American Advertising Federation of the Inland Empire Announces New Leadership

REDLANDS, CA / AGILITYPR.NEWS / October 14, 2024 / REDLANDS, CALIF.  — The American Advertising Federation of the Inland Empire (AAF-IE) has elected new leadership and set its agenda for the new fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. 

Longtime board member and chair of the annual awards competition, Mark Landon, chaired the board retreat hosted by Hyatt-Ward Advertising of Redlands under the stewardship of incoming President John McCarthy. The September 29 meeting kicked off at 9:00 a.m. and ran until 4:00 p.m.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization suffered a serious decline in membership, as some of its individual and company members lost clients. This caused some companies to close down, and individual members suffered drastic cuts in their fee income. Entry fees for the annual awards competition, which declined in entries, nonetheless kept the AAF-IE alive.

While membership has slowly started to grow, at the board retreat, the board set a goal to increase membership to 250, including 100 student members, which new Education Chair Greg Zerovnik characterized as “the future of our chapter.” Topics ranging from membership dues and categories to programs and events were discussed, and goals were set.

The new board of directors has 15 members. The officers are John McCarthy, president; Jessica Qattawi, past president; Eren Cello, vice president; Erik Harty, secretary; and Bjorn Madrid, treasurer.

The committee chairs and vice chairs are Mark Landon, Awards; Matt Ramirez, Programs; Carl Dameron, Chair and Gracie Servin, Vice Chair, Communications; Adrian Hyatt-Ward, Membership; Greg Zerovnik, Chair, and Vanessa Boekenoogen, Vice Chair, Education; and At-Large members Joe Lyons and Jacob Poore.

The board wants to add more people. “We are looking for a diverse group of people whose only requirement is that they are willing to help,” says McCarthy. 

Membership Chair Adrian Hyatt-Ward said, “We want people from both smaller and larger agencies, media members, independent contractors, creatives, administrators, and anyone else who is involved in creating, buying, selling, educating or servicing advertising” To learn more about AAF membership in the Inland Empire, call Adrian Hyatt-Ward at 909-730-2431.

About the AAF-IE

In the 1980s, a small group of people doing advertising and graphic design for in-house and external clients/employers formed a club that held regular meetings and brought guest speakers to lecture on advertising and design topics. They called their group Portfolio. As the Inland Empire grew and advertising agencies started to form with full-service capabilities, the original group of largely one-person shops and freelancers grew and renamed itself the Inland Empire Ad Club (IEAC). By the late 1990s, as the Inland Empire became host to literally thousands of both new and relocating firms that needed advertising and design services, IEAC’s leadership recognized that it was necessary to connect to resources that its community did not provide to meet the needs of this growing roster of potential clients.

The decision was made to affiliate the IEAC with the American Advertising Federation, the nation’s oldest national advertising industry trade association. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 15 district operations, each located in and representing a different region of the nation. 

Not long after joining the AAF, the IEAC renamed itself the American Advertising Federation, Inland Empire, adopting a brand name with a history dating back to February 16, 1973, when the AAF was founded in Chicago, Illinois.

The national AAF hosts the Advertising Hall of Fame and helps train AAF chapter leaders. Its national awards competition recognizes the best advertising output in various categories and specialties. Award winners have used such recognitions to win new clients. 

The AAF also provides resources for districts and chapters that are impossible to obtain on a smaller scale. Its annual conference is a much-loved, multi-day forum that brings members together to attend workshops and hear from industry leaders on current trends.