American Academy of Advertising
Annual Members’ Meeting Minutes Spring 2009 (March 27, 2009) Cincinnati, OH
President Dean Krugman called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. Twenty-nine members were present.
1. Approval of Minutes from the March 28, 2008 Annual AAA Members’ Meeting
· President Dean Krugman called for approval of the minutes (available on the AAA website) from the March 28, 2008 AAA Members’ meeting. There was a motion to approve the minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Past President’s Report
· Past President Jef Richards reported on results of the election for 2009 AAA Officers. Richards announced that 32% of the AAA membership voted in this election and that the elected officers for 2009 are: President, Shelly Rodgers; President-Elect, Herb Rotfeld; Vice President, Wei-Na Lee; Secretary, Debbie Treise, Treasurer, Margaret Morrison.
3. President-Elect’s Report
· President-Elect Shelly Rodgers informed members that ten special topics proposals were submitted for the 2009 annual AAA Conference and that seven were accepted.
4. Vice President’s Report
· Vice President Glen Nowak announced that a total of 153 papers were submitted for the 2009 annual AAA Conference and that 82 were accepted. There were 73 paper reviewers for this year’s conference. Nowak thanked the reviewers for all of their help.
5. Treasurer’s Report
· Treasurer Herb Rotfeld reported that the AAA organization is in healthy financial condition. He announced that the Treasurer and Executive Director are working together in overseeing the financial records of the AAA organization.
6. Executive Director’s Report
· Executive Director Pat Rose reiterated that the financial position of the AAA organization is solid. Rose informed members that the total AAA assets in 2008 were about $446,000 and that the figures will be posted as part of the minutes. Rose also reported results of tracking financial data by basic categories (e.g., annual conference, membership services, etc.). Rose informed members that income and expenses seem to be in line with the budget.
· Rose also announced that the AAA logo has been approved by US trademark attorneys for publication.
7. Conference Director’s Report
· Conference Director Bob King reported that there were presently 188 registered attendees for the 2009 annual AAA conference and the largest attendance ever at the opening luncheon. King announced that just over 75% of registrants registered on line. Further, over 20% of total registrants are first timers to the annual conference and just over 20% of total registrants are students. King encouraged members to visit the exhibiters’ booths at the conference and stated that four of the exhibiters from previous conferences did not participate this year. Members were reminded that the 2010 AAA Conference will be held in Minneapolis, MN March 18-21, 2009.
· King also reported on the planned 2009 Asia-Pacific conference to date. Registration numbers are good and more response is anticipated. Members were reminded to submit their applications to the conference and were informed that the time to do so was now.
· King announced the AAA Executive Committee decision to have a future AAA conference in Milan, Italy. He informed members of centrally located universities, hotels, and key sites in the area. It is anticipated that the conference will take place in late May or early June, 2010. Further information will be forthcoming.
8. President’s Comments
· President Dean Krugman commented on planning for the future of AAA. Krugman has appointed an ad-hoc AAA Monetary Planning Task Force to determine what kind of financial structure would be necessary if the AAA organization would need to hire an Executive Director and Director of Conference Services sometime in the future. Although the organization is already in solid financial condition, Krugman encouraged members to consider ways to raise funds for the AAA organization looking ahead to the future. It was mentioned that senior members could consider putting AAA in their trusts or wills.
· Krugman expressed appreciation to Bob King and to Pat Rose for volunteering as Director of Conference Services and as Executive Director respectively. Krugman further announced that the past AAA policy to pay the Director of Conference Services and the Executive Director $2,000 each was modified to $3,000 each to be paid to them directly or to their institution based on their constant consultation and the fact that they may no longer be at an institution. It was explained that this was not a payment for their valuable time but rather a thank you.
9. Committee Reports
· Finance Committee Report
Finance Committee Chair Nancy Mitchell reported that the Finance Committee has reviewed and approved the AAA 2008 year end figures and the 2009 AAA budget. Mitchell informed members that inquiries from the Committee were forwarded to the Executive Director Pat Rose who answered all inquiries to the Committee’s satisfaction. The Finance Committee members found the budget to be sound and commended and appreciated the AAA organization’s financial transparency to members. Mitchell thanked the other members of the Finance Committee.
· International Advertising Education Committee Report
International Advertising Education Committee Chair Padmini Patwardhan reported on the Committee’s development of a webpage to support international research and information. Patwardhan announced that a survey of the AAA organization was conducted that revealed that there were as many as 25 different countries of interest among AAA members. At this point, the Committee has a mockup of the webpage which is comprised of teaching, research, and professional resources. Patwardhan informed members that the Committee is working on building a list of books and syllabi for the teaching component, a scholar database for the research component, and blogs and LinkedIn groups for the professional component. The Committee expects to e-mail the webpage link to AAA members soon. Patwardhan encouraged members to provide information to be added to the webpage.
· Membership Committee Report
Membership Committee co-Chair Wendy Macias reported that AAA membership numbers are about 414 total. Macias thanked members for their recruitment efforts and encouraged continuation. Macias announced that the Committee conducted a lapsed member survey and although there was not a lot of response, everyone who did respond renewed their membership. In addition, the Committee e-mailed over 200 individuals located in close radius to the 2009 annual AAA Conference area which resulted in recruiting 10-11 conference registrants. Macias also announced that the Membership Committee plans to hold a meeting tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. and welcomed anyone to attend the meeting and to consider joining the Committee.
· Publication Committee Report
Publication Committee Chair Sally McMillan announced that within the near future all past conference proceedings will be placed in the members’ only section of the website.
10. New Business
· No new business was discussed.
· The 2009 AAA members’ meeting was adjourned at 5:36 p.m. |