Dear Fellow AAF D3 Colleagues,

By now everyone should be well into the swing of things.  You should have a good feel for your membership numbers and with several programs under your belt, the kinks should be worked out. With the AAAwards just around the corner, the focus should be shifting toward increasing entries and the planning of a successful gala.  This year, with the category changes and the new software developed by OpenWater, there is a great deal to communicate to our members and I encourage you to be doing so early and often.  Now is a great time to reach out to your membership and create the excitement of entering the awards show.  Hopefully with the new categories, we can access new entrants that haven’t entered before or those who may not have entered in a while.  You also have the opportunity to add special awards that can be localized and may give members an increased chance of receiving an award at the local level..  For most clubs, this is one of the most important sources of revenue, so by early planning and promotion you can make this your most successful year.

I just returned from the AAF National board meeting along with the D3 Lieutenant Governor, Chris Dodd, and one of the big focal points is the continuing growth of student entries in the American Advertising Awards. One of the most successful tips for doing this is by visiting your local college faculty members and educating them on the process.  Some clubs were seeing up to 500 student entries in their awards show. This can help turn your awards into a huge success. Most of you should have already registered into the OpenWater system by now.  An additional opportunity for revenue this year is the availability of personalized ADDY® awards for winners.  Any ADDY® award winner could order their own trophy and clubs can receive $40 per award.  There will also be a national campaign to showcase the prestige of the awards.  For example, 40,000 entries are judged through a three-tiered judging system which makes winning a national ADDY® one of the most difficult feats to achieve in
our industry.

Another goal this year is to help improve the judging process.  AAF National will be working on a judging database and a way to rate judges to ensure a consistent and fair process.

Another item discussed was the ongoing beta testing  for the Engage club software that AAF National will be rolling out next year.  This should make it easier for clubs to invoice and collect dues from its members by channeling it through AAF National.  We will continue to give more information on this as we get it.

On the government relations front, AAF National hopes to have another “Day on the Hill” in 2016.  Clubs are encouraged to find local sponsors to raise the money needed to fund the “Day on the Hill” event.  Sponsorships from $1,000 – $5,000 are available to corporate members.  Some of the biggest issues concerning our industry include ad blockers, ad taxes, and restrictions on the deductibility of advertising expenses.  If you hear of local or state issues that you face, share them with us and the D3 government relations chair, Tiffany Andrews.

For those of you who were at ADmerica, you heard talk of an Eastern Region conference.  This was mentioned in conversation again but not as an agenda item. While we are not opposed to one, we would not let it replace our D3 Leadership Conference because we firmly believe that the district conference is best geared toward the support of club board members and the networking opportunities with other chairs helps them become better equipped at being successful in their roles.
Following this brief update, I hope everyone is continuing to have a successful year and please don’t hesitate to reach out to the D3 Leadership Team for help or to send suggestions.  We are all in the same boat and working toward the same goals.

Thank you for all you do for AAF and I look forward to our most successful year.

-David