The MEAdvocate is a quarterly publication of the Marketing Education Association. You may click on the specific issues listed below to view each issue in .pdf format. When you view in .pdf format you must use Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click "Get Acrobat Reader" to get a copy. Your browser (e.g. Netscape) must also have its preferences configured to use Acrobat to view .pdf files.
Volume 6 - Number 1 - July 2004
Articles included in the Volume 6 - Number 1 issue were:
WILL YOU BE IN VIRGINIA BEACH IN OCTOBER??
It's so exciting to think about our upcoming 5th annual MEA national conference. How can anyone NOT want to go to Virginia Beach in October? And, amazingly (you'll not believe this, but I'll share it anyway), just as I typed the preceding sentence, a great documentary called "Best of Virginia" appeared on the travel channel (have to have that TV diversion!) that invited me to call 1-800-664-8822 to learn all about the joys of visiting Virginia Beach,VA. You can also call 1-800-VABEACH to request vacation guides, area attractions, driving directions, or to speak to someone from the visitor's center.
Virginia Beach is a very exciting place! Three million visitors descend there every year and the busiest season is Fall. Not only is sand sculpting very popular, there are other interesting sights on the beautiful beaches, and the weather in mid-October is great.
Seven U.S. presidents have stayed at the Cavalier Hotel. OK, that's not our conference hotel, but it proves Virginia Beach is a classy, and exciting place to visit for anyone wanting to experience a seaside getaway. So, how could you have any more motivation to attend this year's MEA conference? Well, allow me to just list a few marketing education related reasons:
This years conference will focus on new and improved teaching ideas for marketing educators, including sports and entertainment, motivational techniques, hospitality/ tourism/resort marketing, entrepreneurship, and how to incorporate technology in the classroom.
There will be presentations on team building, customer service, block scheduling, successful business practices, school store success strategies, and cruise marketing (while on a boat, by the way).
Your national MEA board has been working very hard for the past 5 years to offer our members (and any other marketing educator, of course), the opportunity for professional development, networking, and excitement at each MEA annual conference as part of our ambitious program of work. Other information about this year's conference is included in this newsletter, along with the latest conference flyer if you are receiving this newsletter in its original hard copy mailing.
We're looking forward to seeing you October 15-17. You can find additional information by visiting our website (www.nationalMEA.org), calling national MEA headquarters at 602-750-6735, or emailing mea@nationalmea.org. You may also fax your registration to 480-777-7315 or write to MEA, P.O. Box 27473, Tempe, Arizona 85285-7473.
In addition to all the information above, you may also write directly to me, EdwardBufford@aol.com or our Executive Director,Mr. Rod Davis, at rdavis2@bsu.edu. WHERE WILL WE BE IN 2005,YOU ASK??
Our 2005 National MEA conference will be held in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona in mid- October. The conference hotel will be five minutes or less from a very large Indian Casino. You won't want to miss it.
ARE YOU A MEA MEMBER, BUT NOT ALSO A MEMBER OF ACTE?
The Association for Career and Technical Education is the largest national education association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for careers in technical education.
On behalf of the national MEA Board, I would like to encourage all MEA members to ALSO join ACTE.
As Marketing Educators,we value your membership in MEA and will continue to do everything we can to build and improve your Marketing Education Association. MEA concentrates on professional development opportunities and specific marketing education communication within our marketing education family (as in our newsletters, our monthly emails, and our national conferences and awards). ACTE focuses on ALL areas of career and technical education and, as stated on their website (ACTE Online Home), "has proven to be the most effective leader in protecting federal funding for career and technical education and in advocating policies that recognize the critical role of career tech in America’s economic development." In other words, ACTE is the legislative representative for all areas of career and technical education, including marketing education, and MEA will continue to support and encourage their success.
I encourage all MEA members to visit the ACTE website if you are not currently a member. Don't leave MEA!!! But, please consider adding membership in ACTE to your portfolio of professional development investments.
