Please allow me just a moment to take this in. As I address you in my first letter as AMADC President, I can’t help but be humbled by the opportunity to guide this dynamic organization through the 2017-18 fiscal year. My transition into this role has also given me time to pause and reflect on my own membership journey—realizing what a rewarding experience it has been thus far.

Hello AMADC! 

Please allow me just a moment to take this in. As I address you in my first letter as AMADC President, I can’t help but be humbled by the opportunity to guide this dynamic organization through the 2017-18 fiscal year. My transition into this role has also given me time to pause and reflect on my own membership journey—realizing what a rewarding experience it has been thus far. 

When I first became acquainted with the organization in 2009, I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t really sure what I hoped to gain from my membership. Month-after-month, I would show up to the networkers in hopes of making new connections but struggled with “telling my own story” and conveying who I was ultimately looking to become as a marketing professional. However, I knew enough about myself to know that I have always been able to make a greater impact by doing, so I signed up to become a volunteer and joined AMADC’s sponsorship committee. It was through this involvement that I really started to understand what AMADC was all about and how rewarding and inspiring my contributions could be to the Chapter. From member, to volunteer, to first joining the Board of Directors in 2014, and now my first letter as your AMADC President—what a journey indeed! (and still, I feel like I’m just now getting started).

I invite you to think about your own membership journey and how AMADC can help. Your 2017-18 Board of Directors are committed to delivering a variety of programming and membership opportunities that we hope will inspire you to come on this journey with us and chart your own unique path.

How can you start getting the most out of your AMADC membership journey? It all begins with you.

• Attend and participate in AMADC events throughout the year. Join us at the fall All Member Meeting (details coming soon!); come out to our How-To Series events, our Special Interest Groups, and our Networkers; and participate in our 2017-18 Mentor program (fall registration opens in August). 
• Assume a volunteer role with our chapter. Consider serving on a committee or volunteering for a specific event at least once each year.
• Welcome new members—help each of them become an active part of the chapter quickly.
• Read our monthly newsletter—the DC Marketer—and check out all there is to know about AMADC on our website. And don’t forget to follow us on social media.
• Tap into our local talent pool by posting your next job opportunity in the AMADC Job Bank; or find your own by creating or updating your job seeker profile.
• Provide feedback and share thoughts about chapter activities whenever possible.

I look forward to meeting each of you personally, hearing about your own marketing journey, and learning from you in the year ahead.

Brent Hayhurst