Breadth of Services

Convenience and cost savings. Two of the top reasons associations and nonprofits seek the association management company solution. According to a recent study, organizations can save as much as 30 percent in overhead expenses by moving to an AMC, and the time and aggravation saved by eliminating administrative headaches is immeasurable.

Those organizations that remain dynamic and focused on member needs rather than the challenges of day-to-day operations will flourish in an AMC within their marketplace. Associations are no longer simply competing with other nonprofits for the members' share of dollar and interest. We also must remain cognizant of the continual threat from for-profit organizations seeking to build member communities. Today, associations must uniquely differentiate themselves and create distinct benefits and opportunities to achieve real member engagement.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to meet with the leadership of most of our clients during fall board meetings and conferences, and am pleased to report on the growth and vibrancy in each of them. Our commitment to our client partners is to maintain the identity, culture and personality of your association while working to accomplish the strategic plan of work and budget while delivering the contracted scope of services. Frequently, we are asked to conduct leadership training and review clients' strategic plans with the board and also provide ongoing evaluation and opportunity identification to enhance the organization. This is without question one of the most beneficial exercises AMG can perform for any client.

All the resources you need to expand and develop your organization are available at AMG. Our in-house experts in communications, marketing, public relations, meetings management, graphic and web design, and technology provide AMG clients with a diverse array of professional services in one convenient location - literally right down the hall. While your organization may not be in a position to take advantage of all of our services at this time, I want to highlight our capabilities and invite you to explore all of the resources available through AMG.

It is our job to be valued consultants and trusted advisors in every area of your organization's business. We want you to rely on us to help you stay true to your mission and to exceed your members' expectations in every way. Whether you're grappling with a new identity for your organization or your meetings need revitalization, I want you to know that AMG is here for you offering unmatched expertise and experience all under one roof. And we keep learning and growing professionally so that your organization can continuously improve.

Late this summer, 26 AMG professionals returned from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) convention rejuvenated and energized with terrific ideas and inspired approaches to enhance their operations. As the end of the year draws closer, we reflect on our successes over the months and prepare for the future with great anticipation. We at AMG look forward to continuing to serve your organization. [contents]

President, American Ambulance Association, James P. McPartlon

The American Ambulance Association (AAA) is the industry's voice for medical transportation and emergency medical services. Nearly 800 members strong, AAA serves as a voice and clearinghouse for ambulance services across the nation.

What do you find most rewarding about serving as a leader of an association?
I find the interaction with the other professionals at AMG and with other volunteer leaders in AAA to be the most rewarding aspect of my position. Being managed by an association management company, in general, and AMG specifically, brings us a level of professionalism that we may not otherwise have. Additionally, the technology and knowledge resources that AMG provides are invaluable.

What have been the most significant changes or advancements at AAA in the past few years?
The biggest challenge AAA has faced in the past five years was reworking the organization's governance, as well as making the process transparent. The biggest hurdle in the governance work was dealing with the inherent cultural change.

What is your greatest challenge as president of AAA?
Being in office for only a short time, I would say it is keeping AAA focused on what is important and not spreading ourselves too thin. For example, if a member asks for help or asks us to take on a specific project, I have to weight its importance, particularly as it relates to our strategic plan. I would rather accomplish one or two strategic projects than accomplish none of ten projects.

Growing our membership, as well as maintaining and building upon our reputation as the voice for ambulance services nationwide, is our greatest opportunity. The state of the U.S. Health Care system is AAA's toughest ongoing challenge.

What issues related to AAA keep you up at night?
I think our issues as an association are much like any other trade association's. Keeping our membership happy and demonstrating the value of their membership dollar is critical. A lot of our work is the advancement of legislative agendas that benefit ambulance services as a whole and are not member-specific. As a result, members do not always see the value in the work we do, and our major challenge is to demonstrate to our members that legislative victories are shared by all ambulance services.

Our partnership with AMG has allowed us to focus on membership, and I believe that will continue, as it must. At AAA, we constantly strive to receive member input and make transparent decisions. Our staff at AMG and the seasoned association professionals in AMG's leadership have helped us get to know our members better and tackle difficult governance issues.

How has AAA worked to achieve its strategic goals?
We continually refine our strategic plan and ensure that every activity of the organization will help accomplish one of our goals. The trick is staying focused on them, as well as aligning the strategic plan and our activities with our budget. Strategic planning should be an ongoing process, not a plan that is reviewed every other year. AMG provides the resources to accomplish all of these things. AMG handles the day-to-day work demands for us, allowing our volunteer leaders to focus on important initiatives.

