Earlier this month, I ran my very first meeting as President of AMA Cincinnati. Now, if you know me, you know that sometimes my brain transitions faster than my tongue. Right in the middle of the meeting, without even realizing it, a bit of Spanish slipped out: “¿Qué más?”
That little accidental transition sparked a spontaneous debate, and one of our 19 board members looked up how to translate our chapter’s theme for the year — Be Bold — into Spanish.
He chimes in with: “¡Atrévete!”
I laughed, because “¡Atrévete!” carries a very specific, fiery context. It’s not just “be bold.” It’s literally: “I dare you.”
Immediately, I had flashbacks of my parents giving me that look when I was a kid, that classic “I dare you to try it” warning right before I did something slightly risky. But as I sat with that word over the weekend, the rabbit hole of defining Be Bold in Spanish got more interesting. I realized “¡Atrévete!” is actually the perfect rallying cry for where we are right now.
I dare you to be bold. I dare you to take a risk. I dare you to learn something new that makes you a better marketer.
The Reality of Our “Practice”
Marketing isn’t just a profession; it’s a practice. Like medicine or law, we have to constantly practice our craft to stay sharp. Today, we are staring down massive technological disruptions. We are trying to figure out how generative AI is shifting our workflows, how privacy changes are impacting our metrics, and how to drive real business results when the rules change every single quarter.
Disruption is inevitable, and let’s be honest, it’s going to hurt a little before it gets better. But why go through change alone? Why try to navigate these pivots in isolation when you can lock arms with a community of local marketers who are fighting the same battles?
I am incredibly excited to see what we collectively do this year. And the best part? I’m not reinventing the wheel. I’m lucky to be taking a baton that has been driven with absolute excellence by Betsy Wolking for the past two years. Our job now is to take the launchpad and continue to go further.
What’s Bold about AMA Cincinnati?
I define being bold as being confident, courageous, and taking educated risks. For us, that means leading our community with high-impact thought leadership and actively surfacing our board members, volunteers, and members to the forefront.
Our Bold Board is actively working to:
- Streamline our programming under a unified strategy: We have introduced a brand-new focus on Programming Strategy to coordinate our total event portfolio. This includes developing our centralized Speaker Bureau in order to elevate local experts, showcase our members’ deep expertise, and seamlessly connect our talent with speaking opportunities.
- Drive stronger advocacy with our new Brand Evangelist: We have added this strategic advocate to our leadership roster. He is someone who truly lights up every time he talks to other professional groups, agencies, and businesses about the incredible value of AMA Cincinnati.
- Investing in our flagship IGNITE! Conference: Returning with a powerhouse steering committee of local thought leaders. They are already working on a bold theme—make sure to check your emails and follow us on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on dates, location, and registration details.
- Streamline back-office operations: We are moving to an automated process using our existing systems. By automating the tedious manual work, we are freeing up our volunteers to focus on what they do best: building fun, engaging, and value-driven projects for you.
And we’re not stopping at events. We’re creating vehicles that allow you to connect further and share your expertise by building a program where members can contribute to thought leadership pieces and can connect with other members.
How can you be Bold?
Show up. Whether it’s your first Community roundtable or your fifteenth event. Whether you are an experienced marketer navigating organizational changes, a young professional in the first year of a new role, or anywhere in between, there is a place for you here.
This chapter doesn’t thrive because of one person. It thrives because local marketers decide it is worth their time to show up, participate and grow together.
I dare you to join us. Let’s be bold together.
With gratitude,
Betty Rodriguez-Hakes
President, AMA Cincinnati (2026-2027)
Ready to take the dare?
Join AMA Cincinnati and be part of what’s next.
