Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Business announced the American Marketing Association (AMA) student chapter as the recipient of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Student Organization of the Year Award.
Given out at the end of each academic year, the award goes to the student organization that puts forth the most effort to support their organization’s mission. This is evaluated through the group’s activities, how its members serve the organization and how its stakeholders.
Senior marketing major and AMA President Matt Gamez is proud of the organization’s achievements. “We’ve managed to grow through the efforts put forth from our members,” he said. “Membership has increased by 38 percent, and our ending budget was three times the goal we had set.”
According to Gamez, the organization increased its budget through extensive fundraising. AMA annually designs and distributes a holiday card that is sent to every faculty and staff member at SIUE in mid-December. Donations are solicited from School of Business faculty and include the names of each donor on the card.
“In addition to our holiday card, we also hosted our annual trivia night,” said Gamez. “It was a tremendously successful fundraising event, and I am confident the group will achieve similar results next year.”
Not only has AMA accomplished growth as an organization, but they also developed the inaugural “School of Business Fest.” Held in September, the festival is designed to promote student business organizations to build membership and awareness across campus.
According to Enterprise Talent Acquisition Manager Steve Talbott, those efforts earned the award for AMA. “AMA distinguished itself through consistent results,” he said. “Fantastic leadership, coupled with a motivated membership, set a great example for other organizations to follow.”
The AMA chapter first received validation of its efforts while attending the 35th Annual International Collegiate Conference (ICC) in March. The ICC is designed to give chapters techniques on improving while providing valuable insight from marketing professionals. The conference also acknowledges AMA chapters for performance.
SIUE’s AMA chapter earned three awards:
- Exemplary Collegiate Chapter Performance for Outstanding Membership
- Exemplary Collegiate Chapter Performance for Outstanding Fundraising
- 3rd Place in the AMA Exhibit Competition for Best Use of Conference Theme
Enterprise, a key supporter of the School of Business, has been sponsoring the Student Organization Leader of the Semester and the Student Organization of the Year Awards since 2006.
The SIUE School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, representing the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. The Princeton Review lists SIUE as one of the top 296 business schools in the U.S. and abroad for the seventh consecutive year. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered in accounting, computer management and information systems, economics, finance, management and marketing. More than 23,000 alumni have earned degrees from the SIUE School of Business. For more information about the School of Business, visit: http://www.siue.edu/business/index.shtml.
SIUE’s American Marketing Association chapter received the Enterprise Student Organization of the Year Award. Pictured (from left to right): SIUE School of Business Dean Gary Giamartino, Assoc. Professor and Chair of the Management and Marketing Dept. Edmund Hershberger, Cassaundra Smith, Adam Richter, Julianne Coonley, Elizabeth Huffman, Matt Gamez, Tauras Ketchens and Enterprise Talent Acquisition Manager Steve Talbott.