If you could offer other association leaders one piece of advice, what would it be?
Communicate often with everyone - your staff, membership, and board members. The type of communication is not important. Communication itself is what matters most.

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AMG Helps Clients Attract, Select and Empower Leadership

AMG President Bruce Wardle, CAE, is actively involved with each of the company's clients, continually working toward their success. Bruce lends his knowledge and experience in association best practices offering clients ongoing leadership training sessions to help them address organizational challenges and opportunities.

The most important issue for today's association leaders is passing the torch to qualified and well-trained individuals. Because recruiting, training, supporting, and mentoring a new leader is so important and because no other experience is like running an association's board of directors, leadership training is crucial. Bruce says, "To prepare and qualify for this unique opportunity, leadership candidates must acquire unique skills and broad knowledge of how their organization works."

AMG continually provides training customized to the client's leadership and needs so the training is the most meaningful for the association. The training is designed to complement the association's structure and focuses on areas where guidance is most needed.

Of all the leadership training AMG has led in recent years, the number one theme has been attracting, selecting, and empowering appropriate leadership. Developing shared understanding and cultivating appropriate relationships with the staff takes effort. Every volunteer leader has to invest time and energy to create a beneficial and productive relationship with their staff members. Participation in training demonstrates a commitment to the association's success. "Running a company that delivers professional staff to our association clients makes leadership training a top priority for us here at AMG ," Bruce says.

In the coming weeks and months, AMG will be conducting leadership training for the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists ( BRPT), the International Society for the Study of Dissociation ( ISSD), American Ambulance Association (AAA), and the Society for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals (SMRP). [contents]

Your Neighborhood Communication Stop

Communications Marketing Group (CMG), AMG's team of communication experts, is a full-service strategic communication and public relations firm providing resources for association and nonprofit organizations. Clients turn to CMG for such projects as member recruitment and retention campaigns, product or certification launch and marketing, conference promotion, and media relations. CMG partners with clients to provide strategic communication direction and creative solutions to promote their organizations starting, whether as a single-project assignment, comprehensive program, or ongoing consultative relationship.

CMG Growing With Fresh Faces CMG has bolstered their team with the recent additions of Karen Healy to account executive and Jessica Martinez to associate. CMG clients benefit from Karen's strong writing and editing skills and public relations management experience. Jessica offers a strong background in marketing and public relations campaigns. In the short time since they joined CMG, Karen and Jessica have worked with clients on membership recruitment campaigns, media relations and placement and writing and designing promotional materials.

CMG Vice President, Elinor Kinnier, talks about CMG's offerings and strengths.

Why do most associations come to CMG?
Most associations come to CMG with specific projects in mind. Many are experiencing changes within their organizations and recognize the need to include marketing communication in their business plans. Re-branding and repositioning is our most requested service, because few full-service agencies specialize in serving nonprofits and associations like we do. Often, groups will discuss re-branding with CMG, yet what they really want is a new identity; a new image, look, and feel, typically to attract new members and reflect a fresh new approach within the organization. We offer a wide range of services from public and media relations, to identity management, promotions, collateral development, publications, and internal communication.

What are the general steps involved in the re-branding process?
Re-branding represents a change in the organization from the inside out. A re-branding initiative is typically the result of a major shift within the organization that savvy leaders identify as an opportunity to restructure to further connect with their target audience. While a new logo and identity package may be part of the outcome in the re-branding process, it is merely one component of a comprehensive, strategic approach to the way an organization operates.

Each client is unique, and CMG tailors the process to fit the needs of each individual organization. Generally, however, CMG begins with research, creates a new image, and proposes strategic recommendations for reorganizing under new brand architecture. Although it sounds very complex, it is simply a road map for connecting with stakeholders, managing internal communication, developing products and services, and building a solid reputation.

Research is essential to every strategic communication effort. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but is necessary in order to validate our strategic recommendations, benchmark our success, and evaluate CMG's and the organization's efforts.

How often would you recommend that a client re-brand?
Re-branding is not something you change frequently. Once a client re-brands an organization, our recommendation is to cultivate the brand and don't compromise the integrity of the brand by changing frequently, especially in response to negative comments. If a decision is made to re-brand, the process should be done thoughtfully, professionally and with great care to ensure every voice is heard. But once the process is completed and decisions are made, little should be done to significantly change the new direction, image or identity. All considerations and possible outcomes should be addressed prior to embarking on a significant investment such as re-branding.