THE LAST WORD:
As your MEA president, I would again like to encourage you to share your ideas and opinions with me directly, if you choose to do so. My email address is EdwardBufford@aol.com, and my constant companion (my cell phone) can be reached at any time at 602-692- 8092. I'd love to hear from you. Yes, I'm serious. Hope to see you in Virginia Beach!!!
The Executive Director's Perspective
I have been serving as your executive director for about one and one-half years. At the time I agreed to take on this assignment, I had just left the executive board a few months earlier at the completion of my term. I was reflective, thinking that I had done something good. I had chaired our annual conference in Indianapolis in 2001, and it had been successful. And then in 2001-02, I served as MEA treasurer.
So here I am today, trying to figure out what I have done in this new role to help MEA. I think I have made a contribution, but it is really hard to pin point it. A part of my ambivalence may come from a somewhat vague job description. What does an executive director do? When board president Ed Bufford asked me to assume this role last year, I was reluctant. I had just taken a new position in my college as associate dean for instruction and operations. After being my department’s chair for 15 years where I felt as if I had control over my professional life, I was moving to the dean’s office where it felt as if everyone else had control over my life.
What was I doing, agreeing to Ed’s offer? Well, many of you know Ed and can empathize with me. He is such a hard working and caring person, and when he takes on something he is completely dedicated. I just couldn’t say no to Ed. However, I did say I was not in a position to run our national office. So what does an executive director do if he/she doesn’t run the national office? That is where the vagueness of my job description comes into play. I told Ed I thought what I might best be able to do is assist him and the board as counsel. The MEA executive director is not a voting member of the board, but I felt comfortable providing input and suggesting what I felt appropriate. I also initiated the monthly MEA e-mail update.
Because of my long tenure in marketing education, I believe I can provide the board with a historical perspective of our profession. I witnessed/attended/participated in the events that have shaped us over the last 30 years. I was at the Vail conference in 1980, that developed an inspired blueprint that led to a number of significant accomplishments during that decade including our name change to marketing education, national curriculum framework, and national marketing plan. As a profession, we met again in Atlanta in 1990, to plan our direction to the next millennium. Maybe it is time to again to bring our profession together to plan for this next decade. Who will we be, what will we look like, and whom will we serve in 2013?
Finally, let me ask you a few questions about your organization. How old is the national Marketing Education Association? What four organizations voluntarily merged to form MEA? What was MEA’s first name? Hint, it wasn’t exactly MEA. I know, this is all ancient history and who cares, right? Actually, history can be very helpful in planning the future.
If you are interested in reading more about the history of our organization and profession in the next MEAdvocate, please let me know. My e-mail is rdavis2@bsu.edu. I don’t want to bore you, but if you would like to know more of our past, I will be happy to share it.
Oct 15-17, 2004
Quality Inn
Suites Oceanfront
705 Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, Virginia
The National Marketing Education Association(MEA) invites you to the fifth annual national conferences in Virginia Beach, Virginia. With all of the amenities of a large metropolitan area and the natural beauty of a rich coastal environment, Virginia Beach provides the perfect combination for a year-round meeting destination. Get ready to absorb and learn at this year's annual conference while refreshing the soul next to the Atlantic Ocean's-surf and sand. Our mild climate boasts an average temperature of 70 degrees in October, making it the perfect time to visit, explore and learn new things.
The Conference will focus on:
Presentations will include:
Where Do I Start Preparing for DECA Competition
Having twenty years of experience in DECA Competitions, I have not had two years the same. Each year brings new challenges and new personalities. Truly the exciting part of DECA competitive events is working with the new talent every year. Never let your guard down as to where new ideas come from, especially with chapter events or running a state officer campaign. For example, I found the idea for a state officer campaign by attending a teacher convention and listening to an architect explain his marketing strategies. He mailed to potential clients his brochures in a round tube with the blueprints for his company. Our state officer campaign then became "Blueprint For Success"…. sending all campaign literature in a round tube like the architects. Be aware of current events and issues that can be addressed by a DECA project. Networking with your students is really important because they have many resources. Sometimes they aren’t aware of this, so it is important to incorporate activities into your curriculum so you have a chance to gather this information.
