Board of Directors
2008-2009
James Billinger
President
 James has held professional responsibilities in the management of interactive technologies and business development. His account executive level exposure within internal advertising/marketing departments for public and private, regional and national, financial services companies give him broad experience in all facets of marketing – strategy, budgeting, planning, campaign production and coordination, as well as sales, PR, research, promotions and events planning.
As President for the AMA-KC, James provides support to his fellow board members in their roles, acting as an ambassador for the AMA, and seeks continuous organizational improvement and evolution to meet the changing needs of AMA-KC members.
Outside of work, his three sons keep him busy, but he enjoys working out, movies and music. Nights out are always fun, and his guilty pleasure is video games... when he finds the time!
Manon Eilts
President Elect
 Manon joined the United States Tennis Association as Director of Marketing Communications in January of 2004 to direct the overall sales, marketing and communications strategies in a five state area including the promotion and development of membership for the national governing body of tennis. Prior to working for the USTA, Manon was the Marketing Director for Starlight Theatre and Promotions Manager for Barkley. Prior to moving to Kansas City in 1998, Manon was the Sales Promotions Director for the Fox Television affiliate in San Antonio, KABB-TV.
A Professional Member of the American Marketing Association for over 20 years, Manon earned an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications from the University of Kansas and a B.A. in Mass Communications from the University of South Dakota.
Manon lives in Overland Park with her husband Randy, the Director of Public Relations for Glynn Devins Advertising and Marketing and their two daughters, Bailey, a student at the University of Kansas and Delaney, a high school student.
Kaila Schmidt
Past-President
 Kaila is with Sprint Nextel Corporation leading national marketing programs and market launches for Sprint‘s 4G WiMAX service. She has expertise in creating strategic and innovative marketing programs deployed through direct and indirect sales channels. Kaila has an MBA from Mid America Nazarene University and a Bachelor‘s of Science in Business Administration from Avila University.
“The AMA KC Chapter has been a wonderful volunteer experience and I have truly enjoyed serving as President. This year‘s accomplishments include creating a new director of volunteer position, implementing social networking programs, and delivering exceptional educational programming featuring Facebook, Google and Hallmark Cards,” says Kaila
She also serves on the Weatherby Lake Improvement Company board in her community. This board manages the lake and 18 common access areas. She leads a team of volunteers focused on protecting the quality of the lake water. Kaila is married and has two children. She enjoys water activities, snow skiing, mountain hiking, and volunteering at the kid‘s school.
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Brian Buckler, Ph.D.
Vice President Strategic Initiatives
 Brian has been Professor of Marketing at Avila University since 1996. His research and interests include marketing strategy, marketing research, and consumer behavior. He teaches at both the undergraduate and MBA levels.
Brian‘s involvement with the AMA-KC is extensive, having served two terms as President as well as in a variety of Director and VP roles. His current duties include developing win-win relationships with area companies, organizing the Annual Seminar and mentoring/training new Board members.
His education includes a B.S. in Marketing Research, Missouri State University, an M.B.A from Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. in Marketing/Psychology from the University of Texas – Arlington.
Mary K. Florence
Vice President Interactive Media/Treasurer
 Mary is a respected expert in Human Factors and Usability Engineering, focusing on total strategic implementation of user interfaces to maximize user experience and corporate goals. She has worked with AT&T, IBM, Daystar Software and iStructural.
Degrees: MBA Marketing, University Wisconsin at Madison; Master’s Certification in Project Management and MS Human Factors and Applied Psychology, Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ; BSBA Marketing, University of Missouri at Columbia.
Mary is an active member of AMA and has served the Kansas City AMA chapter in numerous positions. During her term as President, AMA-KC received the national award for Special Programs. She also serves on the Park Hill School District Technology Committee and is a People-To-People International Officer sponsor. In addition to professional interest in utilizing social media in marketing and education, her other interests include investing, reading, yoga, and sailing.
Kathe Rusnak
Vice President Programming
 Kathe is Marketing and Sales Director for Ken-A-Vision, a leading designer and manufacturer of document cameras, microscopes and software for the global educational market.
After completing her BA in Advertising and Public Relations at Kansas State University, she attended Justus Liebig University on a scholarship in Giessen, Germany. Student status soon led to professional marketing and sales opportunities at Nike and Adidas at the European and Global levels. After years of living in Germany and Holland, her passions still include traveling, photography and staying connected with friends around the world.