How do AMG clients benefit by having a communication agency on site?
It is convenient to call on CMG strategic counsel - who are right down the hall - to assist with challenges and opportunities within our organizations. Our close proximity and "insider knowledge" is valuable when working on projects. We are able to act and react quickly to assist AMG clients and provide support on projects large and small.

Do you exclusively service AMG clients?
While we offer preferred pricing to AMG clients, we provide service to anyone needing expert strategic marketing communication counsel and service. In addition to serving nonprofits and associations, CMG has extensive experience serving for-profit clients, companies and corporations.

What has been your most rewarding project?
All of our clients hold a special place for me because I put a little piece of me into every project. The most rewarding project I think has been our work with the Leapfrog Group, a healthcare coalition of Fortune 500 companies, hospitals and health plans dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare nationwide. Leapfrog launched a new product called the Leapfrog Healthcare Rewards Program, the only national pay-for-performance plan designed to save lives and money by encouraging hospitals to provide better care. CMG repositioned the product, provided comprehensive strategic recommendations to market the product, designed and produced collateral material to engage participants, and provided ongoing counsel to staff to consider operational changes to enhance the program and improve the response from prospective partners. When we first met with the staff nearly a year ago, they were discouraged and frustrated because they couldn't figure out how to launch the program successfully on their own. Fresh ideas and perspectives from CMG have re-energized efforts and empowered them to move forward with confidence. CMG is truly a part of the Leapfrog team, and that is always rewarding.

What do you think about client Web sites and the information they offer?
Web sites are the portal to a brand. They are a touchpoint with stakeholders that should be coveted as a valuable communication tool. Web sites should be highly interactive and cater to a specific audience. Careful thought should be given to the content, and the design should be clean, clear and communicate a distinctive message within the first 10 seconds of a user's visit. The tone of the site reveals much about its membership and should reflect the organization. Web sites should be refreshed frequently and should provide readers with a sense of community unique to their organization.  

When CMG recommends a new identity for a client, we partner with AMG 's award-winning graphic design department to create a design that fits their new image.

According to Art Director Teresa Gutsick:

"A logo should be changed in general when it no longer represents the organization and is old. It may be very dated looking, therefore sending the message that the organization is a bit rusty and not keeping up with the latest trends."

Logo and Web site designs come from the research that CMG and graphic design does on the clients, however inspiration comes from everywhere and each group likes to think outside the box to give clients a fresh look. [contents]

Creative Design and Communications Marketing Group Win 2006 WebAward for Retail Bakers of America Web Site

BEFORE

AFTER

The Web Marketing Association recently named AMG winner of their 2006 Standard of Excellence WebAward in the nonprofit category for design and development of the Retail Bakers of America ( RBA ) Web site. Erika Lewis, of AMG's Creative Design, and the CMG staff share the award won in the 10th annual international competition for Web site development. Erika designed the site, while CMG staff wrote and organized the site's content.

The award-winning RBA site design was guided by the results of extensive research. CMG researched trends in the baking industry, RBA's history and the needs of RBA members and prospects. After studying and analyzing the data, CMG then re-branded the association and created a design guideline for the new RBA identity.

Once the design guidelines were decided, CMG then worked with Erika in AMG's Creative Design to craft a design that would best reflect the new RBA image. When creating a Web site, Erika follows the "form after function" rule, meaning that the functionality of the site comes before the aesthetics. Prior to the start of any design process, a few logistical questions need to be answered, such as how many sections will the site have and what content will be housed in those sections?

After the functionality was determined, Erika began to search for inspiration. "I like to sit down and just surf the Internet looking at other Web sites for ideas," said Erika. She found examples from sites that she liked, then determined what it was that she enjoyed about the sites and if they could be integrated into the design plan that CMG created. She then began putting pieces together until she had a site that met her requirements both in form and function. "It's like putting together a Frankenstein monster then dressing it up however you like," Erika said.

RBA did not want to simply change the look of their Web site; they were building a new identity. The designs had to represent the new image that RBA wanted to project to its members and prospective members. RBA is focused on providing resources for small retail bakeries, and the site design needed to represent and appeal to that audience.

"This particular design was specifically chosen for the emotions it conveys. When I sat back and thought about 'bakeries' and how they made me feel, I also thought about what colors and images those feelings represented," said Erika. "In this case, it was warmth and comfort achieved by the colors and a sense of 'taste' and feeling of 'fresh' with the use of the shapes and imagery."

