Nearly 1,000 delegates and club officials, representing AAA's 60 affiliated clubs in the U.S. and Canada, elected Gamba during the 104th AAA annual meeting for the 50 million-member, not-for-profit organization, held in Pittsburgh, Pa. She previously served on the national AAA board as vice chairman.
Gamba is chairman of the board of Jordan Associates, an Oklahoma City- based communications agency specializing in advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, research, interactive marketing and public relations. She was president and CEO of the firm from 1984 through 2006.
“AAA has a rich history in advocacy and service to its members. Placing an emphasis on greater exposure for the association’s benefits and value is a natural extension of the strategic vision currently in place.” said Gamba. “This is a unique time in the organization’s growth when we can enhance the power of the brand and reinforce the relevance of AAA’s offerings.”
Among Gamba’s honors: the Oklahoma City Advertising Club’s Ad Person of the Year award; recipient of the Oklahoma City Chapter of Women in Communications’ Byliners Award for Communications; the Journal Record’s Corporate Woman of the Year Award; the National Management Association’s Manager of the Year Award for Oklahoma; and in 1989, she received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association for Community Leadership.
Gamba brings a strong business and communications background to her role as chairman. She was the 1997 chairman of the board of the State Chamber of Oklahoma and the 1999 chairman of the Oklahoma Business Roundtable. She is also past chairman of the Oklahoma Council of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
The newly elected national AAA chairman serves on several corporate and civic boards, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Caring Foundation and the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation. In 1990, she became a member of the select international business women’s group, The Committee of 200.
Elected to the board of directors of AAA Oklahoma in 1996, Gamba now serves as the local board’s vice chairman.
The Osage City, Kan. native began her career in communications as a writer and producer at WIBW-TV in Topeka and is a graduate of Kansas State University.
