Meet our New 2012 President: Gary Mueller

Hi. My name is Gary Mueller. I am the Executive Creative Director at BVK, and the Founder of the non-profit agency, Serve Marketing. I am also your 2012 Adworker President.

I am truly honored to lead the club that I helped found a decade ago. A lot has changed since I was named the club’s first President in 2001.

Some of you may not be old enough to remember, but just 10 years ago, the Milwaukee ad community was a hot mess. The Ad Club’s membership was divided and disenfranchised. Most of the biggest agencies boycotted the town’s showcase event, the Addy Awards. And the organization was saddled with debt.

That’s when a small group of Creative Directors and agency owners came together and said enough is enough.  And they invested their own money into hiring a full-time executive director; created an awards show format unlike anyone in the country had ever done; crafted a new mission with a new spirit and energy; and branded themselves with a unique name. The United Adworkers was born.

When I look back at how far we’ve come as a community since then, and how strong our club is today, it’s absolutely amazing. Our speaker series is stronger than ever. Our social events are consistently packed and draw a diverse crowd. Our bowling and softball leagues are stacked. Our 99 Show is bigger and more popular than ever — and its success is the envy of clubs around the country.

And it’s still that way after 10 years. After the shine has worn off. And the new ad club smell has faded away.

The truth is, if we were at all like other ad clubs around the country, by now we’d already be on our way down, skidding toward irrelevance.

But I’m proud to report that after a decade of service, we’re the opposite. And there are two great big reasons for that.

One, we have a kick-ass ad community that is more talented, more fun and much deeper than any out-of-towner could ever imagine (unless, of course, they’ve judged our show).

And two, we have a board of directors that is crazy-passionate about keeping our community strong. Dan Augustine. Mitch Markussen. Lucian McAfee. Laura Gainor. Brian Stefanik. Michael Vojvodich. Nick Waraska. And Jen Kuhn. Along with Executive Director extraordinaire, Heidi Sterricker.

Together, they are the hardest working board you’ll ever find. And they truly understand that they are here to serve the community. Yeah, you. They know our club is only as good as our last show, our last speaker, our last softball game or our last Trivia Night. So they put all they’ve got into everything we do. And this year, we have some pretty cool shit planned.

So stay tuned. Stay in touch with us on our website, on Facebook and Twitter. And if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at GaryM@bvk.com or Heidi atheidi@adworkers.com.

Thank you.

Gary