By Anne Anderson, NRWA Newsletter Staff Writer
In 2018, the NRWA selected the Stringfellow Management Group (SMG) as its association management company. Established in 2012 and based in Maryland, SMG is an AMCI-Accredited Association Management Company with 45 employees (35 of whom are in Maryland) serving 25 associations and foundations for association management, financial/grant management, and meetings management.
Their clients span an impressively broad range of industries and interests such as floral design, sports construction, human resources, commercial real estate, clinical research nursing, animal health, historic American theaters, chiropractic care, grounds management, and manufacturing for wood machinery and asphalt roofing. SMG’s accreditation underscores its commitment to best practices in core functions, including financial management, evaluation of services, employee training, insurance coverage, and more. SMG takes a long-term view with its clients and is invested in their success.
- We are fortunate to have a highly-skilled, experienced team serving the NRWA. Many of you have worked with the core team of Jen Thornton, Robbie Heacock, and Addie Blevins. Three people from SMG’s accounting staff work behind the scenes: Amy Chetelat (CFO), Mary Skudzinskas (financial manager), and Susan Posluszny (bookkeeper).
- Jen Thornton serves as the NRWA’s executive director. Working in association management for 28 years, Jen earned her bachelor’s degree from Towson University and is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management at the University of Delaware. She lives in Ellicott City, MD, with her husband, Matt. Her hobbies include travel, cooking, and baking.
- Robbie Heacock is NRWA’s associate director. He has worked in nonprofit management and event planning for more than 15 years. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland University College. Robbie lives in Bel Air, MD, with his husband and two dogs, and they are currently awaiting the arrival of their first child through adoption. In his free time, Robbie enjoys live entertainment, cooking, and travel.
- Addie Blevins, NRWA’s association coordinator, has been with SMG for just over a year, bringing prior experience with another association management company and managing social media. She loves working with and getting to know members and helping leadership develop great ideas into new programs. Addie earned a bachelor’s degree from Towson University. In her free time, she enjoys crafting and singing in her community chorus.
- Jen comments that she has rarely seen a more dedicated and hard-working group of board members and volunteers than she has with the NRWA. The SMG staff provides administrative support for NRWA’s membership, courses, education, certification, finances, technology platforms, and website. She says the SMG team loves interacting with members or prospective members who contact the NRWA looking to improve their writing, take a course, get certified, or gain advice from our member community.
- “Mary Jo King was President when we started with the NRWA, and she set a wonderful tone for the collaborative working relationship with NRWA’s leadership that has carried through since day one,” Jen said. “I feel we have built and continue to foster a nice partnership. I see us continuing to build on what we are already doing, caring about what’s important to our members, and striving to provide them with valuable information and resources to set them up for success.”
- She went on to say, “Over the last couple of years, NRWA’s level of activity has greatly increased to provide more ways for members to connect and learn. NRWA board members are always thinking strategically about programs or benefits that are needed by our stakeholders and the resume writing profession in general, and they work to create these programs. That means there is always a lot happening! With so much change occurring, I think the key to success is flexibility and understanding. We look for ways to streamline operations, but we recognize the needs are constantly evolving for a dynamic and growing organization like the NRWA. We like it that way and look forward to many great years of supporting resume writers.
- Jen closed with the following: “The best thing the NRWA can do is to continue providing strong leaders. NRWA members can continue stepping up to volunteer, sharing information, supporting one another, and communicating any new ideas or resources that would be beneficial.”
