The 2024 AMA Winter Academic Conference co-chairs and the American Marketing Association (AMA) acknowledge that many members of our community and their institutions are becoming ever more attentive to the impacts and implications of hosting conferences in different areas across the U.S. The event scheduled for February 2024 will be in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
We are aware that Florida ranks below average or low on several indices and scores including the 2022 State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index, the US Women, Peace, and Security Index, the Berkeley Inclusiveness Index, and the Movement Advancement Project score. We acknowledge that this may complicate attendees’ decisions regarding travel to the in-person conference. The AMA has already signed this contract with the conference hotel and local vendors with major penalties for canceling. However, we believe that we can still support marginalized groups in the area through our work and presence and that it would be harmful to many local residents to pull the conference because it would affect the incomes of working-class people in the area.
As we move forward with the conference, we commit to upholding the values of the AMA and our community by:
- Working together with our track co-chairs and other partner associations to develop programming that focuses on important societal issues and the voices of underrepresented people and vulnerable populations in the area
- Providing a virtual option for attendees unable to travel, including virtual sessions and networking opportunities.
Should attendees want to connect more deeply with equity work in the St. Pete Beach/St. Petersburg/Tampa area, we encourage you to support one or more of the following organizations:
- Center for Health Equity
- ACLU Florida
- Florida NOW
- Florida Freedom to Read Project
- The FitzLane Project
We look forward to connecting in February and hope that you will be able to join us for a weekend of discussion around our conference theme: Unlocking Our Potential.
The AMA Academic Communities Team and our 2024 Winter AMA co-chairs, Samantha N. N. Cross and Alok Saboo