The AMA Gavel Passes as The Rays Defeat the Jays

Tuesday night was a great win for both Tampa Bay Rays fans and AMA Members! As the Rays played a riveting game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana Field, little did they know that in Suite 53, behind the 3rd base line, an important AMA tradition was taking place. Tuesday night, AMA Tampa Bay President Sean Halter passed the gavel on to new President Greg Millman. Although we never actually SAW the famous gavel, we were assured it does exist. "It's in a stone in a secret location … or at my desk" No worries, AMA members, we WILL get a picture of Greg with that gavel [hint, hint, Greg]!

We spoke to Sean, Greg and all of the board members about their goals for  this year.

The common theme was increased attendance and awareness as a thought leader and marketing resource in Tampa Bay. Greg explained his goal was to be "THE resource for marketing professionals in the Tampa Bay area." He also expressed his desire to be more of a service provider for AMA members and to make "every interaction memorable."

As the president passing the gavel over to Greg, Sean would like to see more connectivity within AMA Tampa Bay and to become more of a thought leader within the community.

All we can say is great things are coming! Here are some of the goals we found inspiring from the rest of the AMA Tampa Bay board:

• "Foster a thoughtful learning environment and achieve consistency across all messaging." — Jamie Miller
• "Engage our members more and meet more of their needs." — Becky Horvath
• "Make the collegiate chapters stronger and work more closely with them." — Doug Engel
• "We have been recognized on a national level in the past, and I would like to see us continue to be recognized and continue to grow as a chapter. I’d love to see there be more student members and more member involvement." — Allison Matherly
• "I’d love to see us reach out more in the areas of mobile marketing. I’d like to see some SIGs set up to educate members on mobile marketing, SMS mobile technologies, etc." — Rick Myers

Overall, it was a great event and a nice turnout! Get ready to read more about our board and leadership team in the months to come on the blog with our "Meet the Board" series. We'll get a snapshot of each member and some great marketing views and advice!