There’s lots going on with AMA Houston, and our volunteers are no exception. This past week at the March luncheon, we announced the following volunteer honors:
- Board Members of the Month (we have THREE this month!):
- Brandy Beverly, Director Marketing Communications at Baylor College of Medicine and Rajul Khemsara, Senior Customer Research Analyst CHRISTUS Health: As Co-Chairs for the Healthcare Marketing SIG they have expertly managed several well-attended events. They exemplify what is great about our SIG programming: informative events that dive into relevant issues around marketing interests.
- Tara Johnson, Marketing Communications Coordinator at Mustang Engineering: Tara recently joined the board as Event Marketing Director (a demanding role!) and has been doing more than just getting our emails out in a timely manner, she’s looking for ways to help us promote events better as well.
- Volunteer of the Month: Shanthi Subramanian, Marketing Programs Manager at Gimmal Group, Inc. has been a real asset in keeping our website up to date. She expertly keeps our events and other news updated with the immediacy that our audiences expect.
Thanks to all of our volunteers for their help!
Board Leadership, Volunteers / by
Robin Tooms
Brock Wagner arrived casual, his aloha shirt laid way back. He spoke about guerrilla-marketing St Arnold beer as anticipated below. In the energy-packed crowd, though, what caught my eye and ear were the small, blue-covered tubes placed by each place-setting by Colin Hageney of sponsor Bullpen Marketing.
As you can see – this secret photo carefully taken for me by Bullpen CD Suzi Senna – each of these tubes advertises the upcoming AMA Crystal Awards. But when I picked one up and idly asked about it, one of my table-mates said, “Oh! ChapStick!”
I replied that I didn’t think this tube was actually ChapStick – one of America’s best-planted brands. Then someone else (Kerri Ryan, I think, of Kryanoutloud Marketing) pointed us all in the right direction: “Lip balm.”
Later, one of the luncheon program presenters drew the crowd’s attention to the promotional item, calling it…ChapStick.
Now part of Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, the ChapStick brand is 100 this year. Its website offers a shallow look at the product’s history – a visitor from outer space would be hard-pressed to figure out why ChapStick is so widely used and well-known. But we know, don’t we? A simple, always-useful product that’s as close as our pocket or purse, with a consistent trade dress that today’s company continues even through a gazillion product line extensions.
Then there’s Colin’s lip balm with its own purpose-designed label. For him, it is a extremely effective brand vehicle: “Be the name on everybody’s lips,” as he says on the Bullpen blog. I suspect that, as long as users think its ChapStick, everyone will be happy. The product and the brand are effectively the same.
My tube is kiwi-strawberry flavor. Thanks to everyone for the great luncheon program – a nooner filled with beer and lip balm. BTW, I’m Richard Laurence Baron, AMAHouston volunteer and principal of Signalwrite Marketing.
Events, Sponsors, Volunteers / by
Richard Laurence Baron
There’s a special place in heaven for sponsors. Yes – the Healthcare SIG collected around 75 people for the extra-special “Outside-the-box Healthcare Marketing” seminar on Friday morning. Combined with the three top-grade speakers – Partha Krishnamurthy, Cara Zorzi and Steve McKee – there was a lot of energy and even laughter in the room…for more than three hours. The volunteers all were volunteery, the Houston Technology Center folks were great.
I’m going to drop more names, though, because a SIG seminar is fueled by more than elbow grease, bagels and coffee. (Okay – not altogether an attractive metaphorical collection.)
The sponsors Friday are supportive and involved. In no particular order, special sunny Sunday appreciation goes to Alleen Mitchener and Ana Rodarte of Gelb Consulting. Julie Laguarta and HALO/Lee Wayne. The people of Inn at the Ballpark.
There’s Karen Kershner and Communications Plus. Emily Bernard, Erin Lehr and Jen Pearsall of Pierpont. Susan Saurage-Altenloh and Richard Cisneros and Saurage Marketing Research. Randy Rigdon of Signature Media Group. Winnie Hart and The H Agency.
