PUTTING BUSINESS SKILLS INTO PRACTICE The American Marketing Association gets involved in campus activities H arding University's chapter of the American Marketing Association had an extensive history that began in the 1960s. In the previous decade, the organization achieved major growth by offering opportunities for several majors including public relations, fashion design and advertising. AMA organized several projects, but the members also made an effort to team up with other groups on campus. They used their marketing skills to spread the word about the "I Heart HU" campaign and the CAB football pep rally. Senior Monica Woods, the most recent recipient of the 1998 Charles Walker AMA Scholarship, co-chaired "Walk this Way," a fashion show for charity, and created a marketing strategy for Habitat for Humanity's NASCHAIR project. Both Woods and the current sponsor, Assistant Professor of Marketing Lori Sloan, had specific goals for AMA. "We want to make sure we do things the absolute best we can," Woods said. "If that means we only do two or three projects a AMA American Marketing Association est. 1968: Row 1: E. Davis, S. Babcock, M. Woods, F Flores, C. Huey. Row 2: E. Hernandez, R. Tchen, V. Partee, N. Floyd, L. Stutzman. Row 3: A. Parsons, L. Sloan (sponsor), H. Won, P. Morales. Row 4: H. Wamack, M. Tolentino, J. McAlister, M. Mead, P. Felix. 228 I Organizations semester, then that is OK, as long as we do them well. We want to let everyone get good experience in the different aspects of planning and coordinating things." Sloan used the year to reorganize AMA. She encouraged the students to be involved in events all across campus and pushed the group to be a student-led organization. "The club is run by committees, making it very business oriented," Sloan said. "This teaches students how to run meetings, work in committees and get things done." Community service was a focal point of AMA since its inception. The members of AMA annually hosted a long-drive golf competition to raise money for a charity of their choice. "On campus we do a lot offundraising," senior fashion merchandising major Loryn McCaughan said. "We try to connect with different parts of campus and get to know a bunch of different people that way." AMA had a committee solely focused on its nursing home ministry, which organized regular visits to local nursing homes and SAM Society for the Advancement of Management est. 1981: M. Oliver (sponsor), L. Linge, J. Roberts, D. Misas, F Quiros. the occasional holiday party. Many AMA members in the past volunteered with hospice care as well. Harding's chapter of the AMA made a name for itself nationally since its establishment. Harding's team was in the top 10 for the previous five years in the annual case competition. In 2010, the team placed third in the nation. "Harding may be a small school, but we can compete with the big boys," said Sloan, who won the 2004-2005 Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award at the National AMA Convention. AMA was involved in numerous events throughout the school year, stretching its presence to all corners of campus life. The organization was open to any student interested in marketing and included a diverse group of students from various majors. "If there is another group that wants to do some kind of event, but doesn't know how to get the word out there, then they can come to the AMA," Woods said. Abby Lloyd Est. 2010: Row 1: E. Ragsdale, C. Roberts, T. Tipton, C. Buehler, Z. Gill, K. Lake, N. Liu. Row 2: A. Menkin, M. Lowery, S. Shaver, S. Greninger, P. Jones, B. Daniel, B. Norwood, M. White, S. Stidman, Q. Ye, N. Raihala, S. Webb, J. McAlister. Row 3: R. Snider, K. Bickham, M. Lester, J. Andrews, C Alumbaugh, J. Rucker, F. Gutierrez, E. Tucker. Row4: J. Lanier, L. Holland, P.AIIen, B. Thomas, K. Betts, P. Brown. Row 5: J. Gay, K. Waluube, R. Duffy, E. Holloway,A Calvert, H. Johnson, M. Morgan, B. Churchman, M. Flowers, B. Beggs, S. Morris.
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