Fort Worth's Oldest Civic Organization Survives Pandemic, Recognized With Numerous District Awards
Posted on Apr. 16, 2023 / General News / Subscribe 0
Founded by Amon G. Carter in 1909, AAF Fort Worth holds the title of Fort Worth's oldest civic group. When the pandemic hit in 2020, an organization that had built its success around luncheons, networking, and award galas struggled with engagement during lockdown. Run by a volunteer board of directors, only two board members remained moving into the 2021-22 board term.
Since then, the organization’s leadership has focused on realigning the organization’s value and purpose, directing efforts toward growing the Fort Worth advertising community, promoting local businesses, diversifying representation in membership, and retaining talent in the area.
Earlier this month, the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) was recognized with numerous major honors representing the greater Fort Worth community. The 10th district of AAF comprises Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, with 14 local chapters of AAF in most major markets. This year’s recognition for AAF Fort Worth included:
Outstanding Educator of the Year Goes To UTA Teaching Veteran
Roby McEuen, an advertising lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington, was recognized as the 10th District Outstanding Educator of the Year. The purpose of the award is to recognize members of the district who have made outstanding and unselfish contributions to the growth and improvement of advertising through the academic process.
The nomination letter for Roby McEuen was written by Michael Magnus, President of AAF Fort Worth, and endorsed by dozens of other past students from McEuen’s 30+ year career in teaching locally. Among those signatures for the nomination letter was Brandon Hurtado of Hurtado BBQ and Marc Bautista, Senior Manager of Client Operations with PMG, who recently won the contract for Nike’s agency of record.
This is the first time that this award has been given to a faculty member of UTA since 1989.
An excerpt of the nomination letter reads:
“Roby has dedicated over 30 years of his life to guiding and inspiring young advertising hopefuls in the DFW metroplex. In his 21st year of teaching at UTA, Roby was described by a recent graduate as “Real. Someone who won’t stand for your B.S. when he knows you have the talent and will push you to do higher-quality work and think more strategically. He believes in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself.” In my experience as both a former student and a former colleague of Roby MucEuen, I mirror this sentiment.”
A copy of the nomination letter, including the additional excerpts added from over 20 past students, is available upon request by contacting [email protected]
TCU takes first place in the National Student Advertising Competition
Sponsored by Indeed, this year’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) had teams from 16 different universities from District 10 present their proposed advertising campaigns for Indeed.com. The team from TCU was awarded first place in the district competition and was one of the two teams that will be advancing to regional competitions.
Whereas some colleges have teams of dozens of students, the TCU team that advanced was a team of only five. Their faculty advisor was first-year TCU lecturer Duke Greenhill.
Last year, TCU won second place nationally for their campaign for Tinder.
Jonathan Morris recognized as Fort Worth’s Mosaic Star
The District 10 Mosaic Awards recognizes individuals, companies, and agencies within Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas whose commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident through their creative work and organization-wide initiatives.
Jonathan Morris of Hotel Dryce was recognized as the 2023 honoree from Fort Worth; only the second person to be awarded this recognition since it was established in 2022.
The nomination letter opens:
“Jonathan Morris is a community builder. He’s a visionary who appreciates tradition. And he is generous with his time and talents, and supports the growth and development of the Fort Worth community.
Morris’ Hotel Dryce has become a destination, not just because of the unique and inviting atmosphere, but because it’s become a space where people from all backgrounds and walks of life can connect over commonalities. It’s naturally and effortlessly inclusive and diverse; a celebration of culture and interests.”
Recent TCU Grad Recognized as Young Professional of the Year
A 2021 graduate of TCU, Madison McQuary has quickly become a recognized name in the DFW advertising community. As a student, she was President of ROXO, TCU’s in-house student agency, before leading TCU to take second place nationally in the National Student Advertising Competition.
Upon graduation, she moved into a Project Coordinator position at Agency Habitat before quickly climbing the ranks to Brand Manager, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day account activities for multi-national companies such as Pei Wei.
During that time, she also served as Membership Chair for AAF Fort Worth while championing the efforts to establish a chapter of AAF’s young professional organization here in Fort Worth. She recognized there were many students who saw more opportunities for leadership in Dallas, resulting in our marketing losing young talent to the Dallas. The goal of Ad 2 Fort Worth is to create opportunities for networking, education, mentorship, and public service for young advertising professionals under the age of 32 (a designation from the national organization).
Ad 2 Fort Worth was formally voted in November of 2022 and has been organizing board members for its formal launch in summer 2023. It is the 19th Ad 2 chapter within the American Advertising Federation.
At the District 10 ceremonies, Madison was recognized by senior leadership within AAF as the Ad 2 Member of the Year in recognition of her efforts in establishing a Fort Worth chapter and setting a precedent for future chapters in other districts.
McQuary was also one of DFW’s 32 Under 32 in 2022, awarded by Ad 2 Dallas prior to the establishment of the Ad 2 Fort Worth chapter.
Past AAF Fort Worth President Inducted as District 10 Governor
After serving for two years as Lieutenant Governor with the American Advertising Federation’s 10th district, Laurel McEuen was inducted as the Governor of District 10. McEuen served as President of AAF Fort Worth for a one-year term from 2018-2019.
Currently the Director of Marketing & Creative Services at RAZ Imports in Mansfield, she previously served as the Director of Marketing for Tandy Leather and the Creative Director of Kisabeth Furniture. Among her numerous awards include Shining Star, 32 Under 32, and a collection of local, district, and national American Advertising Awards.
AAF Fort Worth Awarded First Place for Club Operations
Each year, chapters of AAF within the 10th district submit Club Achievement books outlining their goals, struggles, and successes from the previous year. This year’s Club Operations book submitted from AAF Fort Worth recognized the challenges of bringing back in-person events, declining sponsorships, and the need to diversify membership. During that time, memberships rose, sponsorships returned, engagement has increased, and the membership of the organization is perhaps the most diverse that it’s been in the history of the organization.
The book, written by AAF Fort Worth President Michael Magnus and incoming AAF Fort Worth President Holly McCleary is available by request by contacting [email protected].
Holly McCleary Named Fort Worth’s Board Member of the Year
At the award ceremony in Austin, TX, district leadership recognized volunteers from each of their local markets who made a big impact on their organization in the last 12 months.
First-year board member and Incoming President Holly McCleary was nominated by Fort Worth President Michael Magnus to be recognized as the inaugural “Local Board Member of the Year” for Fort Worth. McCleary is a Content Specialist for Jackson Walker LLP.
About AAF Fort Worth
The Fort Worth of the American Advertising Federation is a community organization run by a volunteer board of advertising professionals dedicated to advancing the profession, supporting educational initiatives, and uniting our industry community. Founded by Amon G. Carter in 1909, AAF Fort Worth holds the title of Fort Worth’s oldest civic group.
Our 80+ members include over 30 different marketing and advertising agencies across the Greater Fort Worth area, including in-house marketers from global brands to local non-profit leaders. We create opportunities for students from five local universities.
AAF Fort Worth is the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation, a network representing more than 50,000 advertising professionals.
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