This year is a big deal for the Knoxville Chapter of the American Marketing Association (KAMA). And I’m really glad you’re a part of it!
On behalf of the Board of Directors of KAMA, I’d like to welcome you to our 25th Anniversary Year. In 1988, a few hard working and dedicated marketers in Knoxville got together, did a ton of research and filled out mountains of paperwork to create the Knoxville chapter. They created standard processes to help us with record keeping and protect us for long-term operational and financial stability. Just two years later, they created the Eagle Endowment for Marketing Education.
How is this for a plan?
The foundation laid by our predecessors during the chapter’s first year of operation remains fully intact today. Sure, the old ledgers were eventually converted to spreadsheets and the chapter certainly didn’t have a Facebook page or even a website two decades ago. But the record keeping system they created is exactly what we use today to report our financial and operating plans to the International Headquarters of AMA.
Additionally, since the early days the Eagle Endowment has grown significantly and KAMA has awarded more than $70,000 in scholarships to marketing students at The University of Tennessee. Our founding members not only put into place a sustainable system allowing us to be in operation for 25 years and well beyond, but they also figured out how to keep the profession sustainable by contributing to the education of students and developing young minds to become the marketing leaders of the future.
How cool is that?
So when you’re Tweeting, texting, blogging, pinning, posting, tagging or whatever it is, I ask that you do two things:
- Remember that no matter how many technological advancements come our way, the fundamental principles of marketing must still apply for the continued success of our profession and the businesses we represent
- Give a shout out to the visionaries who created our chapter 25 years ago
