History
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Our Start
1966
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.
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First Luncheon
1967
The first luncheon of the Coast Advertising Club was held on March 10, 1967. We were the first club to be 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. At that time there were 20 to 25 members in the club led by its first president, Donald Dana, general manager, Corporate Communications, Mississippi Power.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
1967-68 – Donald Dana
1968-69 – Charles McKellar -
Hurricane Camille
1969
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.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
1969-70 – Gerald Bienvenu
1970-71 – Tom Bourdin
1971-72 – Earl Blessey
1973-1976 – Club Disbanded -
Beginning Again
1976
With the help of the Jackson Ad Club, our club began holding meetings again in 1976 and was re-chartered in 1979.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
1977-78 – Nell Ducomb
1978-79 – Unknown
1979-80 – Ellis Cuevas
1980-81 – Len Giacone
1981-82 – Unknown
1982-83 – George “Bucky” Johnson
1983-84 – Ben Moody -
First ADDY Awards Banquet
1984
From there it was a whirlwind of achievement, from the first ADDY® awards banquet in 1984 (Show Me Something Mister), to re-introducing the Silver Medal award in 1988 (Shirley Guice), to presenting the first Volunteer of the Year Award in 1989 (Debbie Turner).
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 University on the Coast and Tulane University Biloxi – have been assisted by our club through annual student design competitions, scholarships, internships and public service projects.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
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 SedgwickAAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal Recipients
1988 – Shirley Guice
1989 – Bill McQuillan
1990 – Francisco Gonzalez
1991 – Reed Guice
1992 – Bob Lima
1993 – Darryl Breckenridge
1995 – Ted Riemann -
Big Rebrand
1996
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 club.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
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 GoodwinAAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal Recipients
1996 – Jim Jenner
1997 – Laura Hasty
1998 – Debbie Turner
1999 – Allen Jenkins
2000 – Steve Singleterry
2001 – Peter Petro
2002 – John McFarland -
First 7th District Club of the Year
2003
In 2003, our club won the 7th District Club of the Year for the first time in our history with Amber Goodwin as president. We had a fun but very productive year with our Funky Furniture auction, Shrimp Boil and Christmas in the Gutter, not to mention great speakers and After Hour events.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
2003-04 – Denise Ladner
AAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal Recipients
2003 – Craig Carpenter
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Bringing In the Awards
2004
In 2004, we continued to build on an already solid foundation and not only won 7th District Club of the Year for the second year in a row but we took home Club of the Year at the AAF National level with Denise Ladner as president. The club also won the AAF G.D. Crain, Jr. Public Service Advertising Award for our public service efforts. That same year, we were honored to have our very own Laura Hasty serve as the 7th District Governor. What a stellar year for our little club!
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
2004-05 – Allen Jenkins
2005-07 – Gretchen O’Boyle
2007-08 – Pat WylieAAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal Recipients
2004 – Morgan Dowdy
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Hurrican Katrina
2005
In 2005, another destructive hurricane (Katrina) displaced a lot of our regular members with the devastation along the entire Gulf Coast. We rallied once again and found another meeting place to hold our regular monthly meetings. Our membership has since grown and now become an even closer-knit group.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
2005-07 – Gretchen O’Boyle
2007-08 – Pat WylieAAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal Recipients
2007 – Rip Daniels
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New AAF Branding
2008
In 2008, in an effort to solidify and further strengthen the value of the American Advertising Federation, AAF National asked that all clubs support the organizations new branding initiative. We were one of the first clubs to adopt the new AAF brand into our name and officially became AAF MS Gulf Coast.
AAF-MS Gulf Coast Presidents
2008-09 – Jalee Smothers
2009-10 – Gretchen David/Jalee Smothers
2010-11 – Gretchen David
2011-12 – Jeff Harrison
2012-13 – Scott Wilson
2013-14 – Scott Yadon
2014-2015 – Nancy LewandrowskiAAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal Recipients
2012 – Stevie McCain
2014 – Denise Ladner
2015 – Bonnie Blackledge
We have an amazing group of folks who volunteer their time each year to lead our club to new heights. We look forward to more great years.
AAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal
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. The AAF MS Gulf Coast Shirley Guice Silver Medal as we now present it was introduced to our club in 1988.
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