DMEF's 2007 Auction for Education 'Direct Marketers Gone Wild!' Kicks Off

September 6, 2007 — Now for a little madcap fun — and all for an excellent cause: to raise funds to attract, educate, and place tomorrow’s direct marketing professionals. Today, the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation’s (DMEF) annual Auction for Education goes live online. The 2007 auction — dubbed “Direct Marketers Gone Wild!” — will continue until Tuesday evening, October 16 during DMA07 Conference & Exhibition.

Direct Marketers Gone Wild! presents auction bidders a treasure trove of valuable goods, events, and services to bid on, starting today. The donated prizes include a Viking River Cruises trip from Belgium to Switzerland, NASCAR Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a year of Omaha Steaks, or delicacies from Harry & David, as well as leading professional education offerings from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and top DMA instructors. Best of all, participants will help provide top-notch education for aspiring direct marketing professionals.

The auction kicked off online this morning (Thursday, September 6) and will end on Tuesday, October 16 at 5 p.m. (CT). Bidding is as easy as a click of your mouse. You can either bid online at www.dmefauction.org, or just stop by the DMEF Booth at DMA07, the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) six-day multichannel marketing event of the year, which will be held October 13–18 at Chicago’s McCormick Place West.

In addition to the online component of the auction, the Foundation will host an exclusive live and silent auction at its Annual Awards Dinner, which will be held on Saturday evening, October 13 at The Hyatt Regency Chicago. At this year’s reception and dinner, DMEF will present Tim Litle, chairman and founder of Litle & Co., with its Edward N. Mayer Educational Leadership Award, and Draftfcb with its Corporate Leadership Award.

“The old saying ‘shop ‘til you drop’ takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the exciting auction packages available through the Foundation’s 2007 Auction for Education,” said Beth Smith, auction chair, DMEF Board of Trustees member, and co-owner of Smith/Browning Direct. “In addition to gaining access to some of the most exciting — both practical and wild — packages, bidders have an opportunity to expand and enrich the talent pool of trained, market-ready direct marketers — today.”

A few of the items that have been generously donated for Direct Marketers Gone Wild! auction include:

· A special visit and shopping spree at American Girl.

· Deluxe camping package from L.L.Bean.

· House-call training seminars from all-star DMA instructors Ashleigh Sawdon, Beth Smith, and Ruth Stevens in areas such as direct marketing basics, creative, lead generation, and business-to-business direct marketing.

· Admission to National Center for Database Marketing 2007 (NCDM) Conference and Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants 2008 (ACCM) from DMA and Penton Media.

· Advertising space in leading trade publications.

· Gift cards from women’s apparel cataloger Talbots.

· Gift cards to Gardener’s Supply/Dutch Gardens.

· Fine cutlery for a gourmet kitchen from Cutco Cutlery.

· Gift cards to merchants donated by Allstate Motor Club.

· Gift cards from Jockey International.

· A LEGO gift card.

· A fairytale treasure tower from Fairytale Brownies.

· Decorative silver bowl from Rio Grande (The Bell Group).

· Art prints donated by Uline.

· House-call direct mail seminar by the United States Postal Service.

For additional Direct Marketers Gone Wild! auction information, contact Jeff Nesler at jnesler@the-dma.org.

About the DMEF Annual Awards Dinner

The DMEF Annual Awards Dinner will be held Saturday, October 13 at The Hyatt Regency Chicago, during the DMA07 Conference & Exhibition, which takes place on October 13–18.

To access the Annual Awards Dinner online reservation form, please visit http://www.the-dma.org/dmef/DMEFRESERVEFORMver2.pdf. For additional information on table sponsorships and tickets to the DMEF Annual Awards Dinner, please contact Asha Roberts at 212.790.1512 or aroberts@the-dma.org.

About DMA07 Conference & Exhibition

DMA07, the largest gathering of direct marketing professionals, is DMA’s annual conference and exhibition. DMA07 will feature more than 150 educational sessions, plus roundtables, case studies, white papers and research reports. DMA07’s exhibit hall will feature more than 500 exhibiting companies. For more information, or to register for the six-day multichannel marketing event of the year, please visit www.dma07.org or call 1.800.293.7279 or 330.425.9330.

About Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF)

Headquartered in New York City, the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) works to attract, educate, and place top college students by continuously improving the teaching of world-class direct/interactive marketing and, thereby, expanding and enriching the talent pool of trained, market-ready direct marketers. Established in 1966 by members of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) who wanted to give something back to the community, DMEF is today a separate, 501(3)(c) nonprofit corporation that is supported solely by tax-deductible contributions from individuals, companies, and regional clubs and associations. Funds raised go toward a broad range of world-class educational programs.

Since its founding, thousands of students have taken advantage of DMEF’s educational programs, entering the field with the competitive edge of being “workplace-ready.” Many have gone on to become today’s direct marketing leaders, an indication of the Foundation’s success. In addition, more than 1,800 professors have participated in DMEF programs. Thanks in significant part to the Foundation’s four decades of work, today approximately 250 colleges and universities offer courses in direct/interactive marketing, 20 of which now offer specific direct marketing degrees and certificate programs. For additional information about the DMEF, its mission, and its programs, visit www.the-dmef.org.

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