As we enter a new board year of the AMA SF, I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone that came out to celebrate with us at our “AMA SF Enters Its 80s” kickoff event, my first event as chapter president. Technically, our chapter is in its 81st year…but we’re all marketers. We know that sometimes you need to spin your messaging just a little bit to make it more effective.

In the days and weeks leading up to the kickoff event, there was a nagging worry in the back of my mind that we’d throw a party, and no one would show up. Well, you proved me wrong! Thankfully. Whether it was the 80s theme or the promise of mini Impossible Burgers, you showed up in record numbers. The constant flow of Material Girl and Mr. Miyagi cocktails may have had something to do with it, but I’d say that everyone had a blast. We even had four AMA SF past presidents in attendance…which shows how much of a tight-knit group we are.

I would again like to thank all our fabulous sponsors and volunteers. And, because I’m about to bombard you with event pictures, I want to highlight the efforts of award-winning photographer Genevieve Shiffrar. I have worked with Genenvieve in my day job and was thrilled that she agreed to photograph this event. You will see why. These incredible images perfectly capture the spirit of our kickoff event. Genevieve takes a collaborative approach to portrait photography and believes that when people actively participate in their own representation, the photographs capture their unique identity and beauty. I’d say that she succeeded in that. You can check out more of Genevieve’s work at her website or contact her at genevieve@shiffrar.com.

We could not have pulled any of this off without our incredible event sponsor, The Village.

I hope you were able to take home some AMA SF swag, courtesy of Swift promotional products.

A special shout-out goes to Madrone Studios and DJ RamDog for spinning the tunes and putting together those incredible projections.

And, last but not least, congratulations to our contest winners Paul Lowrey and Sameer Bhasin, who each won a free pass to every event hosted by AMA SF in the upcoming board year (running from July 2018 through June of 2019.) Plus, Christopher Rogers, Cleo Goodwin, Selene Michalopoulos, and Karen Grayson each won a free pass to our upcoming How to Win at Google AdWords & Analytics program. People really do win at AMA. (Only those that were around in the 80s will understand that joke.)

AMA SF has big things on the horizon—big things that you have heard about if you attended the kickoff event but will be officially announced very soon. And to be able to execute at such a high caliber, we need lots of help—help from volunteers, help from sponsors, and the help of additional board members. If you’d like to get involved, let us know! And, I hope to see everyone at our next event.