The power of networking can truly go a long way. In the case of chapter leaders at the 39th annual American Marketing Association International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, this proves to be especially true.
The power of networking between chapter leaders for AMA chapters around the world can lead to great revelations. These include how to best work with your executive board to produce the best results, strategies to increase member involvement, and what it’s like to be a leader for an AMA chapter at schools of different sizes.
Networking between AMA chapter leaders can be done at the President’s Council Reception on Friday afternoon at the annual AMA ICC. During this time, the President and President-Elect from all schools at the conference can meet and network with each other, sharing what their clubs are about and ideas that they have.
Last year, I was able to go around with the SJFC AMA’s Co-Presidents and learn what the event was all about. As this year’s President, it was my responsibility to take around the SJFC AMA’s President-Elect for next year. Since we took on the President’s Council Reception together, it took the awkwardness out of networking and we were able to make the most out of our time at the reception and learn more about other AMA chapters.
A great benefit of networking with other chapters included learning more about AMA’s who were made up of a different demographic from the SJFC AMA’s chapter. Between three different schools who we networked with, myself and the President-Elect were able to learn about different strategies other AMA’s have used to be the best chapter they could be.
The makeup of the schools we networked with included a school with a large student body and a small AMA chapter, a school with a moderate-sized student body and a large AMA chapter, and a school with a large student body and a large AMA chapter.
A topic that was discussed between the chapter Presidents and Co-Presidents included how to initiate student involvement beyond just the clubs’ Executive Board. This was an interesting topic discussed, because of the varying range of club sizes between the different chapters. In the case of the larger AMA chapters, they had Directors beneath the Executive Board members, and large sub-committees beneath the Directors.
With this high level of organization and involvement, it is relatively easy to receive involvement across the club. Executive Board members mainly worried about the operations aspect of their roles, and Directors and sub-committee members focused on specific tasks.
In the case of smaller chapters, it was clear that student involvement differed from the larger AMA chapters. In the case of smaller AMA chapters, it was less common to have Director positions and there is more of a direct relationship between Executive Board members and their sub-committee members. Taking this into account, it appears the work is less spread out compared to the larger AMA chapters.
Learning everything about other AMA chapters through chapter networking is extremely beneficial to the future of the SJFC AMA. As our chapter is expanding, it is possible to relate our chapter activities to both the large and small AMA chapters. This includes the strategic use of Directors and sub-committees, as well as learning more about the everyday operational aspect of an AMA chapter that one may not think about.
Though all AMA chapters are unique to their campus demographics and member involvement, it is always important to use the support of other chapters through networking to make an AMA chapter the best it can be.