President


Josh Kozinski

Josh Kozinski
President, Sky High Marketing

Josh is the President of Sky High Marketing, a company that helps companies with their branding efforts. The company originated in Milwaukee, WI in 1997 and expanded into Las Vegas three years ago. Josh spends his time traveling between offices and focuses on business development.

He has served on many non-profit boards and has served the AMA Las Vegas chapter for the past three years. In Josh's free time he enjoys sports and spending time with his wife and three children.

josh@skyhighmarketing.com

www.skyhighmarketing.com
http://www.ecofriendlypromotionalitems.com

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William Crozer
President, ModernLV

Since 2006, William has sought to help businesses create distinctive and unique impressions with consumers as the owner of Fast Track Moving Media and Clutch Media Group. Former clients include KB Home, Nevada State College, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Fresh & Easy and Dunkin' Donuts. In 2009, the American Advertising Federation recognized Fast Track Moving Media for their innovative campaign with Dunkin' Donuts with a prestigious Addie Award.

Prior to forming these companies, William had a successful career in the hospitality industry. As a graduate of UNLV's Harrah School of Hospitality and the Culinary Institute of America, his experiences allowed him to serve hundreds of celebrities at one of Las Vegas' most sought after restaurants, travel to taste wine at the preeminent vineyards in California, France and Australia, and spend time cooking in one of the finest restaurants in Manhattan.
As an entrepreneur, William has been able to transform his natural creativity into new solutions for people's problems. Through Fast Track Moving Media, he implemented unique and award winning out of home advertising campaigns for clients such as Dunkin' Donuts, KB Home and Fresh 'n Easy.

Through Clutch Media Group and Entrepreneur Advisors, he was able to teach businesses how to viable social media strategies. In his current role as President of ModernLV, William has become a thought leader for IKEA in Las Vegas by making it easier to have IKEA home furnishings in Las Vegas.


william@modernlv.com

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Dean White
Marketing Director, Las Vegas Review-Journal

H. Dean White is the Director of Marketing and Promotions for The Las Vegas Review-Journal. He is native of the Chicago area and a long suffering Cubs fan. Dean has been with the Review-Journal for 17 years; 10 years in Circulation and the last 7 in Marketing. Prior to moving to Las Vegas he worked 5 years for the Chicago Tribune.

In addition to handling all Marketing functions for his newspaper, Dean is active in a number of non-profits and serves on several community boards. He is an avid cyclist and reader.

Dean holds a Bachelors degree from Northern Illinois University, and an MBA from UNLV. In 2003 He attended the Advanced Executive Program at the Media Management Institute at Northwestern University.

dwhite@reviewjournal.com

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Jennifer L. Nash
Ballard Spahr LLP

Jennifer Nash moved to Las Vegas from Philadelphia, PA in April 2007 and holds a Bachelors Degree in Marketing from Drexel University. In her current role as Marketing Manager for a national full-service law firm with over 475 attorneys, Jennifer creates and executes marketing and business development plans for individual lawyers and practice groups nationwide, and locally for the Las Vegas office. She also identifies and manages industry sponsorships and conferences, and provides ongoing research on potential clients and competitors.

Jennifer has a background in marketing, communications, and brand management. Jennifer, an avid indoor soccer player, enjoys volunteering and traveling. Prior to her current role, Jennifer served as VP of Hospitality with the AMA.

nashj@ballardspahr.com

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Kathy Watkins
Partner - Sutton Watkins Advertising & Marketing, Inc.

Some people stumble onto a career path. For others, it's a calling. For Kathy Watkins, Advertising is a calling.
Before graduating from Auburn University with a B.A. in Advertising and Marketing, she was making headlines. Fueled by passion, creativity and an endless pursuit of fun she launched her first successful campaign. Gumby for Govenor!
This was the beginning of a career designed for success. Prior to launching an award-winning agency - Sutton Watkins Advertising & Marketing - Kathy enjoyed a lucrative career in Advertising Design and Account Services. In 1996, she was awarded Account Executive of the Year by Women in Communications.
Kathy has continued on her award-winning career path as a Partner in Sutton Watkins Advertising & Marketing, where she has earned the following accolades to date: Outstanding Accomplishments and Contributions to Promote Women's Issues in Nevada Honoring Our Heroes (2001), Outstanding Partner Award (2001
o Award for Ongoing Contributions and Support for Area Health Education Center for Southern Nevada (AHEC, 2005)

The Wind Beneath Her Wings: Behind every successful entrepreneur is a wellspring of inspiration. For Kathy that inspiration springs from her brother, Mike, who taught her the value of a living life with passion and excellence every day. Her father remains her mentor and the foundation from which she continues to soar to success and her mother taught her to see the good and grace in every situation.

