IN THE OFFICE

CAITLIN MCDIARMID
APP Administrator

I’ve been asked to talk about how the office has changed over the last 20 years; I can only speak to the last 12 years (as I wasn’t part of the APP prior to that time), but there is still quite a lot to talk about.

At the end of 2002, I was informed that the “Body Piercing Association” was looking for clerical and administration help in Albuquerque, NM. It was at that time, I was hired as the “Administrative Assistant” on a part-time basis. My main responsibilities were to disseminate incoming emails and calls to the appropriate parties, fulfill orders that came into the office, mail out The Point Quarterly, and other duties as assigned. I was encouraged to learn the standard responses to common aftercare questions and the ever popular “How do I become a Body Piercer?” It was a pretty tough time for the organization. Money was extremely tight. The Board was very dedicated and paid out of their own pocket for flights, among other things. There were seven Board Members and there were no committees or other members contributing time to the work of the organization. I spent a lot of time setting up new systems for the organization of digital and physical files and learning how the organization ran. Four months later I experienced my first Conference. With all the supplies for Conference loaded into my pickup, I drove to Vegas. This was my first trip to Vegas at that.

We had 16 scheduled volunteers that year: a few Board Member’s employees and six Al D. Scholars; people like Ed Chavarria and Chrissy Shull. John Johnson and David Kelso also volunteered that year. I’m also pretty sure that was the year, a gentleman with a hat and a cigar saved my life by letting me know he knew a little bit about AV stuff (Gus Diamond). The Board worked the Merch Booth, and occasionally stood at a classroom or the Expo Door. We had 17 classes for 34 class hours; taught by 25 instructors.

After a year, I was writing articles for The Point, was responsible for the maintenance of all the databases and mailing lists, processing all orders/sales, doing basic accounting, and stocking all supplies and materials the APP utilized. I wasn’t folding, addressing, and stamping The Point anymore – we were having a mail-house do that. I was doing all the certificates for membership and for Conferences; and all the member updates on the website, master list, and accounting system. By then I handled all incoming calls and emails, which included inquiries about membership, calls from piercees and piercers, calls from the Press, Educators, Health Inspectors, and pretty much anyone looking for the APP. I still referred calls to the Board of Directors if they were beyond my scope of knowledge.

I made arrangements for the APP to attend a variety of health conferences, including the American Public Health Association, the American College Health Association, the National Association of Local Boards of Health, and the American School Health Association. I found lodging in a variety of cities for Board Members who were manning these tables; and usually tying in a Board meeting at the same time.

Since we were still watching our pennies, I did a lot of comparison shopping for the APP in an effort to keep costs down and maximize the efficiency. From office supplies, to lodging, to printer costs, to postage and shipping costs, I took our financial status into account at every step.

And my duties at the Conference continued to grow.

We have struggled as an Association over the years. Twelve years ago we struggled with financial limitations, but had a dedicated, strong Board who worked together extremely well. Later, as an Association, we struggled with Board dynamics but still moved faithfully forward. The occasional industry drama threatened to derail and distract us from the mission of the APP and, while the office was certainly affected by these challenges, the work still got done. We still did outreach. We still had a conference which expanded and developed.

The office moved to Kansas when I did in 2005. My step-kids and partner became my informal assistants, helping to do mailings, stuff badge packets, research technology purchases, and maintain our computers.

Then, in a blink of an eye, a decade plus has past. The office is no longer house-bound – we have a “real” office, four walls and a lot of paper. The kids all grew up and now there’s a part-time clerk to assist with the work. The Point is all digital; after growing from a newsletter of a few pages of black and white to a full color Journal. I have been through seven elections, have seen Board Members come and go and return–some successful, some less so–all sacrificing personal time and all passionate about this organization. Our Officers and Board Members have grown in number and we have all grown older. Our membership has increased substantially. Our industry has grown, survived a horrible recession, and is now thriving. People know who the APP is! There are 14 active committees, and a handful or two of sub-committees. The administrative work for the organization has grown so much I can’t list all my duties here. I believe it’s time to expand the permanent workforce of the APP, again. I am now surprised when someone calls in to ask about aftercare, as our education via social media has been so pronounced. People still call weekly asking “How do I become a Body Piercer?”

And just look at our Conference now: 60 speakers, 40 classes, and 95 class hours. It is now cool to volunteer (70 + people are now willing to give their time and effort).

So maybe Paul King was right when we talked the other day about the growth of the organization. I did push for the growth of this organization and our industry. I did find new outreach avenues and thought up new projects to do. I did figure out ways to enhance our presence and encourage us to move forward with better, more efficient methods both in and out of the office. I did dream of a day when we had committees to help foster new ideas and collaborations among our members and did get to see that come to full fruition. I did push to bring in new speakers/instructors so we could provide new topics and new life to core classes. I did foster new ways of using our Attendees to do the work of Conference – if someone is to benefit, let it be our Attendees and our Members rather than outside help. I did try to improve upon our technology as a way to minimize frustrations and delays at Conference. I did insist that the Board plan Conference earlier and set deadlines; knowing it helped to organize, streamline, and promote expansion and growth. I did compile statistics, spreadsheet after crazy spreadsheet – because it’s not enough to grow; you need to show how you got there. I thought that was part of my job.

How has the office changed in the last 12 years? Completely. It’s completely changed. The growth is what we ALL wanted for the APP and our Industry – and terrifying just the same. Change is beautiful and terrifying and part of life. Yes, Paul – I pushed for all of this growth – I pushed, and you pushed – and all of us pushed; in our ideas, and our thousands of nights in front of the computer, in our crazy meetings which involved love and death and food glorious food, in our articles and our voices; in our internet face-booking re-gram posty-posts; in our countless hours in front of classes and behind tables at conferences; in our gazillion emails, google docs, and spreadsheet upon spreadsheet; in our first drafts and our final drafts – we pushed and grew and changed this organization and our industry– it was after all, our job.