May 25, 2010
AMA-Richmond Honors Strategic Marketing Solutions’ Ron Fink as Volunteer of the Year

RICHMOND, VA -The Richmond Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) recognized Co-Vice-President Membership Ron Fink, Managing Partner of Strategic Marketing Solutions, LLC, as its 2009-10 Volunteer of the Year.

The AMA-Richmond’s Golden Candlestick Award for Volunteer of the Year annually recognizes a chapter member for extraordinary volunteerism. The Volunteer of the Year Award has been presented by AMA-Richmond since its 1974-75 chapter year.

AMA-Richmond presented Ron with the Golden Candlestick Award on Thursday, May 20, 2010, at its monthly luncheon featuring speaker Stormy Simon, Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Customer Care for Overstock.com.

Fink, an AMA-Richmond member since 2004, has served on the chapter’s Board of Directors for 4 years, as Director and Co-VP Membership responsible for Recruitment and Volunteers. During his tenure as Co-VP Membership, the chapter has experienced growth and success in membership, including being recognized by the AMA’s international headquarters in Chicago for growth among all 75 professional chapters across the U.S. and Canada, reaching a long-anticipated membership milestone of 300 members in the AMA-Richmond chapter, and launching and managing new membership and recruitment initiatives like the Breakfast Buzz and Membership Scholarship. Ron was also recognized for his leadership, professionalism, and strategic contributions.

“Ron’s dedication to the AMA-Richmond chapter is second to none,” says Connie Dye, AMA-Richmond President. “Ron takes his commitment as a chapter leader and member advocate seriously, and he consistently demonstrates his willingness to go the extra mile to ensure the chapter’s ongoing success.”

Fink co-founded Strategic Marketing Solutions, LLC, a Richmond-based integrated marketing solutions company, in 2001. He has three decades of new product development, brand management, market research and strategic planning experience working in and with such companies as: Capital One, Circuit City, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Brann Worldwide, BBDO, and Reynolds Metals. He has a degree in Business from the University of Richmond and a graduate degree in Marketing from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is a Certified Direct Marketer via completing VCU’s Interactive Marketing Institute.

AMA-Richmond is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization and part of the international American Marketing Association (AMA). Founded in 1962, AMA-Richmond chapter is a professional organization committed to supporting and enhancing the local marketing community, providing its members and other marketers with connections to information, education, resources, and people to advance their professional development and their careers. AMA-Richmond offers monthly educational seminars, as well as social, networking, and a series of members-only events throughout the year. The AMA-Richmond chapter year is defined from July 1 to June 30. Learn more at amarichmond.org.

Headquartered in Chicago, the American Marketing Association (AMA) is one of the largest professional associations for marketers, with more than 30,000 members worldwide in every area of marketing. For over six decades, the AMA has been the leading source for information, knowledge sharing and development in the marketing profession. For more information, visit the AMA’s website at www.marketingpower.com.

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March 22, 2010
Member/Guest Satisfaction Survey

During the week of March 22nd, you will receive a Member/Guest Satisfaction Survey that we would like for you to complete. The purpose of this survey is to let us know how we can better service your needs. The survey will ask for your input and personal experience in your dealings with the American Marketing Association - Richmond Chapter, and should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

You will receive an email from Steve Ellison, president of YMR (steve@YourMarketResearch.com), containing a link that will take you to the survey. If you have a SPAM filter on your email account, please add this address to your “safe” list.

This is our annual membership survey. Your comments help us gain a clearer picture of how well we meet your needs and what we need to do to continually raise the bar.

If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to contact me directly at
terry.fink@planetcentral.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

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February 26, 2010
AMA-Richmond 2010 - 2011 Election Results

Congratulations to those elected to their respective terms. The election results have been announced and the entire slate of proposed 2010 - 2011 AMA-Richmond officers has been elected by the chapter membership.

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February 18, 2010
Social Media Boot Camp Early Bird Registration Ending Soon

Save yourself big bucks and take advantage of an excellent day and a half program and walk away with practical techniques and tools to help you go beyond "what now" with Social Media. Hurry because Early Bird registration is ending Thursday February 24. Find out more about AMA's Social Media Boot Camp coming to Richmond on March 25 & 26.

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February 10, 2010 update
Board Nominations for 2010 - 2011 Election

The ballot for the new board elections has been sent to AMA-Richmond members. Learn more about the proposed board member slate. Your chapter elections are important and we need every member to take a few minutes to complete and submit your ballot. Look for it in the emails you received February 8.

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November 11, 2009
Social Media Boot Camp - March 25-26, 2010

Keeping pace with today’s savvy consumer means that you must have command of the latest social media marketing tools and know how to deploy them in your marketing strategy. This day and a half program will give you everything you need to get your organization up to speed in the emerging world of social media marketing.
Registration is now open.

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October 28, 2009
AMA-Richmond Receives National Award

The AMA-Richmond chapter recently received a Special Merit Award for Leadership for its accomplishments during the 2008-09 chapter year. The organization’s international headquarters’ annual Chapter Excellence Awards program highlights exceptional performance among its 75 professional chapters across the U.S. and Canada.

Leadership award winners are recognized for outstanding achievements in vision and planning, volunteer management, community outreach, collegiate, and financial management. Highlights of AMA-Richmond’s year included: establishing an Executive Committee, exceeding financial goals despite a down economy, building our Endowment Fund to its $100,000 goal, creating a 5-year strategic plan and a comprehensive web strategy, tracking a robust dashboard of key performance metrics, and assisting a local community college in advocating for its marketing program.

The entire 2008-09 Board—all 21 members—deserves credit for an incredible year, defined by collaboration, motivation, creativity, and perseverance. Between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009, we estimate our all-volunteer board contributed more than 4,500 hours to the chapter! Please join us in congratulating them for this prestigious validation of their hard work and commitment, and for “Fueling AMA-Richmond To Go The Distance”:

October 5 - 9, 2009
FREE Marketing Advice for Small Business Owners
AMA-Richmond will be part of a group offering help to local business owners with their marketing efforts. The Pop-Up Marketing Shop will take over an entire floor of Highwoods Plaza in Innsbrook, 4470 Cox Road in Glen Allen, October 5-9 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Heidi Workman, AMA-Richmond member and Co-Owner of The Hoople Group explained the concept, “We're taking over a floor of a very cool building for one week. The Pop-Up Marketing Shop will be available for any business to have a one-on-one consultation with a marketing professional to market their business more effectively to new and existing clients.

If you are an AMA-Richmond member and want to volunteer for a 3-hour block of time, email peter@hooplegroup.com. Please include your phone number and indicate that you are an AMA member. This is a great opportunity to promote your business and AMA-Richmond.

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September 30, 2009
Newsletter Archive Created

An archive of past Chapter Newsletters has been created on this website to provide a record of various events and happenings for folks that may have not received a newsletter. You may view them here.

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July 1, 2009 -- Richmond, VA
New AMA-Richmond Board Begins Work

A new board took charge today to begin the 47th year of the American Marketing Association Richmond Chapter. The Board, led by Connie Dye, met in June at a board retreat at the VCU BrandCenter to begin the planning process for the new year.

This year the board has 21 members and directors who lead various committees that support the chapter. Dye said, "the best way to maximize your membership is to join a committee and volunteer. We keep hearing that members really enjoy the networking opportunities we provide our members and students through out Virginia". To learn more about how and where your skills and talents can be used in the chapter, contact our  .