[Thank you, by the way, for pushing me on this subject. It's helped me further refine my thinking on this issue.]

You are correct. Generation X is smaller in size (significantly smaller, in fact, than previous and succeeding generations), encompassing approximately 44 to 50 million Americans; however, that’s not the reason for the omission. Members of Generation X are largely in their 30s and early 40s. Many are already climbing the career ladder and serve in capacities ranging from mid-to-upper management. They are impacting the association community now – and most are doing a tremendous job. The problem (or, more accurately, the concern) lies in our future. We must continue to draw millennials to the association profession. We must orient them, identify challenges facing our industry and collaboratively develop innovative solutions that will allow our organizations to both grow and thrive (which, quite frankly, means attracting more millennials as members, volunteer leaders and staff). My fear is that many of these young, entrepreneurial individuals will be turned off by the association community if they’re needs and wants (as employees and volunteers) are not adequately met. We are talking, after all, about a highly-motivated demographic that doesn’t take well to answering phones, opening the mail and making photo copies. Certainly, we all must “pay our dues.” But, at what price? The bottom line is this: As organizations, we are stronger with diverse staffs, boards of directors and membership. Care should be taken to engage this diversity (the skills, talents, expertise and opinions held by all stakeholders) to ensure our organizations remain nimble, competitive and solvent. Until we do, the future of our organizations may be at risk – not because Generation X isn’t doing a good job at leading us into the future, but because there are no future leaders to take the reins once the last of Generation X has retired.