ACA’s spring education and networking conference ACA IGNITE was full of excitement about learning opportunities, connecting with colleagues and implementing new ideas.
03/18/2022 4:00 P.M.
3 minute read
Connections were built at ACA International’s IGNITE 2022 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.
“It was my first time attending an ACA event. Not only were the sessions informative, but I also had a chance to meet some amazing people in the industry,” said Samia Javaid, director of debt recovery services at Horizon Realty Advisors in Seattle, Washington. “We are all essentially tackling the same problem from different vantage points. It’s helpful to learn about others’ experiences and see how it can potentially be incorporated into our operations.”
IGNITE featured 8 hours of in-person networking opportunities in addition to the education sessions.
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.
Raevsky started in the ARM industry in March 2021 after working in IT at the state government level in Kansas.
‘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.”
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.
The education journey started at IGNITE with an interactive session exploring the evolution of consumer payment options led by David Williams, president, and Jon Balon, vice president of product and innovation, from Williams & Fudge Inc., based in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Williams and Balon spoke about technology and payment methods and polled the audience on their experiences with consumers’ preferences and new options their agencies are considering. They also shared that PayPal and Venmo are used daily by consumers and cryptocurrency is already being accepted by large corporations across the country.
The Women in Collections Resource Council hosted a networking reception, sponsored by Payscout, focused on the ways members in the industry can support each other.
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’s spring conference model started in 1989—it was initially called March for Success—and expanded from focusing specifically on health care collections to the event it is today, with education tracks on health care, technology and operations.
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 the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, data reporting, business operation tips and more. The May 18-19 Washington Insights Fly-In is open for registration, and registration for the July Convention & Expo in Orlando, Florida, will open soon! Speaker proposals are being accepted for Convention and due March 25. 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.
