At the beginning of May I attended the final conference of the year, The AAF 4th District's Annual Conference, in St. Petersburg. I gave my last report to the District as President of the Greater Ocala Advertising Federation. I skipped the meeting on how to "let go" and let the incoming President handle things. I know our club is good hands with Adriana Rosas, no worries there!
Ocala made a strong showing at District this year. I received the first-ever "Superstar of Government Relations" award, the only special award to be handed out during the conference other than the standards. Ocala Magazine won three GOLD Addys! The video shown at the Gala was ours, too, so Kip Williams and Tymn Armstrong made their on-screen appearance.
I joke that at the annual conferences if everyone is either "incoming" or "outgoing," who's running things? Of course the same crew is still are running things, we're just in our final stretch.
What is happening between now and July 1st when crews change? We have two programs, May's behind-the-scenes tour of the Ocala Star Banner and June's 3rd Annual Brain Bash. We will be swearing-in our new board at the Brain Bash. There is also the National AAF Conference in June in Atlanta which I will be attending (Ocala represents!).
What is beyond all that? Adriana will take over as President, as your new fearless leader. She will lead the club through a very busy year... carrying on my momentum and growing it exponentially. Adriana will be backed by a powerful board, so the 2008-2009 year holds a lot of promise!
We will be offering a 3-month series of programs on the interactive side of advertising: How to Integrate Interactive Into a Full Media Plan, How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck Online, and Be Found in the Vast Online Sea. We will have a media auction. We will have an outstanding Addy season. We will have fun, drinks, socials, activities, oh my!
What will I be doing when my term ends? I will sit on as Immediate Past President and offer my energy and experience (I'll be around). I also will be moving up and doing some work on the District level. I am the 2008-2009 District Addy Judging Chair. This is exciting for me because participating in the judging portion of our Addys, as well as going to the Treasure Coast and judging their Addys myself, were among the most rewarding experiences I had in AdFed this year. Rewarding good work and respecting the judging process, paying attention to the integrity and the work itself, is something I look forward to doing on the District level.
I also am on the Government Relations Committee at the District Level. This is a big year for the 4th District, when we all go to vote in November there will be an item on the ballot regarding a dramatic lowering of your property taxes. It's a tax-swap, and the money to replace the property taxes will come from an elimination of service sales tax exemptions. Meaning Advertising, Law, Medicine, Education, Lawn, Dry Cleaning... you name the service and it could be taxed – with 1% above what we're paying now. 20 years ago it happened and had disasterous effects before it was overturned 6-months later. Know that you will be hearing from AdFed about this, campaigns are forthcoming!
Okay, I will step down from my soap box now... and from my Presidential position in another 6 weeks. Go Adriana and the 2008-2009 team!!
