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.

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