I would like to list some of the resources that I draw from when preparing for competition.
DECA Guide – Read the guidelines!!! Once you have been working on events, you learn what has been changed from year to year. Some events don’t change and some do. Your state advisor should be up-to-date on the current changes.
DECA Images – order old test, written events, and case studies. Don’t forget to order your folios and binders needed for the written events.
Custom Resources - Competitive Edge Booklets for role play
The Oklahoma Career Tech Website (www.careertech.org/mkted/tchweb.htm) is a very good source. The following has been taken from the teacher web portion of this website. Please feel free to visit this teacher web. I also revised a pay record form that is helpful for students on the job. Teaching the students about "competencies" is truly a key focus in competition.
HOW TO HELP YOUR STUDENTS WRITE TO THE COMPETENCIES IN WRITTEN PROJECTS AND HOW TO PREPARE THEM FOR THE INTERVIEWS
How to write to the competencies
HOW TO HELP YOUR STUDENTS ORGANIZE THEIR THOUGHTS IN ADDRESSING THE CONTENT OF ALL OF THE COMPETENCIES LISTED IN A SPECIFIC EVENT
These are just a few ideas that have been tried and true. Have fun with competition. It is truly rewarding to have a first place winner at international competition; but, it is also very rewarding to see so many students grow from working on competitive events. All of my students that take the challenge to compete will be more competent in the workforce. Happy Competing!!!!!
The MEA Board of Directors is your leadership team. We want MEA to represent you and your needs. Here is your MEA Board and their email addresses. Contact us with ideas, questions, responses to activities, and suggestions.
Ed Bufford
President – 2002–2004 - Arizona
Email: EdwardBufford@aol.com
Sherry Dockery
Secretary – 2002-2005 - Indiana
Email: dockery@evansville.net
Clif Extract
Treasurer – 2003-2004 - Arizona
Email: cextract@aol.com
Mark Baggaley
Director - 2003-2004 - Utah
Email: mbaggs@ispwest.com
John Burkes
Director - 2001-2004 - Utah
Email: j.burkes@worldnet.att.net
Cecil Lara, Jr.
Director – 2002-2005 - Texas
Email: clara@saisd.net
Denise Lawson
Director – 2003-2006 - Virginia
Email: dlawson@vbcps.k12.va.us
Daralyn Loveless
Director – 2003-2006 - Oklahoma
Email: dloveless@putnamcityschools.org
Marcy Norwood
VP M.E. Div Rep of ACTE
Texas
Rod Davis
Executive Director
Email: rdavis2@bsu.edu
Technology In Marketing Classes
The integration of technology into all subject areas and grade levels has become a national momentum. Integrating technology into marketing classes should come naturally, effortlessly. However, many marketing teachers nationwide are still "working on it." Some of this is due to a lack of computers within the marketing classrooms, and some has stemmed from the fear that if the integration of computer technology takes place, will traditional marketing classes be lost to education? Other marketing teachers do not feel that their technology skills are adequate for proper inclusion of technology within the curriculum.
Integrating computer technology within the curriculum does not mean that current marketing classes will no longer be taught.The integration of computer technology within a marketing classroom is intended to enhance lessons, not replace them. Computers can be used for designing ad layout, writing a marketing proposal or plan, and the list continues.
New classes focusing on marketing and technology have emerged in recent years with the influx of the Internet and buying and selling online. eMarketing and eCommerce classes cover the process of buying, selling, advertising, and promoting products and services, and providing quality customer service through the Internet. Teachers need to prepare themselves to teach these classes, which contain vital content required to enable the success of future business and marketing professionals. Schools desiring to offer these classes to students should also provide valuable training to teachers, along with the complete support of school and district administration. Providing this teacher training should be addressed within the Technology Plan of each school district. Many students will be working in the digital economy for their professions. Our job as educators is to prepare them for that future.
