This award recognizes and rewards outstanding professional chapter leaders whose contributions have added significantly to the American Marketing Association’s goals.
History
This award was named in in honor of Ric Sweeney, former AMA Chairman of the Board, former Professional Chapters Council President, former Cincinnati Chapter President and member of the AMA since 1996.
Recipients of the award exemplify the passion, talent and determination of the AMA volunteer.
Current Recipient
Dov currently serves as the Vice President of Sponsorship + Past President of the American Marketing Association’s Baltimore Chapter and has held active leadership roles on the Chapter’s Executive Board since 2009 previously as Vice President of Membership, Vice President of Collegiate Relations, President, and Vice President of Programming. Most recently, in his Vice President of Programming role, Dov successfully planned, organized, and executed over 80 events with industry thought leaders and subject matter experts from key local, national, and global organizations including the Baltimore Ravens, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Stanley Black & Decker, Under Armour, T. Rowe Price, Hootsuite, Google, Salesforce, AT&T, Pandora Radio, and others. As a result, Dov has brought together over 4,000 marketing professionals from 50+ chapters across the country through in-person and virtual programming with authors and keynote speakers, panel formats, networking events, and award ceremonies.
As Vice President, B2B Marketing at Weber Shandwick, Dov works with his clients to strategize their marketing efforts across the full spectrum of digital marketing channels while fusing data, technology, strategy, and creativity to deliver brave ideas that have a meaningful impact on brands, organizations, and society.
Through his professional and volunteer experiences, Dov has demonstrated his leadership expertise and his commitment to serving his community. He strongly believes in this important lesson from Abraham Lincoln: “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” He shows that belief by spending his time volunteering, traveling, and sharing his personal experiences to improve the lives of others.
2024 Recipient
Suzanne Buzek is a marketing communications professional from Cincinnati, Ohio. Her career path has had twists and turns through B2B, technology, agency and non-profit sectors. Today, she leads an award-winning marketing communications team as Director of Marketing at the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business, where she is also an MBA student.
Suzanne became a member of the AMA in 2013 and got involved as a volunteer. She joined AMA Cincinnati’s board in 2015 and held the roles of VP Volunteers, VP Special Events, VP Marketing Communications, President-Elect, President, Past President, Advisor, VP Collegiate Connections and VP Mentorship. Cincinnati won Silver Chapter of the Year for her presidential year (2018-19). In 2020, inspired by and with chapter leaders around the country to attract and retain diverse talent in the marketing field, she volunteered at the national level by joining the AMA Professional Chapter Council’s DEI Committee to conduct research and co-write a white paper on how marketers can create a more inclusive future.
Suzanne and her husband Daniel live in the eclectic community of Northside and provide a loving home to their cats, Binx and Hazel.
Previous Recipients
- 2023- Gina Bonar, Cincinnati Chapter
- 2022- Craig Lund, Toronto Chapter
- 2021- Robin Tooms, Houston Chapter
- 2020- Angela Brusche, Austin Chapter
- 2019- Stacy Armijo, Austin Chapter
- 2018- Karen Albritton, Triangle Chapter
- 2017- Evan Carroll, Triangle Chapter
- 2016- Dennis Devlin, Cincinnati Chapter
- 2015- Amy Gerhart Favreau, Richmond Chapter
- 2014- Christine Mathers, Houston Chapter
- 2013- Paul Stark, Chicago Chapter
- 2012- Tom Dennis, Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter
- 2011- Myles Bristowe, Boston Chapter
- 2010- Colin Hageney, Houston Chapter
- 2009- Harvey John Morris, Chicago Chapter
- 2008- Carol Shea, Cincinnati Chapter
- 2007- Kimberly Guarino, Washington, DC Chapter
- 2006- Mary Ann Keeler, New York Capital Region Chapter
For more information on the Ric Sweeney Chapter Volunteer of the Year Award or AMA Professional Chapters, please contact profchapters@ama.org