Lisa Walker, 43
President, International Imaging Industry Association
Harrison, N.Y.
Like most association executives, Lisa Walker flies a lot. She has accumulated more than 260,000 frequent-flier miles on American Airlines.
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But unlike most of her peers, many of whom are based in Chicago, Walker also enjoys jumping off planes.
The president of the International Imaging Industry Association, or I3A, is also a skydiver.
“I make about 200 jumps per year,” she said. This makes her a world-class competitor in her sport.
In fact, she has participated in two world-record dives. One of them, a 131-woman formation, still stands.
“About the only time I can get I3A out of my head is during free fall,” she laughed.
Because her association has offices in Orange County, Calif., and Harrison, N.Y., Walker has flown 100,000 miles (inside a plane) in each of the past two years.
Her frequent road trips require Walker to rely on a variety of tech tools to manage I3A, which promotes market growth for photography and information imaging manufacturers like Kodak, Hewlett-Packard and Fuji.
“Everything we use to run the association is Internet based,” she said.
“I have to be able to access our database, financial system, e-mail and anything else that I need from wherever I am.”
Walker frequently logs into I3A’s database–which she uses to track members and prospective members–through a Web browser. She can also access her QuickBooks data through the Web.
“We’re a small association, so I don’t have a full-time accounting person to check with,” she said.
But while the member companies are few, several thousand members frequently access the I3A Web site (www.i3a.org) and database.
There, members can log in to send e-mail to various association committees and groups. Coming meetings are listed on a calendar where members can schedule their own meetings and send invitations to attendees.
Any mail sent to a group by a member is automatically posted on the site along with any attachments. And documents detailing the association’s work are available for viewing.
Developed by Oregon-based Virtual Management Systems (www.virtualmgtsystems.com), the Web-based application cost about $25,000, with an annual $7,000 licensing fee and between $1,000 and $5,000 in monthly maintenance.
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