If I could put a name on my year as SMPS Oregon Chapter President, I would call it “The Year of New Beginnings”. The Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) runs on an academic calendar, commencing the new term in September and 2018/19 came with exciting changes and challenges, including the launch of a new SMPS brand voice and identity and a mission and vision that truly reflected our purpose as marketing professionals within our various organizations. 

At the local level, we were tasked with implementing these changes throughout the Oregon chapter – our website, brochures, signage, swag, handbook, social media, newsletter, etc. all went through a major redesign. If you’ve ever gone through a rebrand at your company, you can commiserate with me on how much effort something like this takes. I can’t thank the Communications Committee (Kaitlin Virding, Stephanie Doeing-Nicoletti, Emily DeChambeau, Sarah Hale, and Colleen Daly) for their support and time to make these changes.

In addition to the rebrand, we made a few changes to how we give back to our members. With the help of our Industry Outreach Director, Kate Kearney, we changed our high school scholarship into a professional development scholarship for chapter members who wanted to build upon their career achievements with the Lynn Parsons Educational Scholarship, which funds a certificate program at Portland State University. We also revamped our Marketing Excellence Awards event to reflect the national organization’s award categories and criteria, as well as including new categories in the individual and collateral awards based on the trends we were seeing in industry. We saw a record number of nominations and submissions last year and shared the winners’ work on SMPS Oregon’s Facebook page (in case you’re looking for inspiration). A big shout out to our Special Events Committee, Angie Cole, Alex Orozco, Zoey Zemanek, Thy Daniels, Samantha Jordan, and Alexi Meuwissen for rebranding and organizing this event – I don’t think they were expecting such an amazing turn out and they deserve massive praise for rising to the occasion and delivering a celebration worthy of the companies in attendance.

It would remiss of me to mention the programs that came long before me and have continued to serve our chapter members, including the CPSM Certification Boot Camp, a study group for marketers looking to advance their career with a Certified Professional Services Marketers (CPSM) designation, and the Leora Casey CPSM Scholarship, which will reimburse your CPSM exam fee ($275) if you pass the exam. The Mentorship Program was the first group I joined when I became a SMPS member seven years ago – my personal new beginning in the A/E/C industry. Hosted in 2018/19 by Samantha Jordan and Alexi Meuwissen, the program provides one-on-one mentorship from an industry veteran. The Mentorship Program is one of six Roundtables offered to current SMPS Oregon members and is managed by Professional Development Committee Director, Kelly Johnson. Roundtables are groups of 12-15 SMPS members around the state who meet regularly to discuss topics of interest, issues they face in their jobs, and best practices. Facilitated by experienced marketing/business development professionals, these groups provide a unique opportunity to learn from each other and cultivate relationships with others in our field.

We are a chapter comprised of givers. This year was no exception with our December Meet the Pressevent, where we raised $1,000 for Rose Haven Women’s Shelter, which provides new beginnings in the form of a day shelter and other resources to more than 3,500 women, children and gender variant people each year who are experiencing homelessness, hunger, abuse and other disruptive life experiences. In July, our Special Events Committee hosted their third annual Boards, Bags and Brews corn hole tournament which raised over $6,000 for Girls Build, an organization that helps young girls get inspired, curious and confident about a future in construction. Our chapter will continue to find new ways to help our community and the organizations that reflect our chapter’s values and I encourage you to join us, whether by a donation, by volunteering with the Special Events or Industry Outreach Committees, or by spearheading a volunteer activity with your fellow chapter members. 

We have more than two dozen volunteers who serve on various committees and board positions at SMPS Oregon – their service to our 200+ chapter members provide a space where professional services marketers can come together with their peers to learn, network and advance their careers. I was honored to serve as your chapter President in 2018/19 and I’m grateful for every opportunity I had to widen my network of peers and make some amazing friends along the way. Thank you to the 2018/19 Board of Directors listed below for their commitment and service to the Society of Marketing Professional Services:  

• McKenzie Richardson, PAE Consulting Engineers
• Alexi Meuwissen, Bremik Construction
• Samantha Jordan, Emerick Construction
• Leah Lukrofka, VLMK Engineering + Design
• Jill Daniel, Northwest Pipe Company
• Adrienne Lindsey, GeoEngineers
• Kaitlin Virding, MacKay Sposito
• Kate Kearney, Peter Meijer Architect
• Jenn Bollenbacher, Harder Mechanical
• Kelly Johnson, 3J Consulting
• Angie Cole, Lorentz Bruun Construction
• Chance Williams 

You can thank many of them in person (and meet the new President and Board of Directors) at SMPS Oregon’s annual GROW event on September 26, 2019 at The Eleanor. GROW is our kick-off event for the year and an excellent opportunity to start your own “new beginning” with SMPS Oregon and network with your fellow marketers and business developers. If you would like to get involved in a committee or pursue a role on the Board, please reach out to any of our Directors for more information!

-Christina Blaser, SMPS Oregon Chapter Past-President