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CoverStory

consider springtime in
Atlanta. McCormick
Making resources accessible to ISOs and recalled that not long after

merchant level salespeople (MLSs) closer Hurricane Katrina struck
New Orleans, a busload
to home was the motivation for forming of SEAA attendees visited
City Park in New Orleans to
the four regional acquirers associations. help replant the children's
community center garden.

In 2002, the Midwest
The ETA's third tenet is to foster business growth through Acquirers Association was founded by a group of six that
networking, which it does through the annual meeting, as included Jim McCormick (John's brother), Mark Dunn,
well as leadership and regional conferences. In September Caroline Marino, Lisa Lenczyk, Lori Carney and Misty
2013, the ETA collaborated with Global Vision Group and Rowe. It hosted its first conference in 2003, and later added
Linda Perry, a payments industry consultant, to host the the MWAA Lifetime Achievement Award and Shark Tank
first International Acquirers Association conference in competition to recognize industry innovation.
London. "What we found was that there is an unbelievable
amount of international acquiring activity going on that In 2004, Dunn launched a series of educational sessions,
people may not have noticed," Perry said, noting that known today as the Field Guide Seminar which is now
representatives from 22 nations attended.
part of the regular agenda for the MWAA, SEAA and
Network close to home WSAA conferences. "The standard agenda now for the
Field Guide Seminar is there are six speakers and it takes
Making resources accessible to ISOs and merchant level about four-and-a-half hours to do the entire seminar,"
salespeople (MLSs) closer to home was the motivation Dunn said.
for forming the four regional acquirers associations. They
are all autonomous, nonprofit organizations that charge The Western States Acquirers Association celebrated its
no membership dues and provide top-notch training, 10th anniversary in 2013 at its annual October conference.
education and networking to the industry's feet on the Before founding WSAA, Sherry Friedrichsen, also with
street. General Credit Forms, had previously established the
Bankcard Association of Southern California, where she
The Northeast Bankcard Association, founded in 1985 welcomed banks, ISOs and MLSs to the group's annual
under the direction of Jacques Breton, became the networking events.
Northeast Acquirers Association in 1997. "If you go back
to 1985, it was a bunch of us that wanted to play golf, In 2003, she approached Steve Eazell, Ken Elderts, Alice
and during the day we were all networking," Breton said. Kong, Bruce Ferguson, Steve Christianson and Lynele
"But what happened and really evolved was that middle McGill about forming WSAA and launched the association
management and below had no way of interacting with the following year. San Francisco's Sir Francis Drake Hotel
their peers and colleagues, or even getting firsthand provided the venue for the first conference.
information or knowledge on what was going on in the
industry." "We wanted to be the voice of the industry for the smaller
players, the feet on the street, and give them access to
Breton noted that what had previously been the domain of the same things that ETA is putting out there," said Steve
banks was opening to a new breed of ISO, prompting the Eazell, President of WSAA. "Our goal was to create an
NBA to change course. "In 1997, the executive directors of atmosphere of networking and training and education for
what is now NEAA opened the doors totally," said Breton, these folks that couldn't afford to spend more than a day
who at the time was working for General Credit Forms or two off the streets."
Inc. The NEAA hosts summer and winter conferences.
Platform for women
Next came the Southeast Acquirers Association in 2000, In 2005, four women founded Women Networking in
spearheaded by John McCormick of General Credit Electronic Transactions (W.net), which later changed its
Forms, a family run business started by his father. "So name to Women's Network in Electronic Transactions. W.net
Jacques and Alan Forgione sat down with me and Judy provides a forum for professional women to inspire and
Foster and Audrey Blackmon and said, 'You guys need to empower one another through networking opportunities,
do this down in the Southeast.'"
mentoring programs and career development. Of the four
founders, attorney Holli Targan, and consultants Diane
After the SEAA hosted its first event in October 2001, (Vogt) Faro and Linda Perry remain active in W.net today.
Florida, Georgia and Louisiana became key destinations
until severe hurricane seasons forced organizers to
"We were all leaders in the ETA at the time, and before
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