Secrets of Success: For those looking to break into the business, Kathy recommends finding a mentor and doing an internship to gain experience prior to graduation. Follow in your mentor's footsteps. Take your job seriously - not too seriously - work hard,
be honest and ethical and have fun.

kathy@suttonwatkins.com

www.suttonwatkins.com

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Steve McCracken
Senior Vice President Bank of America

Steve McCracken is a Senior Vice President with Bank of America. In his role as the Market Manager, he is responsible for the bank's brand, marketing, sponsorship, public relations and charitable giving in Nevada and Utah. McCracken has worked for Bank of America for 17 years in a variety of roles, including seven years in the Corporate Sports and Sponsorship Marketing department.

McCracken currently serves on the boards of The First Tee of Southern Nevada and The Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. He also serves on the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Executive MBA Advisory Council. McCracken received his Bachelor of Arts from William Jewell College and his Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

In addition to being a scratch golfer, he enjoys spending free time with his family. He, his wife Robyn, daughter Brynn and dog Jake reside in Summerlin.

steve.mccracken@bankofamerica.com

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Sara Ure
Events Manager, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville

Sara comes to the AMA Board with 10 years experience in the Entertainment & Hospitality Industry. She started her career in Tennessee and has been working in the Las Vegas market for the last 5 years. Sara is currently the Events Manager for Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and is responsible for special events and promotional marketing activities.

She is also a member of the Las Vegas Hospitality Association, National Association of Catering Executives, and serves on the board for Convention Services Association. Sara looks forward to being involved in her new position on the AMA Board.

sure@flamingolasvegas.com

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Jennifer Mahar Mulder
Associate Publisher
Meeting Planner Resources, LLC / Relocation Resources, LLC

Meeting Planner Resources, LLC is the publisher of Meetings and Events Las Vegas a bi-annual publication distributed nationally and internationally by request to Business Meeting Planners, Conventions and Associations that are planning an event or meeting in the Las Vegas area. As the Associate Publisher, Jennifer has overseen the editorial, advertisements, marketing, circulation and the dedicated team at the publication for over 5 years. Relocation Resources publishes local relocation guides that are distributed by request to corporate relocations, individuals and families relocating to the Las Vegas Valley prior to their arrival. Both publications are in print and interactive online. Jennifer graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications and Marketing and completed an Executive Leadership Program at Cornell University. She currently serves on the Las Vegas Territory State Board of Tourism as the Marketing Director, the S. Nevada Medical Industry Coalition (SNMIC), the Nevada Restaurant Association Event Committee and was the Vice President of Sponsorship for 4 years prior to becoming the Vp of Programming for the Las Vegas chapter of the American Marketing Association. She enjoys being involved in the community and focuses on assisting individuals with developmental disabilities and underprivileged families in S. Nevada.

jennifer@meetingplannerresources.org amalasvegas@hotmail.com

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Lisa Sexton
Supervisor, Marketing/Energy Service Department, Southwest Gas Corp.

Lisa is a 48 year resident of Las Vegas and has worked for Southwest Gas 32 of those years. In the last 14 years of Lisa's Southwest Gas (SWG) career, she has worked in the Marketing/Energy Services Department.

Lisa supervises the Energy Specialists experts that answer consumer inquiries regarding high-efficiency natural gas products, new technology, special offers, and more to approximately 1.8 million customers in Arizona, California and Nevada. Examines trends, develops, implements and manages programs to build load and revenue for Southwest Gas.

Lisa recently received high honors in completing a Marketing Certification program developed by SRCG, Strategic Resource Consulting Group available through AMA. Lisa also received a prestigious Aspire award from Southwest Gas for her recent program partnership with Home Depot in providing discounts and low cost services to Southwest Gas customers.

Lisa.Sexton@swgas.com

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Melissa Placek
Director of Sales & Marketing, Hyatt Place Las Vegas

Melissa brings over 15 years marketing and sales experience to her role as VP of Hospitality. As Director of Sales and Marketing for Hyatt Place Las Vegas, Melissa is responsible for the overall sales, marketing and revenue strategy for the hotel.

A native of Chicago, (and another long suffering, but still hopeful, Cub’s fan) Melissa actually began her career as a dessert chef in Chicago after graduating from the University of Illinois at Champaign. She then launched into hotels working for Hyatt and Westin. Westin’s parent company Starwood Hotels & Resorts then moved her to New York where she worked in Loyalty Marketing and also in CRM Technologies where she headed up development and training of Starwood’s proprietary email application, a job which took her around the world, traveling from Peru to Thailand to train hotels.

