Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame 2010 Class Announced

Dallas : The Tenth District of the American Advertising Federation, encompassing Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, is proud to announce the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame’s 2010 class of inductees. Each of the seven distinguished honorees has made significant contributions in the advertising industry and in his or her community.

The Dallas Ad League (DAL) will host an inductee ceremony and luncheon recognizing the third class of the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame on October 12 at 11:30 a.m. in Dallas at the Doubletree Campbell Centre on North Central Expressway.

2010 inductees include: George Arnold of Dallas who is the retired CEO of Evans/AFSC, later chief operating officer of EvansGroup, in Dallas, and served clients such as The Dallas Morning News, Pilgrim’s Pride, Tom Thumb, Texas Utilities and Wendy’s.  Arnold, a past president of the Dallas Ad League, now living in Fredericksburg, Texas, is a published author of seven books, including five bilingual books being used extensively in classrooms by language teachers.

Audrey Gilbreath of Houston is the founder and president of Houston’s oldest and largest African-American advertising agency. Clients have included Shell Oil, ConAgra Foods and Waste Management. Her outside achievements include Texas Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, Texas Small Business Person of the Year of the Small Business Administration, and a former director of the American Advertising Federation.

Warren K. “Doc” Jordan (deceased) of Oklahoma City was the founder and former CEO of Jordan Associates, one of Oklahoma’s largest advertising agencies. He is a former chairman of the Southwest Council of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, chairman of Arts Council of Oklahoma City, and a published author.

Herb Kelleher of Dallas is the founder, former president and CEO, and now chairman emeritus of Southwest Airlines. While at the helm of Southwest, he built the company into the world’s largest airline in passengers carried.  He has been the driving force behind the brand’s personality, operations and advertising. He appeared in SWA advertising and promotions for 20 years. In 2001, Kelleher was named “CEO of the Year” by Fortune Magazine.

Alex Lopez Negrete of Houston is president of Lopez Negrete Communications, the second largest independently owned Hispanic agency in the United States. Clients served include Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Miller Brewing and Visa. He is the past chairman of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies and was appointed by George W. Bush to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

Tom Moroch of Dallas is founder and chairman of Moroch Partners, the largest U.S. agency for McDonald’s franchisees. He also founded Moroch Latino (now INSPIRE!), Moroch PR and Moroch Urban. Moroch is active in Ronald McDonald House Charities International.

Willard Walbridge (deceased) of Houston was first vice president and general manager of KTRK-TV in Houston. Early in his career, he became the first full-time employed television person in Detroit in 1947. He is a former chair of the National Association of Broadcasters and was director of the International Radio and Television Federation.

The Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame was created by the Tenth District of the American Advertising Federation to honor men and women from the region who have distinguished themselves. Inductees need not be a member of the AAF Tenth District. Inductees will automatically be nominated for the National Advertising Hall of Fame.

“The honorees have differentiated themselves by their exemplary careers, their betterment of advertising and its reputation, and their volunteer efforts outside the workplace,” said Randy Kemp, co-chair, Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame.