Commentary

Jackie Clark, former NAMA PR director, will be missed by all who knew her

Jackie Clark, 58, passed away yesterday, surrounded by family members, at her home in the greater Washington, D.C. area after a battle with cancer.

Image courtesy of iStock

May 12, 2020 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Jackie Clark

There are people you get to know in your working life who become more than a business associate. They are the ones that strike you as genuine individuals who will go above and beyond what is expected of them in their work roles to help you.

Jackie Clark, the former director of public relations for the National Automatic Merchandising Association, was such a person. I have to believe I speak for everyone who worked with Jackie that she was always willing to help you with a smile.

Jackie passed away yesterday at her home in the greater Washington, D.C. area after a battle with cancer, surrounded by family members. She was 58.

Her best known contribution to the convenience services industry was her work on the NAMA Balanced For Life/FitPick initiative. NAMA launched this in 2005 in response to a crisis in obesity that had a major impact on the vending industry. FitPick is a national health and wellness initiative offering marketing tools for vending operators, including online resources to help operators evaluate and create nutrition-based menus to downloadable template wellness materials, machine graphics and point-of-sale materials. The FitPick program continues to be popular with operators committed to health and wellness.

Jackie also operated her own public relations company, Clark Communications, in Clarksburg, Maryland, along with her husband, Fritz Schneider, the agency's chief operating officer.

She is survived by her mother, Mary Jane Chambers; her sister, Colleen Chambers and husband, Steven Toy; her brother, David Chambers; her daughter, Chelsea Echavarria and husband, Fabio Echavarria; her stepdaughter, Maggie Schneider; and her husband, Fritz Schneider She was preceded in death by her father, David August Chambers.

Schneider asks people to send condolences in Jackie's name to 24816 Frederick Road, Clarksburg MD 20871, or via email at fshneider.clarkcommunications@gmail.com. He asks that any donations in Jackie's name be sent to local organizations helping people in need.

Photo courtesy of Clark Communications.