Carol Wight, CEO, NM Restaurant Assn.
Professionals sometimes make a critical mistake in their careers: they neglect to join their industry associations. After investing time and money in a university education or training program, they disregard the value of continued education, advocacy and other assistance that associations provide. With so much at stake in these difficult times, why would anyone want to go it alone?
Associations were created by people who saw the need for banding together to fight for common values and interests affecting their industry. While this is still the primary reason most people join, modern associations provide much more than they did in their early days.