President ’ s message
Practically Family
We ’ re there for our members — whenever , wherever and however you need us
EvEry FEbruary in albErta , we designate a special day to honour the importance of families : the people around us who love us , support us and look out for us . It ’ s a very special thing , in my eyes , that there is no longer simply one definition of “ family .” People are getting married later in life ; kids aren ’ t leaving the nest as early as they used to ; multiple generations are sharing the same living space ; and good friends , for many of us , provide a much needed backbone of support . When I think of family , my thoughts turn not only to my wife , son , brothers , sisters and parents , but also to the buddies I ’ ve had since university and the people I share my days with at AMA . I also think of you all : our members .
At AMA , we really do consider our members to be practically family . You trust us to have your back and that is an obligation we take very seriously , whether we ’ re helping you out at the side of the road or going the extra mile to ensure your travel plans go smoothly . But there ’ s something else I ’ ve increasingly noticed and that is just how often our members themselves come together — like they ’ re practically family — to help each other . We witnessed it during our Fill Our Fleet campaign , when , despite tough economic times in this province , you turned out to raise funds for food banks across Alberta , and we see it every day as members connect and travel together through programs like our solo travel experiences .
As is appropriate if we consider ourselves like family , we can ’ t help but be committed to doing all we can to meet our members ’ needs at all stages in life . It ’ s a big ask because when your family is almost one million strong , there ’ s a lot of diversity to embrace and no one size fits all . It ’ s important to me that we ’ re meeting the needs of all our members , so we ’ ve been making changes to the way we do business and to the products and services we offer . You may have noticed examples of this in 2016 , and
in the years ahead you ’ ll see even more . We want to be there for you when and where you need us . You get to decide .
If you travel with us , you can now do as much or as little of the research and booking work as you want to do online , while still having access to our travel counsellors by phone , email or in person . Any one of our travel counsellors can access your file , so you can get the help you need , with any or all of your vacation , whenever you need it . We now offer monthly payment plans , automatic credit card renewal and eBill options that make it easy to become a member — and then just as easy to renew your membership . And with subscriptions like our Vehicle Registration Auto Renew service , you no longer have to worry about your licence plate tags expiring without you knowing about it !
These are just a few examples of the changes we ’ re making to be more flexible and accessible no matter when or how you want to do business with us . We ’ re off to a good start , and you have lots to look forward to as we double down on our commitment to be there for our members and respond to the changing ways of doing business .
But there ’ s one thing I can guarantee won ’ t be changing , and that ’ s our commitment to protecting the things that matter to you . Looking out for each other is what families do , so we ’ ll continue to be there when you need us .
From our family to yours , happy Family Day .
Don Smitten President and ceO curtis trent
4 SPRING 2017
AMA INSIdeR