Happy New Year!  

Each day, as I take my children to school, I ask them a question that is meant to help frame their day: “What are YOU going to do today to make sure it’s a GREAT day?” Their 4, 6 and 8-year-old answers usually range from “be nice to my friends” to “be a good listener.”  While there are certainly days they struggle to follow through on their proclamations, it serves as a reminder that we have some ownership over the “greatness” outcome of each day.

As we kick off a new year, I challenge each of us to look inside and to determine what we are each going to do to ensure it’s a year filled with great days. Are you going to push yourself to surpass your annual goals? Are you going to treat each day as an opportunity to make a positive impact in your community and on the world? Are you going to inspire others to achieve greatness?

At AMADC, we’re committed to making this a great year by continuing to strengthen and grow our local chapter. We will remain focused on member engagement and on driving home the value of membership to those in our marketing community. We will continue to deliver exciting, engaging, and varied programming. We will continue to create energy and buzz in the DC marketing community on an ongoing basis. And, we will continue to have fun while we’re doing it!

This past month, we were inspired by Seth Goldman, co-founder and “TeaEO” of Honest Tea, at our Masters of Marketing Series kick-off event at Gensler. According to Seth, his company takes to heart the Chinese proverb, “If we don’t change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we are going.” This is one of their guiding principles that keeps them moving forward and ensures their corporate social responsibility efforts are directly aligned with their brand’s core values

As we embark on this new year, we also have the opportunity to take the reigns and to determine the direction we are headed—personally and professionally. 

I hope to see many of you at our upcoming AMADC events in 2017, as we work to fulfill our mission of fueling our members with a passion for marketing, a spirit of innovation, and the pursuit of knowledge, career excellence and success. 

Here’s to a fantastic new year filled with great days!
Regan