In 1966, a few marketing directors from Coast businesses and other
local representatives met for lunch and began discussing the
possibility of starting a Mississippi Gulf Coast chapter of the
American Advertising Federation. The first luncheon of the Coast
Advertising Club was held on March 10, 1967, when it became the
very first new club chartered by the AAF.
Some of the first members included Nell Ducomb, Mississippi
Monitor, C.C. "Tex" Hamill, Editor of Down South Magazine, Ray
Butterfield and
Blue Major of WLOX TV, Powell Glass, Jr., publisher and owner
of the Sea Coast Echo and Ellis Cuevas, Advertising Manager
of the
Sea Coast Echo. There were about 20 to 25 members in the club,
led by its first president, Donald Dana, Mississippi Power.
But the devastation of Hurricane Camille in 1969 forced their
priorities to shift toward rebuilding the Coast. Thus, monthly
meetings stopped
and eventually the club formally disbanded in 1973.
With the help of the Jackson Ad Club, our club began holding
meetings again in 1976, and was re-chartered in 1979.
From there it has been a whirlwind of achievement, from our
first ADDY¨ awards banquet in 1984 (Show Me Something
Mister), to re-introducing the Silver Medal award in 1988
(Shirley Guice),
and to presenting the first Volunteer of the Year Award in
1989 (Debbie Turner).
And our club has kept a focus on the future of the industry
by recruiting students along the way. Four colleges – The University
of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College,
William Carey College on the Coast and Tulane University Biloxi – have
been assisted by our club through annual student design competitions,
scholarships, internships, and public service projects.
In 1996, our club officially changed its name to the Mississippi
Gulf Coast Advertising Federation. But we didn’t let
it go to our heads. We kept giving back to our community
like always,
producing award-winning campaigns for the United Way, Habitat
for
Humanity, The Learning Center, Hope Haven, Gaits to Success
and many more.
Of course all of these activities require the necessary
fundraisers – everything
from media auctions to raffles to shrimp boils. We strive
to find inventive ways to raise financial support for the
AAF-MS Gulf Coast.
Today, the club is the strongest it has ever been. We currently
reign as the 7th District Club of the Year for the first
time in our history, and our membership of advertising
professionals
has
never been higher.
And while
we continue to look forward, we remember all who laid the foundation
for our local professional community.
We are in
debt to today’s honorees for paving the way toward
a strong future of Gulf Coast advertising. AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
1967-68 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Donald Dana
1968-69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles McKellar
1969-70 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . Gerald Bienvenu
1970-71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Bourdin
1971-72 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Earl Blessey
1973-1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disbanded
1977-78 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Nell Ducomb
1978-79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1979-80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellis Cuevas
1980-81 . . . . . . . . . . . . Len James Giacone
1981-82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1982-83 . . . .... . . George “Bucky” Johnson
1983-84 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . Ben Moody
1984-85 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . Kay Gough
1985-86 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy White
1986-87 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Morrison
1987-88 . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don Moore
1988-89 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . Gary Michiels
1989-90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Hasty
1990-91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neil White
1991-92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Fillipi
1992-93 . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Turner
1993-94. . . . ... . . . . . . . . . Ted Fortenberry
1994-95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reggie Bates
1995-96 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . Mark Sedgwick
1996-97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allen Jenkins
1997-98 . . . .... . . . . . . . . Kendra Kimmons
1998-99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Brady
1999-00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christian Reese
2000-01 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ali Bass
2001-02 . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . Mollie Hillburn
2002-03 . . . ... . . . . . . . . . Amber Goodwin
2003-04. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denise Ladner
2004-05.............................. Allen Jenkins
2005-07....................... Gretchen O'Boyle
2007-08...................................... Pat Wylie
2008- Present................ Jalee Smothers
AAF-MS Gulf Coast
Silver Medal Recipients
Donald
Dana, the first AAF-MS Gulf Coast president, was
also our first Silver Medal recipient. At the time the award was sponsored by
Printers’ Ink Marketing Communications. The
AAF Silver Medal as we now present it was introduced to our club in 1988.
1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shirley Guice
1989.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill McQuillan
1990. . . . . . . . . . . . . Francisco Gonzalez
1991 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reed Guice
1992 . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Lima
1993 ... . . . . . . . . . . Darryl Breckenridge
1995 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ted Riemann
1996 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Jenner
1997 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Hasty
1998 ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Turner
1999 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allen Jenkins
2000 ... . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Singleterry
2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Petro
2002 .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . John McFarland
2003 ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . Craig Carpenter
2004 .......... . . .. ... . . . . . Morgan Dowdy
2007.................................... Rip Daniels
AAF District 7: Division III Club of the Year
This honor is presented annually to ad federations who display exceptional accomplishments in club operations. Awards are presented on both the District and National level.
2002-2003 Amber Goodwin, President
2003-2004 Denise Ladner, President
AAF National: Division III Club of the Year
2003-2004 Denise Ladner, President
AAF District 7 Otis Dodge Memorial Award
2008 Denise Ladner, District 7 Coordinator
AAF District 7 Bolton-MacVicar Award
2003 Trudi Mullins
District 7 Governors from our Club
1993-1994 Linda Sherman
(Served as Governor while a member of Nashville Ad Fed, but she lives here now, so we claim her!)
2004-2005 Laura Hasty
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