Three long, productive days after it began, the American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education ended as it began – with a flourish and some new twists for the 400-plus attendees who trekked to New Orleans for the 17th annual event. Some thoughts as we depart New Orleans:
The most well received speaker: John Pope, higher education reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, who recounted in emotional detail the horror of covering Hurricane Katrina. A tall, thin and highly theatrical man with an expansive vocabulary and wonderful story telling skills, John captivated the audience with a riveting story. He summed up the plight of the Gulf Coast states today this way: “President Bush said rebuilding the Gulf Coast region devastated by the hurricane would be the largest such effort since the Marshall Plan following World War II. Mr. President, we are still waiting.”
As has happened in recent years, we had a number of international participants who traveled across oceans for the event, including a marketing consultant employed by the University of Warsaw.
One of the most well attended track sessions was the IT/web session provided by a Furman University team led by Greg Carroll, a good friend to the AMA and annual volunteer to the event.
In next year’s conference, which we began planning late yesterday, we are toying around with the schedule, the persistent problem of having advanced marketing sessions competing with track sessions and how to streamline and enhance the paper submission process.
Jazz singer Charmaine Neville, sister of famed Neville Brothers, was a hit in two shows at the bar/restaurant/club Snug Harbor, both of which had a number of conference attendees on hand Monday night. The bleary-eyed did well to arrive at our 8:15 A.M. sessions pretty much on time.
By a show of hands, nearly half the attendees had participated in one of the “disaster tours” local entrepreneurs were offering. Seeing the devastation up close is mind numbing. Mile after mile of homes destroyed by the flood waters that begin with a levee break on 17th Street downtown. Roofs often had manmade holes on the tops and sides – evidence of evacuees who escaped attics when the floodwaters continued to grow. Many streets still had power lines broken and dangling, trash and ruined household debris piled in yards and the omnipresent white “FEMA trailers” in front yards – living quarters for thousands, 15 months after the catastrophic event.
Thanks to the three-dozen plus senior marketers who attended our firm’s wine reception Monday night. Good fellowship and a wide variety of nice wines were enjoyed; and those of you who publicly made pre-election predictions – we know the savviest ones the day after voters went to the polls.
The pre- and post-tutorials were once again well attended, particularly those offered by Michael Stoner, Tom Hayes and Bob Sevier.
This is my third and final year as Conference Chair. My thanks to the Steering Committee members, who worked tirelessly for seven months planning the conference. I am pleased to pass the torch to President Elizabeth Scarborough, my senior partner who was selected – I promise – well before joining our firm earlier this year.
-- Christopher Simpson