AMG 's Creative Design juggles nearly 400 jobs a year; including designs for booths, logos, signs, power points, templates, packaging, Web sites and flash animation. They also create at least 10 Web sites a year promoting associations, conferences, meetings, and other companies. In a highly competitive field such as creative design, it is important for designers to create projects that are professional and organized. Designers are judged on the face value of their work, and AMG's Creative Design puts 100% effort into each and every project.

WebAwards, a premier annual Web site award competition setting the standard of excellence for Web site development worldwide, recognizes the people and organizations who develop some of the Internet's most effective and best Web sites. The WebAwards, judged with entrants from more than 30 countries, are based on a Web site's design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting, and ease of use. Three or more judges representing numerous countries across the globe evaluate each site from the standpoint of a target user.

One judge commented on RBA 's site, saying, "You got an A+ for the layout, which I find very nice, hitting the target very well! Congratulations!"

Join AMG and the Web Marketing Association in congratulating Erika and the CMG staff for their exceptional work on the RBA Web site, which can be viewed at www.rbanet.com. [contents]

Healthy Mr. Potato Head mingles with fans outside the Boise Centre on the Grove		AMG staffers John Ganoe and Monty Cox with Consultant, Bud Middaugh, at the opening of the Sixth World Potato Congress

The National Potato Foundation (NPF) coordinated the 6th World Potato Congress, held in Boise, Idaho, Aug. 20-26. The event occurred in the U.S. for the first time in its history and provided a golden opportunity to showcase the U.S. potato industry on a world stage. NPF and industry leaders were up to the challenge. More than 900 delegates from 41 countries attended the forum, which featured keynote speakers U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, and Colorado Congressman John T. Salazar, a potato seed farmer and cattle rancher who is one of a small number of active farmers in Congress. AMG and MMG staff members who typically work with other clients put in extra time to ensure the World Potato Conference's success. Visit the NPF Web site for more information.

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) unveiled the new Latino identity during its 21st semiannual conference in Miami, Sept. 19-21. AHAA Chairman Carl Kravetz presented the new model of Latino cultural identity that is anticipated to transform the way marketers and advertisers connect with Hispanic consumers to an audience of 550 US Hispanic advertising professionals from across the country.

AHAA's conference and the new Latino identity received extensive media coverage, ranging from trade publications to the New York Times, thanks to the hard work of CMG. Coordinators of AHAA's media relations, CMG staff members kept AHAA in the spotlight, scheduling interviews and responding to media inquiries throughout the conference. Visit AHAA's Web site for more information.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Washington, D.C. Metro Area Chapter (AFP/DC) organized the Fifth Annual National Capital Philanthropy Day, held at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel on Friday, Nov. 3. In celebration of the Washington, D.C. metro area's commitment to philanthropy, awards were presented for Outstanding Philanthropist, Outstanding Fundraising Volunteer, Outstanding Corporate Partner, Outstanding Foundation Partner, and Outstanding Fundraising Professional. Additionally, the "Honor Your Own" program allowed organizations to honor up to three individuals and organizations in each of these categories. Visit the AFP/DC Web site for more information.

The Americas Association of Cooperative/Mutual Insurance Societies (AAC/MIS)'s annual conference in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Nov. 8-10, featured a half-day workshop on corporate social responsibility. "Corporate social responsibility is one of our member companies' strong points, and highlighting their achievements in this area reinforces their image and reputation as responsible corporate citizens among their policyholders and their communities," says AAC/MIS Executive Director Edward Potter, CAE. Following a presentation on Diverse Corporate Social Responsibility Programs, conference attendees will have the opportunity to share their best corporate social responsibility practices with one another during an exposition of ideas. Also at the conference, AAC/MIS will grant an award to recognize excellence in corporate social responsibility for the first time in the association's history. Visit AAC/MIS's Web site for more information.

The International Society for the Study of Dissociation ( ISSD) held its 23rd International Fall Conference, Beyond Dissociative Disorders: The Relationship Between Dissociative Processes and Other Mental Disorders, in L.A., Nov. 9-11. ISSD staff and volunteers have been sharing the responsibilities for organizing the conference with MMG. Visit ISSD's Web site for more information.

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSAMI) is partnering with the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) to present the 2nd Annual Caribbean Sales and Marketing Strategy Conference in Miami, Dec. 7-8. Recognizing the conference's significance in the travel industry, the Organization of American States (OAS) has provided funding for 30 ministers of tourism from 30 island countries in the Caribbean and Central and South America to attend the conference to learn about hospitality and tourism sales and marketing trends, resources, and best practices. The Caribbean travel and tourism economy ranks first in the world in relative contribution to regional economies, according to World Travel and Tourism Council statistics. Visit HSMAI's Web site for more information. [contents]

Manage Successful Meetings with MMG

Meeting planning - that's like planning a company holiday party, right? Wrong!

