Commentary
This month, Commentary is provided by guest editorialist,
Pierce Pillon, President of the Southern Aerosol Technical
Association (SATA).
What a year it will be
6 Spray January 2018
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Well here we are, entering a new year. And what a year it will be! First, the
new re-branding mission by the Consumer Aerosol Products Council
(CAPCO) is getting under way. Sean Fitzgerald (CAPCO President) and his
group are working diligently to accomplish this daunting task.
We also have the Joint Summit Meeting in Nashville, TN to look forward to this
March. It will be the first time we have all the regional associations, as well as the
National Aerosol Association (NAA), together at the same time for a “summit.” The
Program Committee is putting together an extremely strong agenda.
The Southern Aerosol Technical Association (SATA) is the oldest of the regional
groups. Chartered in 1981, four aerosol industry icons determined there was mutual
benefit and strength derived from joining together to work on common industry issues.
We have since weathered changes in the industry,
as have all our members. In early
years, members were primarily the entrepreneurs of the industry; today, technical, regulatory,
production and supply chain professionals—employed at larger, combined companies—
help SATA strive to present the best topical and balanced educational forums it
can, as well as provide a networking platform for our associates.
Our association Vision plainly states our goals. To be brief, these include 1) growing
our membership while maintaining diversity within our members’ functional roles,
2) directors working as a team to actively support industry involvement, stewardship
and promotion of the aerosol package, 3) delivering the latest developments in aerosol
technology, regulation and legislation through high quality educational programs, 4) to
be proactive in influencing actions and activities affecting the industry and 5) to network
with other aerosol organizations in building true working alliances with unified goals
and expectations for the industry.
Obviously, there are challenges that I’m sure are common among the other industry
groups. First and foremost is the constant struggle to keep membership numbers up.
With the mergers and acquisitions prevalent today, our organization has shown a decline
in membership due to employee attrition. While still strong in our individual members,
member companies have shown a steady decline. Where once there were two companies,
there is now one with fewer total employees in the pool from which to draw. Without a
healthy membership, it becomes more difficult to achieve additional goals.
As each regional association is specific to its geographical area and in meeting the
needs of its members, SATA strives to align with the others in such a manner that we
can all “row in the same general direction.” There are always concepts we can learn from
each other to enhance the experience for our respective members. Hopefully, the upcoming
Joint Summit Meeting will provide us all a foundation for that.
In closing, I believe that SATA is on a strong footing. Although facing challenges, we
have a great board of directors who are well-suited to the task. No doubt fellow associations
look at themselves in the same manner and I encourage each reader to become
engaged in activities for his or her respective aerosol organization. There are so many
ways to do this—volunteer for committee work, help with a workshop, stand for election
to your board of directors. SATA has always been able to draw on our member base to
do exactly this and we are so proud of them!
As an “older” member of SATA, I hope our generation leaves a firm foundation from
which our younger members can grow the industry and represent it well.
Pierce Pillon
President, SATA