Meet Our Immediate Past President & Adven10n Chair
Karissa Walsworth
I’m Erin Smith, immediate past president/club achievement chair, Advent10n Chair and AAF district 10 representative for the state of Louisiana.
In 2012, Jessica Hawkins, former AAFSB president and Centenary professor, invited me to be on her ADDY committee during the “ADDYs in Wonderland” year. She needed help with the press releases and promotion for the event. I’d known Jessica for a number of years and was excited to work with her again, so I jumped at the chance. Once I got involved, I realized Crickett Oldenburg, who had been my wedding photographer, was the president! Now I was really hooked! I ended up helping Jessica do more than event promotion and met so many creative, energizing people, that I wanted to know more about this American Advertising Federation thing!
The following year, I joined the board as the communications chair and worked my way through the ranks, serving as 2nd VP, 1st VP/ADDY chair and then president.
In my current role as immediate past president and club achievement chair, it’s my job to help support Amy in her presidency, provide guidance and lead our club to victory in the club achievement competition nationally.
As the Advent10n Chair, I’m responsible for making sure the 2019 Advent10n District Convention and National Student Advertising district competition go off without a hitch and show the District how awesome Shreveport is! It’s my job to make sure we bring in amazing speakers to benefit our community as well as the membership of AAF as a whole!
As the Louisiana state representative, I serve on the executive committee for AAF district 10 and help the other clubs in Louisiana stay connected to district. I communicate with them and help them get the district and national resources they need. I also participate in monthly conference calls with the rest of the district leadership to stay abreast of the latest news and how that may affect the clubs of our state.
AAF has not only given me lasting friendships, I’ve also grown as a marketer through all of the professional development opportunities - both locally, in the district and nationally - and made lasting connections throughout the four state area. Plus, I’ve been able to expand my skill set and knowledge by sharing experiences and ideas with my AAF friends across the country.
You should get involved today! I highly recommend it!