Meetings Management Group Meetings Director Derek Jenks frequently hears this assumption, which could not be further from the truth. Derek oversees the planning for the 50 meetings and conferences MMG manages on average each year. For many of MMG 's clients, their annual conference is the major profit center, providing the association's operating budget for the entire year.

Derek, and the rest of MMG's highly qualified staff, typically begins work on a client's conference one year in advance. Occasionally, they get thrown a curve ball and only have three months to plan a meeting. Other times, they have three years. Certainly, they would prefer the time, but have been known to react quickly on short notice.

The interaction between MMG's knowledgeable, cohesive team and great communication with one another sets them apart, according to Derek. "A conference consists of a million different moving parts, from the preplanning stage through on-site execution. Because MMG is accountable for each of these elements, our staff members must not only complete their individual tasks, but also help out their teammates when needed," Derek adds.

The advantage of working with MMG is the extensive knowledge base and scope of services the firm provides. "There is not a service involved with meetings that we don't execute," Derek says. "Having executed a multitude of events, we are well-versed in all stages of the meeting planning life cycle." Coupled with exceptional customer service, this wealth of knowledge allows MMG to assimilate with any client and offer the best recommendations for success. "We become trusted members of our client's team and they rely on us for guidance throughout the entire meeting planning life cycle."

From L-R: Gustavo Gutierrez, President of Tortillas, Inc. and TIA's conference chair; Tim Hulsey, International Sales at Lawrence Equipment; Roberto Quinones, TIA Executive Director; Brenda Macias, Telemundo Emcee for the conference's Awards Banquet; Bob Rodriquez, Telemundo, local sponsor The Tortilla Industry Association (TIA)'s 17th annual convention and trade exposition in Las Vegas, Sept. 15-17, and The Society for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals (SMRP)'s 14 th annual conference in Birmingham , Ala., Oct. 22-25 are two examples of conferences that MMG recently planned with great success. MMG handled every aspect of TIA's conference, including pre-conference logistics, speaker management, registration, sponsorship and exhibit management, and on-site management. Collaboration between MMG, Creative Design, and TIA staff resulted in a consistent image that reinforced the conference's brand and saved both time and money. TIA's partnership with MMG was paramount. Not only did the conference surpass last year's revenue, sponsors, and number of booths, but it cost less than anticipated. L-R, MMG and SMRP staff members Debra Fernandez, Gabi Mahn, Maureen Gribble, Erin Winings and Derek Jenks. SMRP came to AMG at a critical time, with their annual conference and meeting only a few months away. The new affiliation, according to Patrick Winters, CAE, executive director of SMRP, has paid off. Close collaboration between SMRP staff and MMG's meetings team resulted in record-breaking conference attendance. Pat praised MMG staff, noting, "MMG demonstrated their meetings expertise and professionalism by providing direction and the missing links for the conference both quickly and efficiently."

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IT Offers Personalized Assistance to Advance AMG Clients.

Keeping up with changing technology can be a full-time job, and for the IT staff at AMG .it is. In addition to providing technical support for hardware and software, the IT department is a valued resource for clients to help them make their business processes more efficient and effective. With AMG's recent purchase of state-of-the-art association management software, Euclid's CearVantage, the IT staff has been busy converting client systems to the new technology.

Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) was one of the first AMG clients to improve their processes with ClearVantage. Prior to ClearVantage, HSMAI used several databases and spent hours making changes to each one, but with the change in December 2005, HSMAI now has all of their member information in one database and can make updates in seconds.

"ClearVantage has made a huge difference in our information accuracy. Anyone on staff can easily look up information in a central location, decreasing our chance for error, and most importantly, enabling us to give our members personalized attention," said Mandie Jorgensen, manager of member services.

"BJ and the IT staff are always able and willing to help with any problems or questions I have about the software. Of course, it's a great feeling of security knowing that I have help only walking distance from my desk."

Training is the key according to IT Director BJ Stanger. Whether implementing ClearVantage, helping with Microsoft products (Outlook, Word and Excel), or lending expertise on other software applications they may recommend, the IT staff provides thorough training to make it easy for clients to use. "The advice I give any client is don't cut corners," BJ says. "Learn it, do it right, ask questions and then own it and continue to learn. That's the value we provide our clients."

