7/30/2008
American Management Association (AMA), a world leader in talent development and performance-based learning solutions, recently celebrated two special occasions: the 50th anniversary of AMAs operations in Saranac Lake and the dedication of its new Call Center.
AMA purchased the 66-acre Saranac Lake campus from the Trudeau Foundation in 1957. The site originally had served for two dozen years as the Adirondack Cottage Sanatorium, the first sustained, successful sanatorium for the scientific treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in the United States. It was AMAs then-president Lawrence Appleys vision to make the site a remote retreat for classroom training. AMA used the campus as a conference center until 1971. Then it was converted to AMAs operations support center.
Today, the Saranac Lake campus is part of AMAs global network that reaches from its headquarters in New York City, to Toronto, Mexico City, Brussels, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghaiand includes Istanbul, Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Seoul and beyond. AMA provides a broad range of leadership and management development servicesfrom public seminars and customized corporate learning solutions, to Webcasts and podcasts; from online and blended learning, to books, newsletters, journals and research reports.
Last year, AMA offered hundreds of programs to more than 160,000 individuals worldwide. Playing a vital role in AMAs operations is our dedicated staff in Saranac Lake, said AMA President and CEO Edward T. Reilly. The efforts of our local employees here have a tremendous impact on our global operations. We are proud of the work they do, and we are proud to be one of the regions leading employers for five decades.
AMA has 180 employees at its Saranac Lake campus. They are responsible for a variety of critical functions, including finance, internal auditing, strategic sourcing and facilities, distribution services, human resources, information technology, as well as customer service and telesales. Playing a critical role in a competitive global market is AMAs new Call Center.
AMAs Call Center
As part of AMAs commitment to our local staff and the greater Saranac Lake communityand to more efficiently serve our members and customersAMA undertook a major renovation project on the former production building and created a new Call Center, Reilly said.
The 25,000-square-foot building recently was redesigned and refurbished to accommodate the latest state-of-the-art communications system that connects AMA to its customers around the United States and beyond. Over the years, this facility has served various critical functions for AMA, but none is as important to AMAs future as the one that it serves today.
AMAs History
AMA traces its origins back as far as 1913 with the founding of the National Association of Corporation Schools. By 1922, this group had merged with the Industrial Relations Association of America, to form the National Personnel Association. The following year, 1923, the group chose a new name, American Management Association, to better reflect its mission and goals, which was to provide a platform for business leaders to share ideas and to advance the development of management in the United States.
Over the years, AMA held large-scale meetings around the United States on a variety of critical management subjects. Then, in 1973, the Regents of the University of the State of New York granted recognition to AMA as an educational institution.
During the subsequent years, AMA introduced a variety of meetingssome on basic business issues and others on cutting-edge topics. Among the speakers have been Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, as well as such leading authorities as Peter Drucker, Robert Reich, Margaret Thatcher and Colin Powell. During this period, AMA opened a number of centers worldwide.
AMA Today
American Management Association is a world leader in professional development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. AMAs approach to improving performance combines experiential learninglearning through doingwith opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of ones career. AMA supports the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including seminars, conferences, Webcasts and podcasts, corporate and government solutions, books and research. Organizations worldwide, including the majority of the Fortune 500, turn to AMA as their trusted partner in professional development and draw upon its experience to enhance skills, abilities and knowledge with noticeable results from day one. For more information, visit http://www.amanet.org/.