President’s message
Stronger Connections
We’re always listening to you—and working
to meet your changing needs
4
Summer 2018
AMA InSIder
Understanding that journey from the perspective
of the person going through it—from studying to
obtain a Class 5 licence through to driver educa-
tion and taking the road test—has helped us to
advance our own thinking. We now have a better
grasp of how to more seamlessly align that experi-
ence with the way young people
live their lives.
Over the next while, we’ll be
examining many more of the
journeys our members are on in
their lives. Our goal is to better
comprehend the ways you inter-
act with AMA—by listening to
what you tell us is important, and
then by finding ways to meet your
needs in relevant, satisfying
ways. We’re focused on better
understanding how we can help,
how we can improve the experi-
ence of getting our services, and
how we can improve the feeling
you have along the way—the
feeling of being engaged with,
and surrounded by, family.
As we head into a season of
summer festivals, family vacations and community
events, I hope you find meaningful connections
with the people who matter most—wherever your
journey takes you.
Don Smitten
President and CEO
has taught me a lot over
the years, as I’m sure you can imagine. Thanks in
part to my son, Chris, I now know quite a bit of
text shorthand, have had my face contorted with
a Snapchat filter, and can’t really remember how
I found out about great new music before Spotify.
But as much as Chris and I enjoy
technology together, we both also
treasure the chess sessions we
have, where rule number one is
to put away our phones.
It’s an interesting paradox.
We’re living at a time when
people have never been more
connected, yet in some ways, it’s
much more difficult to engage.
Even our phones, designed to
bring us together, have made
our lives noisy with distraction:
notifications, emails, texts, alerts
and news all pull us out of the
moment—and sometimes away
from each other.
I believe the solution is bal-
ance. At AMA, we continue to
make investments in technology
to allow us to connect with one another quickly,
easily and efficiently. But we’re also making invest-
ments in people, because relationship-building
and community outreach are the foundation of
our organization.
I’m impressed by the younger generation, and
how well its members navigate the dynamic push
and pull of the digital era. Their ability to evolve
and adapt at a rapid pace, always keeping in step
with change, should be an inspiration to any com-
pany that wants to grow with them.
Within our own organization, for instance, we
recently took a close look at the journey of a young
person who’s learning to drive, to identify areas
where we could deliver superior experiences.
Having a young-adult son