From consulting, design, programming, testing and training, the IT department helps clients solve any issue. "We've worked with a certification testing vendor to automate testing data and results for one client, and we helped another by developing a program for electronic file transfer with the bank. No project is too big or small, and we provide a wide range of services and expertise. Information and processes are changing so quickly you have to stay on top of it, and they are so busy running their associations, but we can make things easier for them." [contents]

AMG welcomes new executive directors Kerry Stackpole of the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA) and Mac Cannon of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Metropolitan Washington (ACEC/MW).

Formerly known as the Newsletter and Electronic Publishers Association, SIPA is an international trade association dedicated to advancing the interests of for-profit subscription newsletter publishers and specialized-information services. (ACEC/MW) is a business league that considers and acts in the best interests of consulting engineering firms with the object of assisting its members to achieve higher professional, business and economic standards to provide better consulting engineering services to their clients.

Kerry has had an opportunity to work with AMG's support services, with great success and anticipation for the future, while Mac has been working hard to keep up with increased member participation.

Kerry Stackpole
SIPA has been busy since joining AMG in July. With the help of CMG, the association re-branded and repositioned itself as the Specialized Information Publishers Association to reflect a new direction for the industry and better describe the business of its members. In addition to the transition to an association management company (AMC), SIPA is transitioning to a new executive director. Kerry Stackpole, CAE, replaced retiring veteran Patti Wysocki on Oct. 2.

Kerry's immediate responsibilities include rolling out the association's new identity, unveiling a new Web site, creating membership brochures, newsletters, additional marketing collateral, and new visual imagery. The in-house staff of CMG, IT, and Creative Design continues to guide and coordinate these efforts.

Kerry's long-range plans are to bring SIPA's strategic plan to life, position SIPA and its new brand identity within the industry, and establish a solid foundation for future initiatives in partnership with the board and AMG.

Kerry sees both a challenge and an opportunity in how the association deals with the tremendous volume of information that floods the Internet and its consumers daily. The challenge is for SIPA to distinguish itself in the marketplace as a source of crucial information, insight, and analysis regarding the most pressing information of the day. At the same time, SIPA has the opportunity to help its members leverage their strength in providing their insight and analysis on this volume of information impacting the public's daily lives. SIPA and CMG will work closely to build the brand and prepare for the future.

Mac Cannon
An existing AMG partner of nearly ten years, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Metropolitan Washington ( ACEC/MW) welcomed new executive director Mac Cannon in August. Already, Mac is making great strides in increasing member participation. Participation nearly doubled in ACEC/MW's annual golf outing and networking event, Fore in the Fall, held at the South Riding Golf Club in South Riding, Va., Sept. 28. The golf outing drew the most participants in the event's history, jumping from 43 players last year to 75 this year. Additionally, interest in the chapter's monthly networking luncheons has been climbing steadily, with attendees nearing 100.

With the industry experiencing a flurry of activity, Mac hopes to continue to promote open communication with surrounding jurisdictions and similar organizations and help ACEC/MW members grow their partnerships with other organizations while becoming a clearinghouse for information. [contents]

Fall activities for the group of AMG brand ambassadors otherwise known as TeAMG are focused on team building and community outreach. TeAMG, co-chaired by Melanie Penoyar of HSMAI and Rick Garcia of AHAA, helps to build and support the culture across all of AMG, from staff to client partners.

TeAMG helped recent hires mingle and have fun with their longer tenured co-workers during its annual Halloween luncheon, featuring a costume contest, pumpkin decorating contest, and family trick-or-treating in the office. Marge Simpson, known to her co-workers as Mary Lou Swiscoski with AFP/DC, took home a Nano for best individual costume. HSMAI staffers won Starbucks gift cards for best team costume with their slumber party theme.

During the Halloween festivities, AMG kicked off its fall food drive, known as "reverse trick-or-treat." Employees were given bags, which they are asked to fill with specific nonperishable food items. The bags will be collected at a later date and distributed to a local charity in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Last year's donations benefited the poor and homeless in the Washington Metro Area served by community-based organization So Others Might Eat (SOME). Tracy Monson, SOME's non-monetary donations coordinator, said that the organization is able to provide 850 meals a day to hungry individuals thanks to the generous donations of individuals and corporations. SOME relies heavily upon donations from individuals and corporations, who together provide nearly half of the nonprofit's funds. For more information about SOME, visit their Web site, www.some.org. [contents]