January 25, 2022 : Announced publicly at our January Speed Networking event, our Professional Marketing Association of Bowling Green is officially transitioning to a chapter of the American Marketing Association in 2022!

This is not a decision that was taken lightly, and is a discussion that’s been on the PMA board’s list for the past couple years since the onset of Covid-19. Our marketing world evolves quickly, with trends and tools changing (what feels like) all the time. The PMA board felt that its responsibility during these major global marketing shifts is to continue to creatively find ways to keep its members educated with tools and resources at their fingertips.

Since its inception in 1953, the American Marketing Association has never had a local marketing organization reach out to become integrated with its programming and culture. We are breaking ground on completely new territory for both AMA and PMA. It is our mission to continue operating as is, when it comes to monthly programming, membership drives, and annual awards–we are simply rebranding and adding an entirely new national network of webinars/trainings, toolkits, weekly marketing e-news, and contact directories to our membership experience. The AMA Community Council reviewed our PMA format and bylaws, and agreed that our operations are currently similar to an AMA chapter–all we have to do is rebrand, update our bylaws, and have our members annually enroll thru AMA’s site instead of our own. 

What does this mean for the cost of membership? To be totally transparent, the cost of a single membership for AMA BG starting in 2023 will be $149/year, plus the cost of monthly lunches. Of that $149, only $45 of it is returned to our local chapter for regular operational costs with venue, meals, website domain and hosting, bringing in programming, etc. The remaining $104 goes toward the national AMA cost to have access to all of those amazing tools, contacts, educational opportunities, and development. 

The WKU student chapter of AMA will also be linked to our organization when this transition is complete–meaning opportunities to connect with the university to find new interns, talent, and retain all those bright marketers in the BG network after college.

PMA and Bowling Green are changing, just like the world of marketing. We are not just marketers–we are PR practitioners, advertising specialists, content producers, creators, salespeople, influencers, developers, branders, data analysts, social media managers, and so much more. Many of our PMA members have been part of this organization for a decade or longer, and notice the group’s evolution over the years. Our group’s mission is to offer an atmosphere for marketing professionals to meet on a regular basis for networking, professional development, peer recognition, and community involvement–and given the nature of our work and the dire need to keep up, the next step to truly accomplish this purpose is to grow into this nationally-recognized chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Bowling Green is BOOMING with opportunities and change, and it’s up to us to BOOM with it. 

-Telia Butler, 2022 President, PMA BG —> AMA BG