UW-Parkside News: PAMA: Always Evolving

PAMA: Always Evolving

Editor's note: This article was written by Stephanie VanDerBunt, president of the Parkside American Marketing Association (PAMA) who also serves as secretary of Parkside Student Government.

Always evolving; that was the topic of the 34th annual International Collegiate Conference held in New Orleans which eight University of Wisconsin-Parkside students and PAMA e-board members attended for four days. After attending this conference, the Parkside American Marketing Association came back a stronger, smarter AMA chapter. The key points we took away from this conference were ideals that we are going to incorporate in not only our chapter, but our university and personal lives overall.

One key idea we took away was the ability to "brand" yourself. Being able to give yourself an identity that stands out amongst the rest can put you on top. Make sure that when Googled, an employer can find you, but it's up to you to make sure that impact is positive. Always have your elevator speech ready, because you never know when you will be in a situation when you will need to use it, and that 30 seconds could change your life.

The numerous corporate sessions we attended were about rebranding and social media. They showed us how it has drastically changed throughout the years, causing organizations to adapt, which goes along with the "always evolving" theme of the conference. In order to stay modern and innovative, a company must change their look and feel to their audience, which is something PAMA will constantly have to do to keep members active and the organization attractive.

After attending this conference, PAMA has set new goals for the upcoming year. We are going to continue our fundraising efforts. Presently, we are raffling a 4 pack of Cubs/Brewers tickets and a parking pass for the May 13 game ? tickets are $3 for one or 2 for $5. These fundraisers help us raise money to go to conferences like the one held in New Orleans.

We are committed to helping those in the community and other organizations on campus in any way we can be of assistance and open our doors to everyone on the UW-P campus. We have started a mentoring program where we mentor our members and show them how to be a successful PAMA e-board member in order to adapt for the future. Another goal we have is to get corporate sponsorships to help us continue our mission of growing and developing future business leaders.

The biggest goal we have is to send members of PAMA back to New Orleans for the 35th Annual Conference where we will participate in the different events, exhibits, and competitions offered.
When it comes to PAMA, we consider ourselves a business; we have a mission, long term and short term strategies for growth, and a strategic plan to make it all obtainable. These are things we will need to have in the business world after we graduate so what we give to our members now they can utilize later in life. Going to the conference in New Orleans helped in giving us the tools to pass on to our current and future members of PAMA.

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Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 4/10/2012