Dear AAF-BR Members,
It is an honor to be serving as president of The American Advertising Federation of Baton Rouge (AAF-BR) for the 2020-2021 year. This will be a year like no other, presenting its own unique challenges as we navigate through a global pandemic and some uncertain economic circumstances. Your Board of Directors along with AAF National has been working hard to ensure that we continue to deliver value and assistance through these trying times.
As you may know, we were unable to meet in person towards the end of our 2019-2020 year due to stay-at-home and social distancing orders. Thanks to AAF National and in partnership with AAF-Pensacola we were able to host a virtual meeting on crisis communication in April. In May our Speaker Series event featured Thomas Wimberly, famous Ad Council artist and Baton Rouge local. We also held a very successful virtual student conference. With all that said, we know how important it is for all of us to be together and meet face-to-face.
Our goal for the 2020-2021 year is to look inward and be there for our members. First, you will notice in your membership invoice for the upcoming year, there will be a credit issued in the amount of $50. That means for this year your membership cost will be reduced by $50. We were able to issue this credit due to the savings of not having the last two in-person Speaker Series events. Secondly, we will be focusing some of our programming and workshops on those who have been impacted professionally by the pandemic. We are working hard to ensure that our members stay connected. In addition to guiding our members through these uncertain times, we are serious about our commitment to helping the community. Our Community Outreach chairs are already planning an event that will help generate advertising for a non-profit at no cost to them.
We are working closely with our national organization to bring you the value of your membership with as much engagement as we can, since networking is a big part of why we are such a strong club. As much as we would love to get together and see everyone in person as soon as possible, we have to be responsible and do our best to protect the health of our members. The time to get involved in the club is now. There has never been a better time to join a committee. Those who get involved get the most out of their membership.
I want to thank you for your continued support as a returning member. Please reach out and let us know how we can best serve you through this time of uncertainty. I look forward to kicking off 2020-2021 with you!
Barb Braud
President, AAF-Baton Rouge