Communications and information technology has increased the number of
contacts that can be made and serves to remind people of their need to make
personal contact, to press the flesh (Shure, 1996b). The new technology has
likewise increased the efficiency and productivity of meetings, making one of
the primary tasks of associations (the continued education of its membership)
easier. In a 1997 survey of 5,500 national associations, the American Society
of Association Executives found that seven out of ten Americans belonged to
at least one association and that one out of four belonged to four or more
(Hedelad, 1998). The attraction of membership in business, professional, or
service associations appears to be increasing because it is the primary source
of adult continuing education and a source for networking in a highly mobile
labor market