About Us | Association Management Company

John and Shirley Ruffin purchased AMR in 1997.
The company has since grown from 12 to 31 employees.
AMR is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, a centrally located, nationally ranked business location which was recently recognized as one of the top five best places for career and business (Forbes, April 2008).
AMR offers full and a la carte services in four core areas: Association Management, Conference and Event Management, Technology and Creative Services.
AMR provides headquarters office and management for nine full-service clients:
- Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI)
- Bluegrass Hospitality Association (BHA)
- Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA)
- National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA)
- Arthur N. Caple Foundation (ANC)
- National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
- National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO)
- Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA)
- Nursing Organizations Alliance (The Alliance)
AMR also provides a range of a la carte association management services to meet the needs of customers who require assistance with a one-time project or limited long-range services. AMR’s recent a la carte clients include:
- Lane Communications (2006-current)
- Lafayette Band Association (2005-current)
- Peer Exchange Network (PEN) (2003-Current)
- Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society (GCMAS) (2003-current)
- National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) (2003-current)
- Bluegrass Work Summit (2006)
- Kentucky Cardiology (2005-2006)
- Nesbitt Engineering (2006)
- United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) (2005)
AMR Management Services is a charter accredited Association Management Company (AMC) by the AMC Institute. AMR was one of the first association management companies to receive charter accreditation status from the AMC Institute, and is one of only 19 AMCs in the world to achieve this prestigious designation from the AMC Institute.
AMR’s staff has diverse educational and professional backgrounds. Staff certifications include the Certified Association Executive (CAE), Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Certified Information Privacy Professional/Government (CIPP/G), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Accredited Systems Engineer (ASE), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA), RSA secured Certified Systems Engineer, and SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources).
30% of all AMR employees hold a masters level degree or higher.
AMR manages on average over $1.3 million in client corporate sponsorship revenue and 39 client events annually with a total of over 4,000 attendees.
John A. Ruffin, CAE, President & CEO of AMR Management Services, has served as an AMC Institute past President and Board member (www.amcinstitute.org), and is a current member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Key Association Management Company (AMC) Committee.
AMR Management Services is among the top 17% of association management companies in number of employees.
AMR staff members are active members of the following organizations:
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA)
- American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)
- University of Kentucky Nonprofit Leadership Initiative
- Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
- American Marketing Association (AMA)
- Lexington Advertising Club
- Commerce Lexington
- AMC Institute
- BoardSource
- Society for Human Resource (SHRM)
- World @ Work
- Bluegrass Compensation Association