The Maine Marketing Association (MMA) was founded by Don Russell (now of BrandME Marketing), while with Ethos Marketing and Design, in 2001, and was originally called the Portland Marketing Association (PMA). Don felt strongly that area marketers deserved their own shared learning organization about marketing, similar to the Maine Public Relations Council (MPRC)(for PR professionals), and the Ad Club of Maine (for advertising folks). After all, let's face it, without marketing, there is no PR or advertising! A small group of devoted individuals acted as a steering committee, met regularly at Ethos Marketing, and began to shape many of the programming units and content topics that drive the organization today. After thorough vetting, the group decided to remain independent and not to align with any established, national marketing associations. Stefa Normantas, of Green Tree Event Consultants, was elected as the group's first President in 2002. In 2003, to better reflect its regional mission of support to interested marketers, PMA changed its name to Maine Marketing Association.
The goal of the organization remains strong: to provide ongoing marketing-related education and support to its members and to the region's business community. The organization’s Board presents about ten Lunch & Learn programs throughout the year offering attendees cutting-edge topics and how-to sessions, a locally-catered lunch, and superb networking. The Lunch & Learn programs include speakers talking about burgeoning marketing and advertising topics to date. Recent programming topics include search engine optimization, market research in social media, Twitter for business, podcasting, blogging, and cause marketing. The half day seminar held in May is the opportunity for multiple speakers to present to the group in a longer format while still incorporating networking and key take-away lessons in marketing and advertising.
The MMA also distributes a monthly e-newsletter highlighting upcoming
programming, member news, job openings, and general Maine marketing
news in the community. The MMA currently has over 150 active members with a database of over 1400
receiving our monthly newsletters.
Josh Valentine, President
Josh Valentinejoined the Maine Marketing Association in 2007. He became President in June 2010.
Josh is Chief Marketing Strategist of his own firm, Promenade Media, which offers web marketing and social media strategies, plus digital media production for small businesses, musicians, and sustainable causes.
Josh
holds an English degree from Wheaton College and a Media Production
degree from Emerson College, both in Massachusetts. When not working or
playing music, he enjoys skiing, attending U2 and Phish concerts, and hiking trips with his wife, Lisa, and their Bulldog, Bagel.
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Sheri Bonnelljoined the Maine Marketing Association in 2007 and was voted in as President-Elect in January 2009. Her term as President began in June 2009.
Currently, Sheri is the Marketing & Product Analyst at leading disability reinsurance organization Custom Disability Solutions, in South Portland, where she develops, creates and manages projects that enhance client marketing and communications initiatives. Sheri is also responsible for conducting and analyzing market and competitive research that support CDS’ sales, product management and marketing goals. Her past experience includes marketing communications at local food manufacturing company Barber Foods and campaign management in sports information and events coordination. In addition to her involvement with the MMA, Sheri is also a member of the Maine Women’s Fund Portland Regional Advisory Council. With a love for the outdoors, Sheri enjoys biking, hiking, skiing and snow shoeing and is passionate about music. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut where she earned a B.A. in Communications and Journalism.
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Adam Spey was elected to the Board of the Maine Marketing Association
as the Membership Chair in December 2008. He holds a
BS from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine and an MBA from American
University in Washington, DC. After many years in the bicycle industry
and brief stints in politics, he joined a local family business in
Springvale, ME as their Marketing Director. Since then, he has been
doing freelancing as Pirate Pig Campaigns and is available for
consulting or full-time needs.
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Jessica Johnson was elected to the Board of the Maine Marketing Association as Sponsorship Chair in 2010 and is thrilled to work on community outreach and sponsorship development.
Currently, Jessica is Marketing Manager at System Logistics Corporation in Lewiston, a global supplier of material handling equipment and software. Prior to her current position, Jessica spent three years as Senior Conference Producer at IntertechPira where she focused on developing conferences for the alternative energy and specialty chemicals industry. Jessica has a B.A. in Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College and an M.A. in Museum Studies from the George Washington University where she specialized in exhibition development and museum marketing and administration.
