AAF Omaha announces the winners for Ad Pro and Ad Rookie of the Year. Michael Johnson and Sarah Pieper will be recognized and awarded for their respective nominations at AAF Omaha’s BOOM! Roasted Awards Dinner on November 6 at 6:00 pm. The event will also feature the Roast of Mark Carpenter, Partner/Vice President of Creative Strategy & Production Services at SKAR Advertising. Carpenter is an AAF Omaha board member and currently serves as AAF Omaha’s Nebraska ADDYs co-chair. The Boom! Roasted Award Dinner will be held at the Pizza Shoppe Collective in Benson.

Sarah Pieper has been named the 2015 AAF Omaha Ad Rookie of the Year. She currently serves as Senior Account Executive at Ervin and Smith Advertising.

The Ad Rookie of the Year award is given to an AAF Omaha member with five or fewer years in the advertising business who demonstrates outstanding work both professionally and in the community, with attention to AAF Omaha service.
Pieper has held many positions within AAF Omaha, including serving as co-chair of the Education committee on the Board of Directors from 2013 to 2014. Pieper is currently Second VP on the Executive Board of Directors overseeing education, programs and AAF Omaha’s partnership with the 2014 Omaha Advertising Expo. Active in the local community, Pieper serves as the Pi Beta Phi Alumnae of Omaha fundraising chair and has also served as the development chair and an advisory board member for Launch Leadership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development of youth leadership that she has been involved with since 2007. Pieper volunteered her marketing skills this past year with “Go Red for Women” campaign for the American Heart Association.

Michael Johnson is the recipient of the 2015 AAF Omaha Ad Pro of the Year Award. He currently serves as Senior Copywriter at Bozell.

The Ad Pro of the Year award is given to an AAF Omaha member who has a distinguished track record of service in advertising including professional and community service, with particular attention to AAF Omaha service.
Johnson has steadily served AAF Omaha for more than 5 years as a committee member, board member and executive board advisor. He most recently served as AAF Omaha’s 2013-2014 President and is now the organization’s Chairman of the Board. In the past he served as AAF Omaha’s Meet the Pros Chairperson from 2010 through 2012, Treasurer,  1st  and  2nd Vice President. Michael is always contributing and pushing the club to fulfill their role as the unifying voice for advertising in the Omaha community.

In the past year Johnson represented AAF Omaha at three national conferences; Advertising Day on the Hill in Washington DC, AAF’s ADMERICA! 2014 conference in Boca Raton, FL and the AAF District 9 Leadership Conference in Kansas City, MO. Johnson’s dedication and active involvement in AAF has caught the attention of others at the national AAF level, resulting in him being asked to serve as a regional board member after his AAF Omaha Chairman duties are fulfilled this year.

Johnson served on the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Creative Task Force and was instrumental in the collaboration of the recent “We Don’t Coast” campaign. Johnson is also a past leader of Lincoln’s Young Professional Group, past core committee leader for the Omaha Advertising Expo and volunteers annually with Omaha Public School’s student DECA competition.

Pieper and Johnson come highly recommended by their peers and colleagues and demonstrate the outstanding work ethic and dedication in advocacy to AAF Omaha. Join AAF Omaha in congratulating these recipients alongside a Roast of Mark Carpenter – November 6 at the Pizza Shoppe Collective in Benson, 6 PM cocktails, 6:30 PM dinner with awards and roast to follow dinner.

About AAF Omaha
For 108 years, the American Advertising Federation Omaha has served as a unifying voice for advertising in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metropolitan area, advocating the rights of advertisers by helping educate policymakers, the news media and general public on the value advertising brings to the well-being of the community. AAF Omaha fosters the highest standards of practice and works to cultivate the industry’s present and future leaders. AAF Omaha has been honored on the district and national levels by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) for its work in advertising education, communications, diversity, government relations, club management, programs, membership and public service. For more information, visit www.aafomaha.org.