After moving to Las Vegas in 2005 Melissa became Director of Marketing and Product Strategy for a local technology firm. Melissa and her husband Paul live in the south Las Vegas area with their two sets of golf clubs.

melissa.placek@hyattselect.com

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Jessica Hird
Marketing Professional Las Vegas

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jessica Hird graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.A. in Theater Arts. Besides her Girl Scout cookie selling days, she counts her formative marketing lessons coming from numerous hours hawking tickets on the street outside the Edinburgh Fringe Theater Festival Box Office as a teenager.

Since then, as part of the Marketing Departments of TheatreWorks and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, she has managed programs for improving ticket sales, targeting and database management. Her time as the Marketing Manager at Ticketmaster has been marked by the launch of campaigns for clients such as Miss America, Cirque du Soleil, Disney, and AEG and leading the company to define and adapt products for destination marketing.

She has written for Stage Directions magazine about developing interactive marketing for theater and is also a member of the Las Vegas Interactive Marketing Association and the Las Vegas Regional Ticketing Association.

jessicahird@hotmail.com

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Jim Villela
Account Executive, Lamar Outdoor Advertising

Jim Villela is a 26 year resident of Las Vegas, NV. He has been in advertising and media sales for over 12 years working for KLAS TV Ch. 8, KUPN TV 21, DRGM Advertising, Lamar Outdoor advertising and Greenspun Media Group. After 3 1/2 years at Greenspun Media Group, I returned back to Lamar Outdoor, where I was at for 9 years before GMG

Jim has been an active member of AMA-LV for 11 years and has been on the Executive Board for 4 consecutive years as VP of Membership Relations.

"Being a part of AMA-LV has been an incredibly positive and productive experience. The business relationships and friendships that have emanated from being a part of AMA-LV are invaluable to me. The future is bright for our chapter".

jim.villela@gmgvegas.com

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Chuck Johnson


“Stumbled his way into the arena of professional sports 15 years ago as an account executive for the Las Vegas Thunder Hockey Team and the Las Vegas Stars (now 51s) Baseball Team. A brief hiatus away from selling the diamond saw Chuck work for the Professional Bull Riders Tour selling sponsorships and media nationally for the events and NBC telecasts. However, he really never left the on deck circle and when the 51s asked him to step up to the plate he was more than ready, returning as the team’s VP of Marketing and Assistant General Manager.

Chuck is an avid golfer and currently the VP of the First Tee of Southern Nevada. In addition to golf, Chuck loves to ski, taking photos, yard work and most of all, cooking for his wife Andrea and friends.”

cjohnson@lv51.com

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Theresa Boucher
Assisatnt Coordinator and Digital Marketing Specialist - Every Child Matters, Nevada
Freelance Designer and Consultant - Boucher Design and Consulting


Theresa has had many years experience as a Freelance Designer, in the form of advertisements, websites, and other promotional materials for both print and the web. As a consultant, she has worked with various companies, both private and non-profit, in the development of marketing and advertising objectives.

She is currently working at Every Child Matters (ECM) as a internet marketing specialist. ECM is a non-profit, non-partisan group dedicated to advancing childrens issues and bringing them to the attention of elected officials and voters

Theresa has developed a strong interest in Internet Marketing, Social Networking and New Technologies. She earned a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she served as Vice President of Technology for the UNLV AMA collegiate chapter. Theresa currently serves as Collegiate Liaison and Webmaster to the UNLV AMA Chapter.The UNLV AMA Website has won 2nd place in 2008, 1st place in 2009, and 1st place in 2010 at the AMA Collegiate Conference.

She has earned an Associate Degree in Commercial Art from Tampa Technical Institute and an Associate Degree in Business from CSN. She has also acquired an UNLV Educational Outreach Certificate in Website Design. Theresa is currently enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and Masters in Management Information Systems (MIS) duel degree program at UNLV.

technology@amalasvegas.com
theresaboucher@gmail.com

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2008-2009

President - Angela George
President-Elect - Dean White
Immediate Past President - Anita Stockbauer
VP of Administration - Maggie Waddoups
VP of Communications - Anne K. Dean
VP of Finance - Becky Linford
VP of Hospitality - Jennifer Nash
VP of Member Relations - Jim Villela
VP of Member Operations - Josh Kozinski
VP of Programming - William Crozer
Programming Chair - Pam Meza
VP of Sponsorship - Jennifer Mahar
VP of Technology - Theresa Boucher
Editor of E-newsletter - Stacie Daigle

2007-2008

President - Anita Stockbauer
President-Elect - Angela George
Immediate Past President - Kathy Cunningham
VP Administration - Lisa R. Davis
VP Communications - Amber Stidham
VP Finance - Becky Linford
VP Hospitality - Jennifer Nash
VP Member Relations - Jim Villela
VP Member Operations - Josh Kozinski
VP Programming - William Crozer
VP Sponsorship - Jennifer Mahar
VP Technology - Jeff Helvin
Editor of E-news - Raquel James
VP Education/Collegate Relations - Shaundell Newsome