What content should be included within eMarketing and eCommerce content areas?
TAre you looking for something to help you promote enrollment in your department? Since we teach advertising in marketing,we know that subliminal messages sell products. Check out the Marketing Education Association merchandise available by clicking product catalog at www.nationalmea.org.
ME Denim Shirts
For only $25.00 for
members, buy your ME
denim shirt and wear it
proudly to promote
marketing education.
Purchase shirts for your
administrators, secretaries,
counselors, and
other faculty members.
These long-sleeved
denim shirts come in
sizes from extra small through 4X Large. Obviously,
there is a size for everyone.
ME Mugs
Do you need a
gift for yourself or
some other marketing
teacher?"World’s Greatest
M a r k e t i n g
Teacher!" mugs are
available. Every
time the mug is used, it will make the recipient smile. In
addition, give "Ask About ME….Marketing Education" mugs to others. When one of these mugs is setting on
a desk, someone is apt to ask about your program. Both
mugs sell for the member price of only $5.00 each. This
is a very inexpensive gift for persons in your building or
for your students to give to their employers. What a
perfect way to promote marketing education in your
schools and communities.
“ M a r k e t i n g
Education…Skills that
Last a Lifetime" Poster
“ M a r k e t i n g
Education…Skills that Last a
Lifetime" is a 3’ by 5’ banner.
It is vinyl, rolled, and ready
to hang. This traditional
favorite banner is only
$10.00 for members.
Wouldn’t this entice someone
to be interested in marketing
education? Hang it
proudly in the entrance to
your school.
"Marketing….the skills
heard ‘round the world!"Poster
Get your students’ attention
by placing many of these
posters around the halls."Marketing….the skills heard‘round the world!" is a 2’ by 3’poster which is rolled, not
folded. The member price on
this poster is only $5.00. Put
them throughout your building.
The more students see "Marketing", the more they
will want to be a part of your program. Check out the
other posters on the website.
Marketing Brochures
Pass out brochures to interested students. You can
choose from two glossy tri-fold brochures letting the
students know that marketing is great! ExploreMarketing and Marketing: Cross the Threshold are both
great motivators. These sell in sets of 10 for only $4.00
per set
During the first week of July, I made my annual trek to the Representative Assembly of the National Education Association. At my school, I am the teachers' association campus rep, and have made it a point to get myself elected as one of the eight representatives from my school district (Phoenix Union High School District) to the annual NEA conference each year.
This year, I learned that a caucus has existed for many years in the NEA for the purpose of focusing on vocational education issues. Unfortunately, the caucus has been relatively dormant for a long time. With all the issues facing us, the dormancy of the caucus was pretty surprising.
After attending the first caucus meeting, it was clear there are CTE teachers and administrators who see how important it is for the NEA to have a caucus focusing on and supporting issues facing us all.
I joined the caucus that day. The cost: One dollar. I had a few too many irons in the fire to run for any officer position in the caucus, but I certainly plan to support them in any way I can. Next year, the cost will increase to ten dollars. With Perkins funds threatened by the Bush Administration to be channeled into the No Child Left Behind program, along with other issues that require solidarity amongst CTE personnel, I am hoping members of this caucus will eventually join both ACTE and MEA if they have not done so.
In the meantime, I would like to invite MEA members who are also NEA members to contact me if you would like more information about membership in this caucus. The treasurer of the caucus is Dr. John Swint, 1302 Normandy Road, Macon, Georgia 31210. I'm sure he would be happy to accept your dollar and enroll you as a member of the caucus.
In the meantime, please feel free to also write to me if you are already a member of this NEA caucus. I would be interested in knowing if there are current MEA members who are already members. Issues important to CTE teachers and students should be communicated to the NEA leadership, an organization of 2.7 million teachers and support personnel.
Write to me at EdwardBufford@aol.com for additional information.