AMBC4ME

For many years now, it has been my sincere privilege to serve as a director with the Association of Mail & Business Centers (AMBC). 

I had actually worked on staff when it was called AMPC (Association of Mail & Parcel Centers) as Director of Member Store Marketing and Director of its flagship store, Mailboxes & Parcel Depot, in 2010-11 when I lived in Rockford, Illinois. I had gone to Rockford as a consultant hired by AMPC to help get their flagship store in shape. I lived in a hotel for three months while I worked on the store, switched their software, deep cleaned, painted, fired the manager with a poor attitude who was hurting business, hired a new manager with an upbeat and positive attitude, put new systems in place, got new products and services aligned, and within three months turned a profit that hadn't been seen in quite a while. They liked what I did so much that they hired me on...and so I stayed in Rockford for a while.

Then, in preparation to open my own business in 2011 in Ithaca, New York, I left AMPC, it soon transitioned into a non-profit and changed its name, and then I was asked to join the initial non-profit board of directors at AMBC as a store owner and member. I started on that board as Secretary and Director of Marketing and eventually became Board Chair and Director of Communication. After fulfilling two terms on the board, no longer able to serve as a voting member due to term limits, I volunteered to continue on as an ex officio non-voting director and also serve as official Advisor to the Board. 

And now, after many years of service, it's time for me to officially step down and just be available as an unofficial advisor, as needed, and help when requested at in-person and online and seminars as a speaker or instructor. I will still continue as Editor and Producer of AMBC's magazine, MBC Today, as that has been my pet project and a position I hold as a contract outside of my volunteer service to the board. All of this is in preparation for some very exciting career news that I hope to share with you all next week. 

Until then, here are some excerpts from the issue of MBC Today (Volume 25 Issue 6) that I just finished today that talk a little bit about that transition. This issue will officially drop in a day or two, but my readers here at askunclemarty.com are getting a sneak peek of my editorial letter, as well as the current Board Chair Norman Froscher's message that contains kind words that have meant the world to me. 

Enjoy!

Letter From the Editor

Dear Readers,
 
On behalf of my fellow former AMBC Board Chair Fahim and myself, I want to express our profound gratitude for the opportunity to serve this important, forward-moving organization. As Norman mentions in his letter, we both will be stepping down from our official director and board advisor roles on January 1st, but will of course continue to participate in the organization, help as needed at events, share stories and advice in our own coaching and in MBC Today, and I'm going to keep editing and producing this magazine, a task I thoroughly enjoy and can't wait to keep growing, so you really won't be getting any breaks from either of us talking at you anytime soon.
 
Truly, it has been our honor and privilege to serve in leadership positions with AMBC for many years now and, as Fahim often reminds me, seeing the current board of directors thriving and growing our organization warms our hearts, almost with a parental type of pride. It's awesome. We are so proud of each who volunteers and gives so much time, energy, and heart to guide this group, with special accolades to Norman for his years of tremendous service as current Board Chair, Crysta as Vice Chair, Steve as Treasurer, Mary as Secretary, and Tom, David, Ayden, and Tommy as board members each serving an important role.
 
As Norman mentions in his letter, 2023 was a very good year for AMBC with three very successful events. For myself, it was also a very good year with my business continuing to grow and some exciting projects and opportunities that are looking hopeful to come to fruition in 2024, more about which I hope to be able to announce in a couple of weeks. I've got a big ol' trick up my sleeve, so stay tuned!
 
This year-end issue of MBC Today is, once again, packed full. Please read it in its entirety and share it with your coworkers so all can benefit from its inspiring content. As this is the November / December edition, per tradition we'll be mailing it not only to all of our current AMBC Members, but also as a special gift to all of AMBC's contacts, including former members, prospective members, and friends of our non-profit organization. If you're getting this magazine only once per year, please visit ambc4me.org and check out the benefits of membership, then log in to see your current membership status. We sometimes find that folks who get our eblasts and follow our social posts may not realize that they're not actually current AMBC Members and are missing out on so many of the other benefits of membership, including the other five issues of MBC Today that we send out each year. If you have trouble, email hello@ambc4me.org and Kim or Brad will get you set up.
 
I hope you're utilizing one very important benefit of AMBC membership: access to decades worth of MBC Today archives in the members-only section of ambc4me.org. I like to look back at them every November to check out each year-end issue's holiday preparation content, which helps get my store ready for the December rush and reminds me of little things that I might have otherwise forgotten to do to gear up for it.

Please plan to join AMBC in Vegas in March. It's gonna be spectacular with class upon class of great content (as you've come to expect from AMBC events), workshops, fun activities, some of the best networking at any industry event you'll ever attend, a trade show, and, as always, meals that you won't want to miss.
With care,
Marty

A Message From the AMBC Board Chair

Dear Fellow AMBC Members,

As we draw to a close in 2023 and prepare for what’s hopefully an exciting and profitable holiday shipping season, I wanted to look back briefly on this year before focusing on 2024 and the future of AMBC.

We changed our approach to our conventions and instead of trying to do one all-encompassing event, focused on smaller, more intimate regional events. We limited the attendance and narrowed the agenda to be more specific. Our 2023 regionals started off with Mailboxes and Mochas hosted at my store, Espresso Mail, in West Palm Beach, Florida, in February. In June, we had an amazing Paper and Pallets event in Springfield, Ohio, hosted at Steve Dick's store, Box King. And we finished the year strong with Retail and Relationships in September, hosted at Seema and Fahim Mojawalla's store, Island Ship Center, in Niagara Falls, New York. The response and feedback from the attendees at these events was very positive. With a variety of instructors, classes, and settings, the regionals as singular events were outstanding in themselves; together, under the AMBC tent, they showed the strength of our organization.

Preparations are well in hand for our next event in March 2024 in Las Vegas. Not only has it been several years since we’ve had an event on the West Coast, but we’re also adding something new to our event mix: piggybacking with ASD Market Week (asdonline.com), touted as "the most comprehensive trade show for retail merchandise in the United States," which will be happening next door to our hotel that same weekend. The combination of an outstanding agenda and the opportunity to attend that event too promises to be a week that will bear fruit for your stores for years to come. Don’t gamble on missing this event. (See what I did there?)

As 2023 ends, our former Board Chairs Fahim Mojawalla and Marty Johnson will be transitioning out of their official advisor and director roles with AMBC. On behalf of the industry, AMBC, the current board of directors, and as a mentee of both of these outstanding people, I want to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation for everything they’ve done for our industry. They truly embody the #membershelpingmembers spirit. Their sacrifice and volunteering have set an example the rest of us on the board can only hope to emulate going forward.

In addition to the Las Vegas event, we’ve got some very exciting things in the works for our membership. We’ll continue to improve our industry-leading training, both in-person and online. And since you’re reading this, you’re already enjoying our industry’s leading magazine.

Here’s hoping your holiday shipping season is the best. Looking forward to seeing you in Las Vegas in March.

Thanks as always for your trust,
Norman