It is my pleasure to introduce to you two brand new members of the AZIMA Board Members, Bill Swartz joins the AZIMA Board of Director’s as the VP of Sponsorship, and Jeff Hecht joins the crew as the new VP of Public Relations. I’d like to wish them well in their new leadership roles. For the purpose of this introduction, I thought I’d ask each of them a few questions intended to provide a bit of an ice breaker.
Meet Bill Swartz, VP of Sponsorship
Elise Redlin-Cook: What and/or who inspired you to seek a seat on the board?
Bill Swartz: I have admired AZIMA right from the start. I love the way the organization has a warm personality and welcoming mood, while still delivering great events with great content! Mike Wolf reached out to me and indicated there might be an opportunity to take a seat on the Board if I was willing to do some heavy lifting by taking the Sponsorship effort to the next level after the great job that has been done to date totally setting that whole piece up. I jumped at the opportunity!
Elise: How long have you been an AZIMA member and/or attending our events?
Bill: I have attended events as regularly as my schedule would allow right from the kickoff forward.
Elise: Which, if any social networks do you care to connect with other AZIMA members on?
Bill: I am a total Facebook addict (www.facebook.com/billswartz), a big LinkedIn user ([email protected]), and a moderate user of twitter (@billswartz).
Elise: MAC or PC? Care to elaborate?
Bill: Mac since the beginning of time. Cause I’m cool like that. Nuff said? 
Elise: Are you driven by any passions outside of the interactive industry?
Bill: I’m driven by a passion to give positive energy, encourage personal transformation, and to learn as much as I can about things outside my usual daily experience. I am an avid (daily) hiker of Piestewa Peak (I run the Piestewa Peak Facebook group), and an avid practitioner of yoga (my fave instructor is Alex Austin, At One Yoga).
Meet Jeff Hecht, VP of Marketing & PR
Elise Redlin-Cook: What and/or who inspired you to seek a seat on the board?
Jeff Hecht: My dear friend Becky Seymann got me involved at the registration table at AZIMA events, but the amazing people I have met and the interesting programs have kept me coming back again and again, and wanting to help out however possible.
Elise: How long have you been an AZIMA member and/or attending our events?
Jeff: I’ve been an active attendee since August (the Facebook event) of last year…
Elise: Which, if any social networks do you care to connect with other AZIMA members on?
Jeff: I have kept contact with AZIMA members through Facebook (www.facebook.com/jeffhecht) and Twitter (@jeffhechtaz), and what I consider to be the most important, in real life. Lunch or happy hours with my AZIMA friends is the best!
Elise: MAC or PC? Care to elaborate?
Jeff: PC, although I may be re-evaluating this soon…
Elise: Are you driven by any passions outside of the interactive industry?
Jeff: As a PR practitioner, I am certainly interested in topics relevant to my field of expertise, including crisis communications and message and brand management. On a personal note, I am a sports fan (Redskins football and Coyotes hockey are at the top of my list), all things 70s and 80s, Howard Stern, and traveling whenever possible.
I would like urge all AZIMA members and supporters to say hello to our new Board of Directors!
Board will have a very full agenda for the first few months of its existence, taking on a number of important strategic and governance issues. We will be keeping our membership informed of the pending issues, and of course will continue to welcome your input and guidance. We look forward to a year of exciting educational programming and big things to come!