CHICAGO – The Turnaround Management Association will celebrate the achievements of seven TMA chapters during an awards celebration at The 2017 TMA Annual, taking place October 23-25 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. The honors will be bestowed at the Awards Celebration on Monday, October 23 from 4:30-5:30 p.m., along with the TMA Turnaround & Transaction Awards.
Each year, TMA recognizes chapters that distinguish themselves by delivering excellent education, providing unique networking opportunities, helping their members drive business, and promoting community service.
The winners are:
TMA Chicago/Midwest: 2016 Operational Excellence (Mega Chapter)
The TMA Chicago/Midwest chapter continues to excel in a wide range of areas. Most notably, a Student Internship Competition was created in 2016 and was offered to interns at companies who are annual sponsors of the TMA Chicago/Midwest chapter. The competition promotes young professionals exploring careers in corporate restructuring and enhances TMA’s visibility in the industry. This goal of this competition is to prolong the life of the chapter by replenishing the chapter with young professionals.
In addition to this new initiative, the chapter remains strong in many important areas. It has an annual budget/strategy meeting to determine its operating plan for the upcoming year. Definitive goals are set and leadership is informed. An onboarding process for outgoing and incoming leadership maximizes the opportunity for a seamless transition. The Membership Committee functions as a team and emphasizes personal outreach. Member recruitment occurs after every event by contacting non-member attendees. New members are welcomed with a letter and featured on the chapter’s website. A quarterly e-newsletter highlights chapter members and events and the charity/pro-bono component of TMA Chicago/Midwest.
TMA Rocky Mountain: 2016 Operational Excellence (Mid-Size Chapter)
Every August, the past, current, and incoming presidents of TMA Rocky Mountain meet to create the strategic plan for the upcoming year determining where the chapter’s focus should reside. The 2016 meeting resulted in a few success stories.
The TMA NextGen presence in the chapter has increased due to more events and involvement from the chapter’s young professionals. In addition, two events were held for the first time and will become annual events because of their success: a golf event seeking to draw in the private equity community and an executive business roundtable specifically for business owners and C-suite professionals.
New leadership onboarding involves current board members being tasked with finding and mentoring their replacement. Member ambassadors are assigned to greet non-member attendees at all events. The membership chair contacts potential and new members to set up an in-person meeting over coffee and there is also a new member orientation.
TMA South Africa: 2016 Operational Excellence (International Chapter)
The TMA South Africa chapter formed a strategic plan with the aim to increase membership, including young professionals. TMA South Africa launched their TMA NextGen program and hosted a launch event in March that drew nearly 60 attendees. Additionally, two branches of the chapter were established in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. This resulted in 2017 setting the record for the highest number of members to date. Continuity of board positions as well as smooth transitions for outgoing leadership have been set in place. The chapter is in the process of becoming registered as a professional body so that members will be accredited with the regulator as business rescue practitioners.
TMA Connecticut for TED Talks Times Two: 2016 – 2017 Most Innovative Program for Infotainment
TMA Connecticut’s affinity groups, TMA Network of Women (NOW) and TMA NextGen, hosted the TED Talks Times Two event featuring Liza Donnelly, an award-winning cartoonist and writer for The New Yorker, and Maysoon Zayid, a professional comedian, actress, disability advocate, and writer. Both women had previously appeared on the TED stage. Donnelly’s presentation examined political cartoons throughout history and provided context for today’s political climate. Zayid interlaced humor with personal stories of overcoming her own disability while also being a Palestinian, Muslim, female comedian. Attendees universally praised the diverse programming and range of registrants, with more than one third of attendees being female.
The event supported the chapter’s strategy of building membership by expanding beyond the restructuring community. TMA Connecticut’s event combined entertainment and humor to attract members and non-members to participate.
TMA New Jersey for Inaugural Hon. Rosemary Gambardella Scholarship Competition: 2016 – 2017 Most Innovative Program for Partnerships
In fall 2016, TMA New Jersey partnered with Rutgers Law School to launch the inaugural Hon. Rosemary Gambardella Scholarship Competition. The chapter’s TMA NOW and TMA NextGen committees worked together to create the competition.
Students were presented with a case study, had to identify potential bankruptcy issues, draft a motion, and those who made it to round three presented their case in front of a panel of judges at the Rutgers Center for Law and Justice.
Students gained hands-on experience, grappled with real-life bankruptcy issues, and were introduced to seasoned practitioners in their field. The success of the 2016 competition has ensured it will become an annual component of TMA New Jersey Chapter initiatives.
Because of the event’s success, six new members joined TMA New Jersey in addition to complimentary memberships being given to participating students and Rutgers professors. This competition will help educate and prepare future restructuring professionals. The chapter received this award specifically for the innovative partnership that was created.
TMA West Michigan for Case Study Series: 2016 – 2017 Most Innovative Program in Support of the TMA Core Values
At the start of 2017, TMA West Michigan launched a revamped version of the case study series they began in 2016. It consisted of four events based around a fictitious case study on the topic of receivership. Part of the revamped series involved implementing a TMA NextGen component.
Before each event, a TMA NextGen primer event occurred to allow for young professionals to ask any questions about the case study, as receiverships can be very complex. The in-depth discussion surrounding receiverships lead to a spike in consistent attendance, as each event built on the prior one. Creating an event series that allowed attendees to dig deep into a topic and also encourage consistent attendance is what landed TMA West Michigan this award.
TMA Philadelphia for Summer Charity Classic: 2016 Special Consideration
TMA Philadelphia’s board created the Charitable Activities Committee to help focus the chapter’s philanthropic efforts and to celebrate TMA’s mission of renewal. The committee created the Summer Charity Classic event. In the past three years, this event has raised over $30,000 for two charities: the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project (CBAP) and Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of Delaware County.
In addition, $12,000 has been raised via the chapter’s sponsorship of Compass, an organization that provides pro-bono consulting services to non-profits. Ten TMA members have volunteered their time working on a Compass project and have said the projects satisfy their firm's pro-bono requirements with work that is much more satisfying than other alternatives.
TMA Philadelphia raised over $42,000 for three worthwhile causes while raising awareness of very critical issues within the community, provided several hundred hours of project work, and brought the chapter closer by providing a vehicle to celebrate the TMA mission of renewal through the Summer Charity Classic.
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About the Turnaround Management Association
The Turnaround Management Association is the leading organization dedicated to turnaround management, corporate restructuring, and distressed investing. Established in 1988, TMA has more than 8,300 members in 55 chapters worldwide, including 32 in North America. Members include turnaround practitioners, attorneys, accountants, investors, lenders, venture capitalists, appraisers, liquidators, executive recruiters, and consultants, as well as academic, government, and judicial employees.