ASTD Atlanta celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005 with a special event that recognized our past presidents and our 50 years of contributions to the training and development community in Atlanta. ASTD CEO Tony Bingham joined us on our special occasion as our guest speaker.
We also debuted a new chapter video at our 50th anniversary celebration. One of our members donated the 15-minute video, which highlights many of our chapter services and features many of our leaders. We plan to show the video at the ICE conference.
Our new website was also part of the 50th anniversary celebration. ASTD selected the site for SOS honors early this year. In addition to a variety of member-friendly features, the site also streams a portion of the ASTD Atlanta video. We are in the process of enhancing the site with new functionality that should be in place before ICE 2007.
One of the reasons we have a strong leadership team is because of our annual Leadership Academy. Our fifth 2007 Academy is scheduled for early May. Potential attendees are nominated and sent personal invitations if they are selected. The session provides an orientation to ASTD, ASTD Atlanta, and the roles of leaders. It also includes leadership development activities facilitated by past leaders. Our president-elect is responsible for conducting the Leadership Academy.
Another element of our success has been our close association with major corporations headquartered in Atlanta. We benefit from a Corporate Advisory Board and have held many meetings over the last 2 ½ years at corporate facilities. Corporations like Home Depot, Equifax, SunTrust, Randstad Staffing, Georgia Power, and Delta Air Lines have provided venues and speakers. Georgia Institute of Technology has also been a strong supporter and has allowed us to use its facilities in Downtown Atlanta.
Our membership is comprised of about half independents and half corporate. This is just one of the facts we learned from our annual online membership survey. The information from our members helps focus our strategic plan. We also know that about 40% of our members are also national members, and more than 80% plan to renew their local membership.
We have also started sending key leaders to the annual fall ASTD Leaders Conference. These sessions provide valuable information and inspiration. One of our strategic goals is to increase our leader involvement with ASTD. We are working to build a more effective partnership. We feel that it will benefit everyone, but most importantly our ASTD Atlanta membership, as we move through our second 50 years.