AAF-BR President of the Year Connie McLeod with first-place trophies
On Saturday, April 14, the American Advertising Federation–Baton Rouge club was named AAF District 7 Division III Club and President of the Year for the second year in a row. AAF District 7 includes advertising clubs from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
At the district competition in Nashville, AAF-BR scored first in Advertising Education, Club Operations, Diversity & Multicultural Initiatives, Government Relations, Membership, Programs and Public Service and second in Communications. AAF-BR President, Connie McLeod, was named AAF Division III Club President of the Year. McLeod is Senior Graphic Designer for Woman’s.
“I am so proud to be a part of the Baton Rouge advertising community,” said McLeod. “AAF-BR is a true reflection of the diverse, innovative and fun creatives that make up our market.” She led the club’s effort in creating its mission statement: Serving, Connecting and Developing Advertising Professionals.
The club’s crowning achievement was a special Governor’s Award of Excellence in Public Service for its campaign for the Grief Recovery Center in Baton Rouge.
The American Advertising Federation – Baton Rouge club awarded Martin Flanagan with the prestigious Ralph Sims Award, honoring lifetime achievement in advertising education. The AAF-BR board of directors presents this award annually to a Baton Rouge advertising professional who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and mentoring of area college and university students in the fields of advertising, design and related fields. The AAF-BR board also named Peter Browne as recipient of the Rising Star Award for his active involvement in club activities. This award is presented to the new member most actively involved in club activities, given the most toward the betterment of the club and set a shining example for other members during his or her first year of membership
Flanagan, Creative Director and Co-Owner of Xdesign, is one of the most decorated creative directors in Baton Rouge, with well over 100 local, regional and national awards for creative excellence. In addition to his design background, Flanagan has served as assistant professor at LSU in both the School of Journalism and the School of Design. Xdesign has hired and nurtured advertising and design students for more than 20 years, many of which have been under Flanagan’s tutelage.
Browne, graphic designer at Digital FX, chaired AAF-BR’s first-ever Technology Committee. In this role he enabled online dues payments, which improved membership payments in record time at the beginning of the club’s fiscal year. Browne’s generosity of time and talent also greatly improved the club’s website, built a database for a speaker’s bureau, and assisted other committees in meeting their technology goals.
Flanagan and Browne were honored with these awards at the club’s monthly luncheon on May 4, at Juban’s restaurant.
Download the full press release here.
Local advertising agencies received high honors at the AAF District 7 ADDY® competition.
A Gold ADDY® award went to TILT for The Radio Bar Shirts.
Silver ADDYs went to these entries:
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana for The Angel Award brochure
- TILT for Sparkhound sales brochure and Sparkhound sales kit
- Zehnder for GO>>BR Meetings and GO>>BR Illustration
A Gold Student ADDY was awarded to Lorin Michelle Stumph. Student Silver ADDYs went to Courtney Wilburn and LSU College of Art and Design GDSO.
Congratulations from AAF-BR!
