You've gotten their phone calls and read their e-mails.
Now meet the dedicated GAWDA staff who toil behind the scenes, bringing
the association together.
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| Kate Cole, Kent Van Amburg and Malvenia Avery
model welding headgear during a visit to South Jersey Welding
Supply. |
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Executive Director Kent Van Amburg
Kent Van Amburg is the man who brings it all together. Kent's pre-GAWDA
work experiences carried him all over the world, including two years with
the Foreign Service and ten years with the U.S. Grains Council, which
required him to spend much of his time in Central and South America, Europe,
North Africa and Asia. It was Kent's work with the Grains Council that
led him into association management, eventually bringing him to Fernley
& Fernley to manage GAWDA. "My favorite part of managing GAWDA
is working with the volunteers. It's hard not to get caught up in their
energy and their passion for what they are doing." When he isn't
working, Kent enjoys gardening and spending time with his wife, Nancy,
and two daughters, Rachel, 20, and Hayley, 17. "My family lives on
a golf course, about 175 yards from the 7th tee. When not dodging incoming
drives in the backyard, I try to play the two holes that surround our
small subdivision or take long walks on the course with Roman, our boxer,
after the golfers have left for the day-my own private 18-hole garden."
Director of Membership and Marketing Kate Cole
Kate Cole has traveled around the world, worked for a Fortune
500 company, and once starred in her own one-woman show. "It was
in college. I don't sing anymore." Kate may not sing notes anymore,
but on a daily basis, she notes to current and potential members why it
is beneficial to be a member of GAWDA. "Anything that builds member
relations or communications, I do." Aware that an association is
far from a one-person show, Kate creates new ways to develop membership.
Currently she is developing a mentor program, pairing new members with
long-time members to attend events. Before coming to GAWDA, Kate spent
12 years in business educational services at Dun & Bradstreet, a Fortune
500 company in New York, and six years in the pharmaceutical business,
bringing her to Philadelphia. She is a member of the Delaware Valley Society
of Association Executives (DVSAE) and will be at GAWDA a year this January.
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| Jaime Lloyd shows team spirit during a Fernley
& Fernley tailgate party for the Philadelphia Eagles. |
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Administrative Director Malvenia Avery
Malvenia Avery is the GAWDA jack of all trades. For GAWDA, she
answers questions, requests, deals with industry statistics, regional
meetings, safety organizers, seminars, literature requests and database
management. Before coming to the United States, Malvenia worked for the
United Nations in her native country of Liberia, West Africa. Previous
to joining GAWDA, Malvenia worked for the Dental Trade Association's administration
and member services. When the association merged to become the Dental
Trade Alliance, it became managed by Fernley & Fernley. Two years
ago, Fernley & Fernley hired Malvenia to work for GAWDA as the association
services coordinator, later promoting her to administrative director.
She is also a full-time mom. "I love spending time with my family.
We do a lot of fun things together, even if it is homework!" And
it's no surprise that Avery is the perfect homework helper, as she works
all day to make sure GAWDA is an A+ association.
Meeting Planner Jaime
Lloyd
Jaime Lloyd works with members to make the most of the time that
they are together. "I love to see the energy and passion of the volunteer
leaders for GAWDA and the welding and gases industry." Jaime first
worked in corporate communications at Delmarva Power & Light Company
in Delaware. "I learned how to handle stressful situations and how
to think quickly on my feet. In my role at GAWDA, those skills are very
useful!" Before coming to GAWDA, Jaime lived in Bellingham, Washington,
and worked as the marketing and communications manager for Resort Semiahmoo.
She returned back east and started with Fernley & Fernley in 2001.
Jaime enjoys time with her husband, Alan, and their two-year-old daughter,
Ada, and is a self proclaimed camping fanatic. Her best trips, she says,
have been traveling coast to coast with her husband, staying away from
interstates and not knowing where they would be staying the next night.
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