Written by Billie Pieters
The people who brought Harding Pizza Wars, BBQ Wars, The Long Drive Contest and The White County Hospital Fashion Show recently met up with some of America’s top marketing teams.
Harding’s chapter of the American Marketing Association took a trip to Dallas last weekend for what sponsor Lori Sloan said is an incentives trip.
“They have worked hard all year long, and we’re going to go celebrate,” Sloan said.
The group consists of the top 10 students who have worked hard to earn points volunteering and participating on marketing projects. Also on the trip will be professors Lori Sloan, Rich Brown, Randy McLeod and Rees Jones, an adjunct professor and graduate of Harding.
This was the AMA’s third trip to Dallas. While there, the group toured and met with the ad agency Bella Vida, CBS Outdoors and The Richards Group. They also met up with Harding alumnus Tom Heffington, the division manager at Starbucks.
On Saturday, April 4, the students had the opportunity to get an inside view of an event entitled Beauty Live at the Galleria Mall. Top designers and makeup artists from Los Angeles were at the event.
Students also had ski box seats to the Dallas Stars hockey game on Saturday night. Jim Merritt of Merritt Hawkins and Associates, a medical recruitment firm, hosted them. Merritt also had the group over for a barbeque at his ranch.
“If we could be gone a whole week, God would definitely fill up our space,” Sloan said.
Sloan also said that they had to turn down touring Southwest Airlines and Brinker International, which owns restaurants — Chili’s, On the Border, Maggiano’s and Macaroni Grill. The trip was paid for by donations.
“Luckily we have a lot of Harding graduates and friends that support the programs here and really see the value in students coming to these different areas,” Sloan said.
The late Charles Walker founded Harding’s chapter of the AMA almost 50 years ago.
