Page 4 - BusinessWest July 10, 2023

Support Network
The Markens Group Takes the Lead in a Business No One Knows About
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
hen Lauren Zuber started with the
Markens Group just over two years ago, she understood that she would be working for “an association-management company.”
But she noted that it took her quite some time to fully understand just what
that meant, what this now 35-year-old venture does, and, just as importantly, how it does it.
“I was inherently confused by the concept until probably three months into my job here,” she told BusinessWest, adding that, despite this confusion, she was drawn to the company and took the role of director of Marketing & Development because of its track record of success and strong set of values.
Emily Leonczyk, the company’s executive vice president,
can relate, and said that, for many employees, it takes closer to a year before they have a firm handle on all that goes into the equation when it comes to association management — and how this company stands out in a crowded field of competitors.
Indeed, there is a lot that goes into that equation, she said, including everything from organizing and staging events to strategic leadership; from marketing and communications to membership services; from website design to social media. And the Markens Group, or TMG, provides all this and more to a wide variety of trade associations, membership societies,
and not-for-profits, including the Springfield Regional Chamber, providing a team of specialists in place of one generalist.
For the chamber, TMG handles a number of assignments, from its newsletter to assistance with events such as its Outlook lunch in March, one of the region’s largest annual gatherings, to the recent annual meeting.
Diana Szynal, president of the chamber, summed up what the firm does with two highly effective words.
“They’re our support team,” she said, emphasizing both terms and noting that, while she still leads the various efforts at the chamber, TMG provides support from many different individuals with experience and expertise in several different areas. “You don’t get a person ... you get a team.”
The company’s growing portfolio of clients manifests itself in an alphabet soup of acronyms for the organizations it serves — letters that appear in emails, on a large board tracking a lengthy list of events that TMG is working on, and on the binder covers on a shelf in one of the conference rooms.
There’s SRC — that’s the Springfield Regional Chamber; MLF, the Mary Lyons Foundation; NEFMA, the New England Financial Marketing Assoc.; IMFA, the International Molded Fiber Assoc.; AAHP, the American Assoc. of Homeopathic Pharmacists; FPPA, Flexographic Pre-Press Platemakers Assoc.; and many others.
Behind those letters are associations comprised of businesses and organizations that are committed to their missions and moving them forward, said Ben Markens, but need
“You don’t get a person ... you get a team.”
4
JULY 10, 2023
<< FEATURE >>
BusinessWest
From left, founders Ben and Jennie Markens and Emily Leonczyk, TMG’s vice president and chief operating officer.