BALTIMORE, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Vitamin® announced today that its president and CEO, Amanda Karfakis, has been appointed to president of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Maryland chapter. The local non-profit organization, now in its thirtieth year, provides members with useful resources and opportunities to get more involved in the architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) community.
Since becoming involved with SMPS Maryland in 2005, Karfakis has served as co-chair of the organization's programs committee as well as president-elect. In her new role as president of SMPS Maryland, Karfakis will oversee the chapter while continuing to ensure the organization's mission: to advocate for, educate, and connect leaders in the building industry.
Karfakis follows Joann Petillo, senior vice president at Schnabel Engineering, who previously served as the chapter's president and now serves as immediate past president.
"It's an exciting time in SMPS Maryland's history," said Karfakis. "This past year, through Joann's excellent leadership, our chapter has strengthened our membership, built up attendance at events, fostered great relationships and connections for our members, and developed a wonderful group of sponsorship partners. It is truly an honor to follow in her footsteps and to lead the chapter to new highs with support of our outstanding board."
Starting off her tenure as president on September 1, Karfakis and her firm, Vitamin, launched a new web presence for SMPS Maryland. Built on the WordPress platform, the website serves as an essential tool for the chapter, allowing administrators to easily update content, including events, membership resources, community news, sponsor advertising, job bank, photo gallery, and promotional banners. The website also promotes social interaction by integrating SMPS Maryland's Twitter mentions and posts, as well as featuring Facebook fans throughout the site.
Under Karfakis' leadership, SMPS Maryland is incorporating several more social events into the calendar. In addition to panel discussions and webinars, the Maryland Chapter will host social gatherings such as happy hours – the first of which occurred on August 23, 2011 at Mari Luna Bistro, and exclusive project tours, the next to take place at the new luxury Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore on September 13, 2011. The chapter will also host "Shop Talk" lunches for members to discuss current topics of interest (e.g. social media, branding, etc.) with industry experts in an educational environment and open forum.
Karfakis brings more than 10 years marketing communications and public relations experience to SMPS Maryland. She has extensive experience working with A/E/C firms, handling everything from grand community openings and media outreach to strategic marketing and rebranding campaigns.
About Vitamin®
Vitamin®, the "Cure for the Common Brand®," is the mid-Atlantic's first boutique design-web-public relations firm focused on nourishing brands through a best practices, all-in-house approach to creating cohesive identity, print, interactive and PR programs. Vitamin's client list includes regional and national companies in diverse fields, including built industry, education, healthcare, restaurant/ hospitality, non-profit and search/staffing. Vitamin is certified MBE/DBE by the Maryland Department of Transportation.
About SMPS
The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) was created in 1973 by small group of professional services firm leaders who recognized the need to sharpen skills, pool resources, and work together to create business opportunities. Today, SMPS represents a dynamic network of 6,900+ marketing and business development professionals from architectural, engineering, planning, interior design, construction, and specialty consulting firms located throughout the U.S. and Canada. The society and its 55 chapters benefit from the support of 3,250 design and building firms, encompassing 80% of the Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firms and Top 400 Contractors.
The Maryland Chapter of SMPS was chartered in 1981. http://smps-maryland.org/
SOURCE Vitamin
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