Two from Fort Worth headed to Hall of Fame
The Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame has announced that five individuals and two sets of partners are the newest members of its 2020 class of inductees: Jim Stuart and Randy Bacon of Fort Worth; Dennis D’Amico of Dallas; Mike Levy of Austin, Mark McGarrah and Bryan Jessee of Austin, Brad Snyder of Corpus Christi, Mary Ann Stutts of San Antonio and J. Adan Trevino of Houston. Each of these honorees has made significant contributions to the advertising industry and to their communities. The 2020 Governor’s Award will also be presented to WALO Creative Inc. WALO is based in Dallas Texas.
The Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Tenth District of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), encompassing Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The 12th induction ceremony and dinner will be held on Friday, May 8, 2020, at the 7 p.m. at the Austin Hilton in downtown Austin.
Here is information on the 2020 inductees from the AAF:
Jim Stuart (deceased) & Randy Bacon, Fort Worth: For 15 years, Jim Stuart was CEO and Randy Bacon was president/chief operating officer of StuartBacon Advertising-Public Relations, based in Fort Worth. Founded in 1987, their agency served a variety of local, regional, national and international clients with full-service advertising and public relations capabilities. Besides generating successful campaigns for clients, the agency was a frequent winner of awards and accolades, including Employer of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Professional Ethics Awards. StuartBacon strongly supported the local advertising community, encouraging employees to participate in trade organizations such as the American Advertising Federation and the Public Relations Society of America, as well as volunteering for nonprofit organizations. In 2012, the partners closed their business but stayed involved with the arts and advertising world.
Dennis D’Amico, Dallas: Dennis D’Amico, a graduate of the University of Missouri, started his career as an advertising assistant in Springfield, Missouri, before becoming an account executive and copywriter in St. Louis. In the 70’s he moved to Dallas to become marketing director for an insurance company. From 1976 until 1984 he operated D’Amico & Associates. Before he founded the Growth Strategies Group in 1996, he served as General Manager of the Dallas office of Houston-based Fogarty Klein & Partners.
Michael R. Levy, Dallas: Mike Levy founded Texas Monthly magazine in 1973, and was its publisher for 35 years, during which time the magazine had a total readership of 2,500,000 and was considered one of the best in the country. A graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and from the University of Texas School of Law, Levy changed the media landscape in Texas with the creation of his magazine. It has become the “gold standard” for regional publications. He led the fight against advertising taxation in Texas as chairman of the Texas Council of Advertising & Magazine Publishing. Levy has received numerous awards from around the country, including his industry’s highest honor. He has served on numerous local and regional boards and contributed his time and talents to many more charitable and civic organizations.
Mark McGarrah & Bryan Jessee, Austin: One of the hottest agency, not just in Texas but nationally. McGarrah Jessee built the business by doing things differently. The agency’s holistic brand thinking has fostered loyal clients, with an average tenure of nine years.
Brad Snyder, Corpus Christi: For over 30 years Brad Snyder has served clients at the local, state, national and international level. His agency, Snyder + Associates has a well-deserved reputation for conceptualizing, designing and producing effective and award-winning marketing campaigns. Keeping clients for decades shows his loyalty and the ability to grow with those clients.
Mary Ann Stutts, San Antonio: Stutts has been a leader and innovator in developing and nurturing the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition. Her peers recognize her as being a driving force in the competition’s rise to prominence, known as the “Super Bowl” of college advertising. As a professor of marketing at Texas State University and a brilliant strategist, her system of teaching the AAF competition campaign courses has proven to be very successful.
Adán Treviño, Houston: Founded on Aug. 2, 1984 by J. Adán Treviño and a business partner, KXLN became the first Spanish-language television station in the Houston market when it first signed on the air on September 18, 1987. Treviño is considered the “father of Spanish language television” in Houston. He was President/CEO of Pueblo Broadcasting Company and ran KXLN-TV Channel 45 for several years, until they sold it to the Univision Network.