 elements presented will help organizations cut down on the number of mistakes they make, improve inter-departmental communication, efficiently resolve client issues and improve their bottom-line.
2022 Fall Forum
Save the date for ACA International’s 2022 Fall Forum, which is slated to be held Nov. 2-4 this year. We are excited to welcome everyone back to Chicago for the annual event to connect with members and industry leaders on legal education, health care and more. This event features exciting education opportunities and solutions for members to advance in the ARM industry.
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.