McPherson Management Ltd.

This year McPherson Management Ltd. is celebrating 32 years of successfully serving and managing not-for-profit associations. Our longevity is a result of our commitment to constantly putting the needs of our clients first and working hard to exceed their expectations. As a result, we have been rewarded with many long-term clients and are looking forward to many more years of success in the Association Management and Conference Planning business.

McPherson Management Ltd. was started by Jim and Isabel McPherson in 1978. We worked out of the old Calgary Stockyards Building churning out the Livestock Market Journal and working with the Calgary Livestock Exchange. We also represented several cattle breed associations during that time (both beef and dairy) and learned the “ins and outs” of the cattle industry and the association management business.

In 1985 we moved to the Stockman’s Center where we continued our interest in cattle breed associations and started working with the potato industry. We also saw a need in the event planning field and began organizing and planning conferences and seminars for our clients and on a contract basis for other groups.

In 1990 we moved to 17th Avenue SW. Our client base in the agricultural sector began to expand to include agricultural commodity groups. Our event planning services also continued to expand as we organized and planned several large conferences and seminars for our clients, some of which included the Alberta Cancer Board, Potato Association of America, Holstein Canada, CAMA, and the Indian Agri-Business Corporation.

In 2000, Greg McPherson joined the company and began a restructuring process that saw the company diversify its client base to include other types of associations outside of the agricultural sector. We restructured our internal systems and support services so that we could offer new and improved services to our client associations. A year later, McPherson Management Ltd. formed a partnership with Clarke Association Services Inc., headquartered out of Ottawa, Ontario. This working partnership not only allowed both companies to better serve existing clients, it also provided a competitive advantage over other Association Management and Event Planning firms providing services to National and International organizations. 

In January 2003 McPherson Management Ltd. moved to northwest Calgary to an office space that would allow for further expansion of staff and resources. The relationship between McPherson Management Ltd. and Clarke Association Services Inc. continued to grow and in July 2003 McPherson Management Ltd. became the parent company to Clarke Association Services Inc. Together the two firms formed McPhersonClarke which was the tradename used by both firms for promotion and marketing. McPhersonClarke became one of the most dynamic National Association Management and Conference Management firms in Canada. 

In 2010, McPherson Management Ltd. (McPhersonClarke) began a new restructuring process whereby the tradename of McPhersonClarke was phased out and Clarke Association Services Inc. was brought under the umbrella of McPherson Management Ltd. 

As we continue to operate in our 3rd decade, McPherson Management Ltd. will continue to push ahead in both the association management and conference planning fields. We will continue to improve as we go. We believe our only competition is conventional thinking.