As Vice President of Programming, Kathe‘s goal is to continue the momentum of this past year‘s stellar programs which offered hot topics, hot speakers, hot companies, and hot venues.
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Tekia Thompson
Vice President Communications
 Tekia is the Director of Communications for Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society, High Plains Division. She develops and implements media plans, templates, press releases, and print packages that allow 720 different Relay For Life events to take place in local communities to raise money for cancer research. The states she works with include Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Hawaii and Guam.
In addition to her job responsibilities, she is also involved in YouthFriends and the Kansas City Metro Communications Advisory Team. She likes the educational and professional development opportunities offered by the AMA-KC. When not working, Tekia enjoys the art of cooking and hopes to attend culinary school next year.
Aline Zimmer
Vice President Membership
 As , Marketing Manager – Business Acquisition at Sprint Nextel, Aline is responsible for programs and sales lead generation targeting small to mid-size businesses. Incorporating direct mail, sales campaigns, and discount programs, the effort to sign on new customers in a mature industry is challenging and fulfilling. Aline has been with Sprint for five years after having worked for AT&T in New Jersey.
Her interests and accomplishments include competing in triathlons and road races, raising two boys with her husband, and travel. She has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a BA from Middlebury College in Vermont, as well as a Certificate in Direct Marketing from NYU.
Misty Stocksdale
Director of Volunteers
 Joining us from our local “little, big city,” of Wichita, KS, Misty works for a Lenexa based home remodeling company, Total Home. As the Marketing Coordinator for this small business, she is responsible for the design and execution of all marketing campaigns, branding efforts, and community involvements.
Misty moved to the Kansas City area in late 2007 after graduating from Wichita State University with a BA in Marketing. She became instantly involved with the Kansas City AMA through routine luncheon attendances. Her efforts of involvement were ramped up through volunteer efforts that not only assisted the organization and its members, but also allowed her the opportunity to further engage with the new Kansas City Marketing community that she was now a part of.
“My enthusiasm to learn new things and meet new people has afforded me the opportunity to become a representative board member of the KC-AMA. There are so many people in the KC Marketing community who fit this same enthusiastic mold – and as the new Director of Volunteers, I would like to recruit each and every one of those individuals to hop on board and become more involved.”
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Jeff Randolph
Secretary
 Jeff is with ARMA International as Senior Marketing Manager. Jeff earned his MBA at Avila University in Kansas City and continues to teach in the program as an adjunct professor. His undergraduate degree is from UMKC, where he earned honors in journalism and communications. Jeff has been with the AMA since 2004.
Of all of the membership benefits of the AMA, his favorite is the sheer volume of information he can learn over a plate of lunch. “The insights I walk away with at our chapter luncheon programs is a huge benefit to me professionally, and personally as a life-long learner. ...And the meals are good, too.” Of marketing‘s four P‘s, he says, “Promotion. That's my favorite “P” of all. I dig promotion and strategic planning about promotions.”
On a personal level, Jeff is addicted to the Nike+ system (The iPod and Nike partnership designed to motivate and challenge runners) and will accept all virtual running challenges from the AMA community (screen name: Lisinopril10). His wife and daughter support his running habit as a way to keep him alive longer.
Theresa Hovanec
Co-Chair of Collegiate
 Theresa works at Hallmark Cards as a sales representative for the Gold Crown channel. In this position she assists her independently owned stores with their store specific marketing plan. She has a Bachelor‘s of Science in Business Administration and an MBA from Rockhurst University.
As a Co-Collegiate Director, Theresa plans to inspire collegiate students to learn more by attending our events and possibly meet their future employer at one of our networking events. Thanks to Google, our college students can do this for FREE!
Outside of work and the AMA, Theresa is a soccer coach for the Blue Valley Stars Soccer Club. She also loves spending time traveling to see her friends and family all across the United States.
Cynthia Edmunds
Administrator
American Marketing Association
Kansas City Chapter
P.O. Box 23768, Shawnee Mission,
KS 66283-0768
E-Contact: staff@ama-kc.org
Voice/FAX: (913) 681-6252
Cynthia is the first point of contact for those interested in or new to the Kansas City chapter of the AMA. She manages the office and its multitude of duties and is our interface with the National AMA.
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