NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
For information, contact:
Teri Hamburger
402.561.6625
aafomaha.teri@gmail.com
(Omaha, NE, November 8, 2019) The American Advertising Federation Omaha (AAF Omaha) announces the winners for Ad Pro and Ad Rookie of the Year. Laura Spaulding, Bozell was recognized as Ad Pro of the Year and Jenna Baird, Bozell was honored as Ad Rookie of the Year at AAF Omaha’s BOOM! Roasted Awards event on November 7 at The Paxton Ballroom. The event also featured the roast of Mike Compton, Executive Vice President at Renze Display.
The Ad Pro of the Year award is given to an AAF Omaha member who has a distinguished track record of service in advertising including professional and community service, with attention to AAF Omaha service. Laura Spaulding is currently the Manager of Corporate Communications at Bozell and is an integral part of safeguarding Bozell’s culture. At Bozell, Spaulding manages all internal projects, including new business, Bozell materials, press releases, website content management and Thinking, Bozell’s quarterly publication. She is also the account lead for multiple clients, including NCAA Men’s College World Series and Tuk Tuk Omaha. Spaulding has volunteered for Make-A-Wish since she was 16. Make-A-Wish Nebraska is now her client at Bozell, and she is thankful that her passion project has also become a passion for Bozell. Spaulding’s dedication to Make-A-Wish, CWS Omaha, Inc. and her mentorship of interns and young professionals is a testament to her devotion to Bozell’s philosophy that “We must pay rent for the space we occupy on this earth.” Spaulding has her BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and her MBA in Business, both from Creighton University.
Spaulding’s involvement with AAF Omaha is extensive; she held the board position as co-chair of the federation’s Education team for three years prior to joining the executive board serving as vice president, president and chairwoman. In 2017, under Spaulding’s leadership, AAF Omaha was honored as the AAF Division III Club of the Year and she was named the AAF Division III President of the Year. These awards translated to the district level, where she was also named President of the Year for AAF District 9 and accepted the district’s Club of the Year Award.
The Ad Rookie of the Year award is given to an AAF Omaha member with five or fewer years in the advertising business who demonstrates outstanding work both professionally and, in the community, with attention to AAF Omaha service. Jenna Baird graduated from the University of South Dakota (USD) in 2017. Baird started her career at Bozell as an account service summer intern. After the internship’s conclusion, she was offered a full-time position at the agency. Baird is currently an account executive at Bozell where she leads marketing strategy for some of Bozell’s highest profile clients, including Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, Nebraska Public Power District, Kaneko and Avenue Scholars. Baird also promotes marketing education within the agency by mentoring other account service staff and the agency’s interns.
Baird has been involved with AAF since she was a student at USD where she led the AAF National Student Advertising Competition team. Continuing her mentoring passion and her involvement with AAF, Jenna served as a committee team member for AAF Omaha’s 2019 Meet the Pros student conference and took on leadership responsibilities well before joining the federation’s board of directors in July.
Kim Mickelsen, Chief Executive Officer at Bozell was notified of her team members honors recently, “Laura and Jenna are both rock stars every single day for their clients and the agency, and we are very thankful they are part of the Bozell team. We’re thrilled and proud to see them both recognized by their peers for their outstanding work.”
Spaulding and Baird come highly recommended by their peers and colleagues for demonstrating outstanding work ethic as well as dedication in advocacy to AAF Omaha. Spaulding’s peers call her an incredible force in the Omaha advertising community and say her selflessness lifts those around her. Baird’s peers call her an amazing, organized, buttoned up professional.
About AAF Omaha
With more than 350 professional and student members, the American Advertising Federation Omaha (AAF Omaha) is the unifying voice for advertising in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metropolitan area. AAF Omaha offers an organization to educate, inspire and bring an inclusive sense of community to the advertising professionals of Omaha so that we, and future generations, can continue to do the work we love.
AAF Omaha has been honored on the district and national levels by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) for its work in advertising education, communications, diversity, government relations, club management, programs, membership and public service.