Author Unknown (not a SIG sponsor) said, “Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel.” Thanks again to all our sponsors for keeping us raveled. BTW, I’m Richard Laurence Baron, AMAHouston volunteer and principal of Signalwrite Marketing.
Events, Sponsors, Volunteers / by
Richard Laurence Baron
This week at the February luncheon, we announced the following honors for our wonderful volunteers
- Board Members of the Month:
Becca Castillo, VISION Production Group: As the VP of SIGs, Becca’s is keeping our event calendar going and is always on top of the SIGs – she’s even recruited quite a few new chairs for the upcoming board year
MaryJane Mudd, Full Tilt Communications: As President-Elect, MaryJane has also been working hard to shape our new board for the new year. She’s also a big part of the positive attitude you see on all of the AMA Houston volunteer faces.
- Volunteer of the Month: Allyson Bandy, Halliburton, for being the real hands-on talent “behind the scenes” on all of our AMA Houston monthly press releases. It’s because of Allyson that this important piece of communications stays on schedule too.
Thanks to all of our volunteers for their help!
Board Leadership, Volunteers / by
Robin Tooms
The early birds get the worms. The early risers find the extra time they’re looking for every day. The raw recruits get kicked out of bed by the drill sergeant before the crack of dawn.
We all noted that “crack of dawn” thing immediately when we showed up for the AMAHouston SIG boot camp yesterday. Good news for us, though: We got croissants and fresh fruit instead of worms. This get-together is your AMA chapter at work, a room full of volunteers teaching and learning how to make the Houston Special Interest Groups – the SIGs – better, smarter, more valuable to our members.
This isn’t a recap. My first “official” post to the AMAHouston blog is more about attitude and amplitude. I’m glad for the chance to make just four points.
Volunteerism is not dead. It’s not even sleeping. The 30+ people at Frank and Jo-Anne White’s photography studio early Friday AM are our colleagues, our co-workers, our fellow marketing and advertising professionals. Every one’s a chapter member. Every one’s a volunteer. So it’s really all of us (or a lot of us) that make the chapter go and grow. There’s even a certain amount of cheerleading built in.
Chapter programming is strategic but simple. The chapter’s monthly luncheons focus on broad-ranging speakers and subjects. It’s in the SIGs where the specific how-we-did-its get passed along to other professionals. SIG committees aim to deliver two out of three objectives every time there’s a special-interest seminar – hot topic, hot speaker, hot company. The more meaning there is in the presentations, the more value AMAHouston gives (and gets).
There is no “i” in “Team.” Alright, that’s awful (and trite) but it’s super Bowl weekend, c’mon. Even though every SIG committee has co-chairs, they don’t get everything done by themselves and they aren’t supposed to. We have to pitch in. In other words, even though they have the fancy club title and the key to the executive punchbowl, they need help from…the rest of us on their committees. You know, the other volunteers. “We” is the people who make the SIGs pay off. (Hmmm. There’s no “I” in that word, either.)
With 900+ members, “we” don’t have to do it all by ourselves, either. Right – you may hear from us when a SIG event needs attendance, or someone to help lay out the bagels and juice or even set up chairs. Remember, we’re the colleagues and the co-workers and the friends and it’s not a bad thing to ask for a hand. Also, help someone join us. AMAHouston was over 1,000 members a few months ago but you know what happened. (Think market crash, etc., absolutely not in any way connected with the Toyota recalls.) So the more the merrier.
MaryJane Mudd, President-Elect of AMAHouston, never actually referred to the early morning hour at all. She reinforced the fact that our SIG programs are what make our chapter unique among all the other AMA groups nationwide. MaryJane also posted more pictures – and larger – on Facebook and even added amusing captions. Like she doesn’t have enough to do already.
I can also reveal that there appears to be no snooze button on any of these board members. So even starting at 7AM, we had fun. BTW, I’m Richard Laurence Baron, an AMAHouston volunteer and principal of Signalwrite Marketing.
PS: Brenda Bramhill was merely visiting the teapot you see her holding. It was still at the White Photography studio when I left. RLB.
Board Leadership, Volunteers / by
Richard Laurence Baron
