CLEVELAND, OH - Jim Hieb, Vice President of the Marble Institute of America (MIA), has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAETM) credential by The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the highest professional credential in the association industry. Less than 5% of all association professionals have earned the CAE.

Hieb joined MIA in 2003 as Special Projects Director and was promoted to Vice President in January of 2009. He previously served as Senior Director of Customer Service for the National Association of College Stores/NACSCORP in Oberlin, OH. A resident of South Amherst, OH, Hieb holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota and a graduate degree from Bowling Green State University.

MIA, one of the world’s leading resources for information and standards on genuine stone, has some 2,000 members around the globe.

To be designated as a CAE, an applicant must have a minimum of three years experience in non-profit organization management, complete a minimum of 75 hours of specialized professional development, pass a stringent examination in association management and pledge to uphold a code of ethics.

Only about 15% of the 22,000 members in ASAE achieve CAE status, which requires that those who receive it undertake ongoing professional development and activities in association and non-profit management. ASAE members manage leading trade associations across the U.S. and in 50 countries around the world.