Amanda Moyer

Director of Account Services, Market Mentors, LLC; Age 29

National Donut Day.

It’s not listed on any wall calendars, and with good reason. Officially the first Friday in June, it’s not a national or even regional holiday, and Hallmark hasn’t designed any cards to recognize it. But the date resonates with the Salvation Army, which, as those famous posters from World War I reveal, supplied donuts, among other things, to soldiers, thus providing one of the etymological roots of the term ‘doughboy.’

The Salvation Army uses the holiday to bring attention to its legacy and programming, but until recently, this was not a local phenomenon. Amanda Moyer changed all that. Indeed, as a board member for that organization, she called upon her work in public relations, as director of account services at Market Mentors, LLC, to recognize inherent value in Donut Day, bring it to Greater Springfield, and thus shed a strong light on the mission of the Salvation Army — “doing the most good” — and how it’s carried out.

But National Donut Day is just one of many ways she assists this organization; she’s also heavily involved in everything from the red-kettle campaigns to the annual Coats for Kids initiative.

And Moyer owes her position, not to mention Donut Day exploits, to BusinessWest. Well, sort of. She was a Central Connecticut State University student, working summers at Longmeadow Country Club and looking for internship opportunities, when she came across a copy of the magazine’s annual Resource Guide at the club. Upon perusing the list of advertising and marketing agencies, she came upon Market Mentors, sent the agency a letter of inquiry, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since that internship in 2008, she’s advanced to account executive, project manager, and now director of all the agency’s departments. When asked for a job description, she said simply, “I’m basically responsible for everything that goes out the door.”

And while she doesn’t make donuts, she’s an accomplished baker, providing carrot cake, bread pudding, and cheesecake for Sturbridge Seafood, the eatery owned by her boyfriend, Ken Yukimura. She does some occasional modeling, and loves to work out; she’s especially fond of exercise boot camps.

So you might say she’s a tremendous role model in that she clearly demonstrates the value of working hard, getting involved in the community, staying in shape, supporting your significant other, and, yes, reading BusinessWest.

That’s food for thought. And so is this: National Donut Day is only seven weeks away.

— George O’Brien

Photography by Leah Martin Photography