Spring 1996, Vol. 5, No. 1

President's letter: Spring 1996: AOOP contracts with Degnon Associates

In the spring of 1996, AOOP engaged the services of a professional association management firm to work with the Council in the development of the Academy. Degnon Associates of McLean, VA has been managing professional societies and medical associations for 17 years and has established a distinctive record of accomplishments among its clients.

"We're absolutely delighted that George Degnon is providing his skill and expertise in assisting the AOOP as we prepare for a dynamic role on behalf of our members in the twenty-first century" said Brian Grant, AOOP President.

Among the services provided by Degnon Associates are office management and administration, financial management, membership services including membership recruitment, meeting planning and management of the annual conference, assistance to the Council and committees, government relations and lobbying, public relations services, mailing and printing of The Bulletin and other publications, long range planning, and management of special projects.

"As we grow, we'll be in a position to negotiate expanded services from our management company" Grant said, adding "but initially we will be utilizing their services to help us get better organized as we develop a plan of action for the Academy's growth."

Degnon Associates has been developing, nurturing, and maintaining national organizations through the application of sound management principles and a lot of old fashioned hard work. Degnon is assisted by a team of dedicated associates including his wife Marge, who manages the Ambulatory Pediatric Association (1,500 members) and the Society for Occupational and Environmental Health. Laura Degnon assists with the daily activities of AOOP.

Prior to establishing the company in 1979, Degnon served 13 years with the American Academy of Pediatrics as a staff member, founding Director of its Washington Office and as Associate Executive Director. In 1979, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials was the firm's first client and became its largest, growing from a $50,000 annual budget to a $3.5 million operation. The Association became a major force in public health policy under Degnon's direction and in 1994 he turned over the operation with 28 full time staff in order to devote more time and attention to developing smaller organizations which have potential and desire to grow.

"The AOOP is an organization whose time has come and I envision it becoming a dynamic organization in the years ahead with the increase in attention to prevention, mental health, and productivity in the workplace," he said.

Degnon Associates has been managing the American Psychosomatic Society since 1983. The membership of that organization has tripled over the past ten years, its annual meeting has received extensive media coverage, and its journal, Psychosomatic Medicine, is highly regarded as one of the leading psychiatric journals in the field. The Society was experiencing financial difficulties in the early 1980s before it turned to Degnon and today it has a reserve fund in excess of one year's operating budget, and an extensive program of services including sponsorship of visiting lectureships to psychiatry departments, a new book on the first 50 years of psychosomatic medicine in the U.S., awards to young investigators, and an annual meeting which grows in scope annually.

"Our corporate mission is quite simple," said Degnon. "We enhance the associations we serve through the provision of quality services and we provide our employees with the opportunity for professional development and career satisfaction. As long as our clients are happy all our dedicated employees are happy. We all share in a win-win arrangement. We look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead with the Academy, its dynamic leaders and its dedicated members."

 
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