We’ve come a long way over the past 30 years. 

2002-2003 Board of Directors meeting. Yeah, it’s not 30 years ago, but it’s the oldest board meeting photo I could find!

The Knoxville chapter of the American Marketing Association officially joined the AMA network in 1989, and since then we have served as the trusted resource in advancing the art, science and practice of marketing in our region. 

AMA Knoxville not only provides area marketers the chance to grow professionally and build invaluable relationships, we work to further the industry in our community by investing in marketing students at the University of Tennessee. 

And we’ve done a pretty great job!

The Eagle Endowment for Marketing Education, formed by our chapter in 1990 (yeah, it’s older than me), has grown to over $390,000, and more than $100,000 in scholarships have been awarded to date. It’s the largest endowment of its kind in the nation, across all AMA chapters. 

But, we’re not slowing down any time soon. If anything, we’re prepared to take this chapter to the next level and continue to invest in the marketing community any way that we can. I’ve got an incredible team supporting me for my term as president, and their individual – as well as combined – talents will do wonders for our chapter. 

This year, I wanted to establish a common goal and theme for AMA Knoxville’s board, volunteers and members to rally behind. Something that pushes us all in the same direction, combining our efforts to make serious moves in our community. 

ADVANCE: to move forward in a purposeful way and to make progress

This definition is significant in two primary ways. As an organization, AMA Knoxville advances the marketing industry, and local marketers can advance in their careers through involvement with the AMA. Everything that we strive to accomplish during my term – through programming, membership engagement and community involvement – will be done in a progressive and purposeful way.

My goal is to shake things up a bit and advance this chapter and its impact on the marketing industry in East Tennessee. I hope you’ll join me in doing so. 

If you want to become involved with AMA Knoxville in any way, please reach out to me at president@amaknoxville.com or meet up with me at our first monthly luncheon of the year. I’d love to get you plugged into this amazing community. 

Best Regards,

Jess Gutman, AMA Knoxville President