The Winter 2009 edition of the Associations Yellow Book profiles 1,044 of the leading U.S. trade and professional associations. Included within these profiles are 37,665 officers, staff, and board members in 47,372 positions with 9,276 direct-dials and 10,988 emails and with 16,653 affiliations, 287 political action committees, 457 foundations, 175 divisions, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and 513 branch offices. A total of 387 associations reported elections changes in their governing boards since the publication of the Summer 2008 edition.

The Associations Yellow Book profiles associations that are vocational in nature, operate on a national level, and have annual operating budgets of at least $2 million. Vocational associations are defined by the composition of their membership -- i.e. people who practice similar or allied trades or professions. Trade associations are nonprofit organizations that represent a group of business firms. Professional societies, also nonprofit voluntary membership organizations, represent individuals with a common background in a subject or a profession such as the law, medicine, or accounting. Exceptions to these parameters have been made for organizations that are of political, social, or economic importance. While professional associations sometimes call themselves academies, boards, colleges, institutes, or societies, they function as associations by providing services such as educational programs, government representation, research and information dissemination, trade shows, and industry promotion. In many cases, they also provide accreditation and establish industry-wide standards.

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The Associations Yellow Book on the Internet
The Associations Yellow Book is available over the Internet by annual subscription as part of The Leadership Library on the Internet, where it is updated daily. Highlights of these daily changes are available on our website at www.leadershipdirectories.com.

Name Changes
The following two associations have changed their names since the publication of the Summer 2008 edition:

Mergers and Restructuring
The following four organizations have merged or restructured since the publication of the Summer 2008 edition:

Chief Staff Executive (CSE) Changes
The chief staff executives are the full-time staff members who are responsible for overseeing the management operations of the associations. The following seventy-two associations reported changes in their chief staff executives since the publication of the Summer 2008 edition:

As always, the content managers of the Associations Yellow Book extend our sincere thanks to the
hundreds of association employees who have consistently taken time out of their busy schedules to
provide us with accurate and timely information, enabling the Associations Yellow Book to remain as
current as possible. We always welcome your comments and suggestions on improving the Associations
Yellow Book. We can be reached by phone (212) 627-4140, by fax at (212) 627-1612, and by email at
info@leadershipdirectories.com.