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Dedication pays off for American Marketing Association chapter.

A number of members of the college’s American Marketing Association (AMA)
chapter were on hand to learn that the chapter had been named
“Collegiate Chapter of the Year.” The award was made at the
28th Annual International Collegiate Conference in Orlando, FL.

“If I could put into words the emotions that ran through me I would, but I can’t.”

That’s how Alex Trujillo, president of the American Marketing Association (AMA) chapter in the College of Business Administration, described the moment when he heard the announcement at the AMA’s 28th Annual International Collegiate Conference that the college’s chapter had been named “Collegiate Chapter of the Year.” It triumphed over 300 chapters nationwide, many of them active for years.

The college’s chapter, however, had been dormant for a while. Once reawakened, it immediately showed impressive vigor, capturing a string of awards right from the start.

“The very first year we rejuvenated the chapter, we earned Outstanding Membership and Outstanding Chapter Planning, and in subsequent years, we were named Outstanding Regional Chapter (Top Ten in the United States) twice, and Top Regional Chapter (Top Four in the United States) once,” said Tim Dugan Birrittella, lecturer in the Marketing Department and the organization’s faculty advisor.

All these awards were impressive validations of the hard work of dozens of students. But none was better than the latest.

“This is great recognition for our very devoted student members,” Birrittella said.

Winning the award is no small matter. It was the final step in a long process that begins when each collegiate chapter submits a ten-page chapter plan at the start of the academic year. The document highlights the chapter’s goals, objectives, and strategies. A twenty-page annual report outlining the accomplishments and failures for the year follows. Judges evaluate the chapters based on professional development, community service, fundraising, membership, internal and external communication, operations (including financial results), and presentation.

Birrittella is justifiably proud of the accomplishments of the active student members of the chapter.

“They achieved a tremendous amount this year,” he said. “They successfully conducted more than 26 professional development programs, completed ten community service projects, raised more than $11,000 to subsidize the Collegiate Conference for twenty members, maintained an overall student membership of 125 students, and increased chapter awareness. It’s a testament to student involvement that the chapter won this prestigious award.”

There was a special challenge the students here in Miami had to surmount on their way to the victory.

“We were hampered by the many hurricanes in the fall,” Trujillo said. “We had to cancel events because some facilities weren’t available, and there were several projects that had to be cut short. That meant we had to make even more of an effort during the spring.”

Nineteen members of the organization made the trip to conference, held in Orlando, FL, this year. It included exhibits, a career fair, networking events, and the awards ceremony.

“The conference also hosts workshops on relevant subjects such as team building and conflict resolution,” Trujillo said. “There are no marketing projects that don’t involve teams, so these were very useful sessions. Also, there were workshops on marketing within specific industries, such as sports marketing, that were interesting.”