History of CMMA

1946

Founded as the Industrial Audiovisual Association (IAVA)

1980

Renamed the Audiovisual Management Association (AVMA) to reflect the growing responsibilities of its members.

1995

Renamed the Communications Media Management Association (CMMA) to reflect the expanding role of its members.

2006

CMMA celebrated 60 years of peer networking and professional development opportunities for communications media managers.

Notes from the Early Years

The five founding audio visual managers were employed Business Screen Magazine, Swift & Co., International Harvester, Standard Oil and General Mills. By 1949 there were 47 Association members. Yearly dues were $15.

One of the startling new advances in technology to be shown at the 1948 Spring meeting was a radically different 35mm filmstrip projector with built-in sound and no beeps. Here’s a list of some of the Audio/Visual tools available to the AV Communicator in 1952.

• shadow box
• silhouettes
• pictographs
• sky writing
• 5×7 slides
• phonovision
• puppets
• flannel charts
• wire recording