FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brittany Carter
Phone: (240) 235-0270
Email: bcarter@columbiabooks.com

 

BETHESDA, MD (July 27, 2015) - Association TRENDS has named Richard Whelan, President of Marketing General Inc the TRENDS 2016 Partner of the Year. He will be honored at the TRENDS 2016 Salute to Association Excellence, March 4 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C.

“Rick Whelan is among the most well-known and respected consultants in the association community. He and his team at Marketing General have helped associations add and retain countless members over the years, and are behind associations when they need that push to the next level of membership engagement. We are more than pleased with the selection of Rick because he is most deserving of this honor,” said Joel Poznansky, president of Association TRENDS.

Whelan will be honored at the annual TRENDS Salute to Association Excellence early next year in Washington. Also to be honored at the Salute will be the Association Executive of the Year, the Leading Association Lobbyists, the Young & Aspiring Association Professionals, and the winners of the All Media Contest – programs of Association TRENDS and the highest honors of their kind in the association community.

Whelan has developed creative strategies for MGI clients for 29 years. As MGI president, he is responsible for the organization’s overall direction and guidance. He oversees a company of 70 marketing specialists who together have the day-to-day responsibility for the strategic marketing and creative needs of 125 organizations in 16 states and Washington.

His professional accomplishments include creating a membership acquisition program for a national educational association that netted more than 7,000 new members in 12 months. He also managed a nonprofit product sales division that increased gross sales of $1 million. Another notable accomplishment was creating an association’s first direct mail campaign that netted more than 1,000 new members during its first eight weeks. He also increased total annual inquiries for an insurance administrator by 51 percent.

Whelan is a past president of the Direct Marketing Association of Washington. During his tenure, he brought the Production Club of Washington under the association’s umbrella and led the adoption of the DMAW Ethics Code of Behavior. He also serves as a board member for the DMAW Educational Foundation. In 2009 DMAW named him the recipient of its Award for Distinguished Achievement.

He is a past chair of the ASAE Membership Section and a member of the ASAE Key Consultants Committee.

Whelan will be feted at the TRENDS 2016 Salute to Association Excellence, March 4 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. Also to be honored at the Salute: the Leading Association Lobbyists, the TRENDS Young & Aspiring Association Professionals, winners of the All Media Contest, and the TRENDS Association Executive of the Year, who will be announced in the November.

For more information visit www.associationtrends.com/salute-to-association-excellence/   

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