A Maine native, Jessica lives in South Portland with her husband, Jason, and their three year-old son, Declan. She loves to cook, read and go exploring with her boys.
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Derek Mitchell joined the Maine Marketing Association in 2009 and
eagerly
joined the board as Web Coordinator in February of 2010.
Living
in Central Maine, Derek recently founded Radial
Communications, a marketing and public relations firm for
Maine’s small businesses. Outside the office, he enjoys hiking and
kayaking, and is pursuing his private pilot’s license.
Derek
earned his B.A. in journalism from the University of Maine,
where he
was a member of Lambda Pi Eta National Communications Honor Society,
and a brother in the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.
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Bill Judkins Bill has his own Certified Public Accounting business, preparing corporate, personal and non-profit income tax returns, and consulting on business growth and function. He also is owner of MasterMind Business Builders, LLC, which brings business owners together for discussions on each other’s business to produce rapid growth. He has Master of Divinity and Master of Science in Business degrees. He lives in Freeport and enjoys reading, motorcycling, and golf. Bill also produces a weekly TV program for the Church of the Nazarene in Brunswick.
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Susan Foote, Secretary
Susan Foote was named Secretary of the Board of Directors in December 2009. Foote brings to the organization a background in marketing and corporate communications and philanthropy. Previously, she worked in the marketing department at Jenner & Block, a national law firm headquartered in Chicago, IL, and as communication consultant at Exelon, a utility company also based in Chicago. In addition, Susan served as Corporate Communications Manager at OSRAM SYLVANIA, a lighting manufacturer based in Danvers, MA, and also held the position of Community Relations Manager where she was responsible for overseeing the company's contributions and community relations programs nationwide.
Susan earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in public relations from Boston University College of Communication. She is a member of the Maine Public Relations Council (MPRC) and the United Way of York County's Marketing and Communications Strategy Committee. She enjoys volunteering at Equest Therapeutic Riding Center, hiking and antiquing, and visits to Monhegan Island in Maine. Susan lives in Kennebunk with her husband and their Westie, Sydney.
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Lisa Valentine joined the MMA in 2006 as a member and quickly became involved on
the board level as the Communications Chair in 2007. She later became
the Board’s President-elect in January of 2008, taking over the
President Chair in June of 2008. Lisa enjoys the many programming
options the Association is able to provide the Maine community and is
encouraged by the sell-out status of the events. “The Maine marketing community is full of talent and we’re glad we’re an outlet for those
talented individuals to learn more about the fast-paced marketing and
advertising worlds."
Lisa has been involved in a marketing capacity for over 10 years
and has worked with companies such as Office Depot and Talbots in their
marketing initiatives. She currently serves as PowerPay’s Marketing
Manager, overseeing the strategy and development of the company’s
marketing programs. She is also the Communications Coordinator of the Maine
Animal Coalition and holds a position on the Board of Directors for Maine Businesses for Sustainability. Lisa is currently
pursuing an MBA from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.
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Suzette Bergeron
is former president of the Maine Marketing Association and has been on the
board since 2006. Suzette is also the owner of two Maine businesses: Funman Promotions and Bulletin Bag [.com]. While
Suzette specializes in creating effective promotional marketing campaigns using
unique logo merchandise, she is passionate about reading and listening to
stories of entrepreneurs who develop their ‘big ideas’ into big
success. Suzette has a BBA in Marketing from the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst and currently lives in Scarborough with her husband
Steve, and their kids, Bella and Ben.
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The Maine Marketing Association is an all-volunteer organization. If you are interested in speaking at an event or a board member position, please contact any one of our board members.
Become a Sponsor
Sponsoring the Maine Marketing Association’s many
sold-out events is a great way to gain cross-channel exposure to
agencies, marcom professionals, decision makers and influencers
representing some of the most recognized companies in Maine.
About 
Jessica Johnson was elected to the Board of the Maine Marketing Association as Sponsorship Chair in 2010 and is thrilled to work on community outreach and sponsorship development.
