The American Marketing Association (AMA), based in Chicago, has presented its national Volunteer of the Year (VOY) award to San Diegan Kathy Townend, a volunteer with the group’s San Diego chapter.
An AMA member the past 17 years, Townend began in 2009 as a member of the chapter’s communications committee. Two years later, she was elected chapter president for a one-year term. She has also served the group’s vice president of finance, and since 2022 she has been the chapter’s vice president of operations and board secretary.
Formally known as the Professional Chapter Volunteer of the Year Award, the honor is named after former chairman of the AMA board Ric Sweeney, who has served as a president of both the Cincinnati chapter and the association’s professional chapters council.
“I’m truly honored to receive the Ric Sweeney Volunteer of the Year award from the American Marketing Association,” Townsend told Times of San Diego.
“The AMA San Diego chapter has been such an important part of my journey, offering not just opportunities to grow professionally, but also a strong sense of community and lasting friendships. Volunteering has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me. It’s a powerful way to stay connected, contribute meaningful and, in my experience, receive more in return. I’m so grateful to be part of this community.”
The group described Townend, an Encinitas resident, as an experienced senior marketing and product leader known for shaping high‑impact go to market strategies, strengthening brands and guiding cross-functional teams to deliver meaningful business results.
“She thrives in highly regulated business-to-business environments where she brings deep experience in product marketing, brand strategy, and commercial execution,” the AMA said in a statement announcing her win. “Kathy is recognized for her collaborative, people first leadership and her ability to simplify complexity and turn market opportunities into actionable plans. She leads with integrity, curiosity and a commitment to building marketing functions that elevate brands and drive long term impact.”
Nick Hofer, the San Diego chapter’s 2026 president, said, Townend “represents the very best of what AMA San Diego stands for. Her experience, steady leadership, and forward-thinking mindset have helped shape our chapter into one of the strongest in the country. Kathy is the rock of this association, the person who keeps us grounded while always pushing us to grow and improve. Our chapter, our volunteers and the entire marketing community in San Diego are stronger because of her commitment and passion. She truly deserves this recognition as Volunteer of the Year.”
According to Townend’s nomination entry, during her term as president she guided the chapter through a pivotal period that included the founding of the Art of Marketing Conference, now one of the chapter’s flagship initiatives.
During the 2013-2014 term, she also played a central role in rewriting the chapter’s constitution and bylaws to follow modern governance practices and ensuring clarity, compliance and long-term stability.
She also has authored the chapter’s Excellence Awards submissions for multiple years, resulting in recognitions across leadership, finance, membership, programming, communications and outreach.
“Within the chapter, Kathy is widely regarded as a trusted advisor and steady leader,” her nomination entry read. “She bridges generations of board service, offering institutional memory while supporting innovation and growth. She leads by example, modeling engagement, generosity, and professionalism.”
“Congratulations to Kathy for her continuous work and amplification of the AMA San Diego Chapter,” said Bennie Johnson, national CEO of AMA. “Kathy’s leadership, commitment, and dedication are unsurpassed, and I’m pleased to honor her with the distinction of AMA’s 2026 Volunteer of the Year. Thank you, Kathy, for sharing your incredible talent with AMA, for your support of our chapter members, and for being a leader in our marketing community. You exemplify what it truly means to be a volunteer and marketing leader.”
Finalists for the national AMA VOY award included Susan Campbell of Kansas City, Loki Higa of LasVegas, Andy Noller of Cincinnati, Jason Revzon of New York and Mandy Peterson of Lincoln, NE.
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Radio station Jazz 88 plays 100 days of Miles Davis
KSDS Jazz 88.3-FM, San Diego’s non-commercial public jazz radio station, is celebrating the 100th birthday of musician Miles Davis by dedicating 100 days of programming to the legendary jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer.
For a 100-day span, which began in May — to coincide with Davis’ birth on May 26, 1926 — and ending Sept. 3, the station has changed its name to “Miles 100 Radio.”
Davis is considered one of the most consequential artists in the history of American music.
The station said 72 in-depth programs will explore the full Miles Davis universe, including the extraordinary musicians who played alongside him and the generations of artists whose music bears his unmistakable influence.
The programming will feature several jazz authorities, including noted scholar and Grammy Award-winning producer Loren Schoenberg, historian and archivist Ken Poston, critic and broadcaster Kenny Washington, journalist Neil Tesser, author and essayist Will Friedwald, historian Chuck Granata and musician and composer Eric Reed.
The programs also will explore a different dimension of the Davis legacy, starting with his St. Louis roots and his nights on 52nd Street absorbing Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, through his own sessions with Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey and his landmark orchestral collaboration with arranger Gil Evans. Also airing will programs about his 1960s quintet with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams.
A Jazz 88 statement said programs will move fluidly between Davis and the broader world he inhabited, including the sidemen who helped create the music, the rivals who pushed him and the artists across jazz, rock, and hip-hop who built on what he made. Regularly scheduled Miles Davis music will be woven throughout every programming day.
“Miles Davis didn’t just play music. He changed what music could be,” said Poston, KSDS general manager. “One hundred years after his birth, his genius still demands to be heard. We intend to make sure it is.”
A statement said the 100 days of Miles Davis is the largest programming undertaking in the station’s history.
KSDS, with studios at San Diego City College on Park Boulevard in Downtown San Diego, has been on the air since 1951. It is licensed to the San Diego Community College District.
“As I get older, I realize that Miles Davis and Shakespeare have a lot in common,” said Schoenberg “It seems as though their work changes over the years, but it’s really how differently it hits you at different stages of your life. What a great gift he gave to us.”
Davis died on Sept. 28, 1991, at age 65, in Santa Monica, CA. His cause of death was reported as complications from pneumonia, respiratory failure and a stroke.
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Political ad spending forecast raised to record $11.6 billion
The 2026 election cycle had already been expected to set spending records, but the scope of the dollars flowing has led the ad-tracking firm AdImpact to boost its outlook. It now expects total spending to reach $11.6 billion by Election Day, an increase from its earlier $10.8 billion forecast released last fall.
“This election cycle is on track to be the most expensive on record,” the firm said in a new report that estimates total spending will climb 4% compared to the 2024 presidential election cycle. “Current spending is pacing well ahead of previous years, with multiple record-breaking races already concluded before June and early pre-booking numbers indicating activity will remain strong through the fall.”
The biggest share recipient of political ad dollars will be broadcast television. AdImpact estimates broadcast TV will net $5.6 billion during the cycle, with another $1.4 billion spent on cable TV and $88 million spent on satellite TV. However, in recognition of changing viewing habits by cord-cutting consumers, connected (CTV) or streaming TV is expected to receive $2.6 billion.
While analysts say broadcast TV will continue as a cornerstone of the fall advertising landscape, CTV is still regarded as the fastest-growing media type due to the ability to reach granularly-targeted audiences at scale. That makes it particularly valuable for House advertisers navigating redrawn districts, said Inside Audio Marketing, an advertising trade publication.Digital spending has been revised upward to $1.6 billion, a 9% increase over original projections. Analysts point to issue advocacy advertisers for the jump as they use digital for audience targeting and fundraising.
Overall, projections call for $3.4 billion to be spent on Senate campaigns, $2 billion on House races and $2.4 billion on gubernatorial elections with another $698 million spent on state legislative elections. AdImpact also forecast that $3 billion will be invested on other referendum and ballot initiatives.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly in Times of San Diego.
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