Tom Schifanella recognized by peers with Silver Medal award at ADDYs event
Award recognizes JAX MAC chapter member for contributions to industry
Atlanta, GA and Jacksonville, FL – Tom Schifanella became the fifth area advertising and marketing executive to receive the coveted Silver Medal award at the ADDY Awards event on Thursday, Feb. 9. The American Advertising Federation's Silver Medal Award Program was established to recognize advertising professionals for outstanding contributions to the industry and the community, as well as creative excellence.
The senior vice president and executive creative director of The Robin Shepherd Group joins a past winners list that includes Melanie Husk, Dan St. John, Kurtis Loftus and Robin Shepherd, the first area executive to receive the award.
He was nominated for the award by co-worker Mike Barnhart, director of project development at Robin Shepherd. "Tom's achievements alone could speak for his creative thinking and ability, but more than that, they have helped to shape The Robin Shepherd Group into a major creative force in this city for more than 20 years now," said Barnhart. "Tom and Robin have both taught me to strive for excellence and never lose sight of creativity's power as a teacher of life."
Schifanella is responsible for the development of brochures, posters, brand marks, advertising campaigns and web sites for the agency. He has designed numerous posters for cultural organizations and community events including the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Theatre Jacksonville, the American Institute of Architects and the University of North Florida.
Recently several of Schifanella's designs were selected for inclusion in the Merrill C. Berman Collection. Berman is the leading authority on the history of poster design and curates one of the largest and most significant poster collections in the world.
Schifanella has collectively won more than 100 national and international awards during his career. His work has been featured in such industry publications as ADWEEK, HOW Magazine, Print's Regional Design Annual, Print Casebooks, AIGA Design Annual, GRAPHIS Posters and GRAPHIS Design (Switzerland), The Design Journal (Korea), World Graphic Design Now (Japan) and Novum Gebrauchsgraphik (Germany.)
He has also received awards from the New York Art Directors Club, The Type Directors Club of New York, Creativity New York, International Biennale of the Poster (Mexico), The Society of Illustrators, in addition to numerous local, state and national ADDY Awards.
Schifanella holds a B.A. degree from Spring Hill College with concentrations in American history and fine art. He is a founding member of the Jacksonville chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts and has also served on boards and committees for the Atlantic Beach Athletic Association, Beaches Episcopal School, St. Paul's by the Sea Episcopal Church, Flagler College and Florida Community College at Jacksonville.
He has also taught classes in graphic design history at the University of Florida. Schifanella has an extensive collection of vintage posters and luggage labels from the golden age of travel which he uses as a teaching aid for his students. In his spare time, he is a Little League baseball coach and enjoys surfing in Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
With over 60,000 entries nationally, the ADDY Awards program is the world's largest and arguably toughest advertising competition. The ADDY Awards represent the true spirit of creative excellence by recognizing all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative products and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world. The American Advertising Federation, a not-for-profit industry association conducts the ADDY Awards through its 200 member advertising clubs and 15 districts. It is the only creative awards program administered by the advertising industry for the industry.
For more information, contact Nancy Seely at 904/359-0981 or nseely@trsg.net
About Jax Mac
JAX MAC is the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), District 4. The 4th District American Advertising Federation is dedicated to serving members by protecting and advancing advertising interests, including the freedom to truthfully advertise legal products. The 4th District fulfills through effective government relations, professional development, public education, advertising standards, community service and recognition of excellence.
For more information on JAX MAC, contact Camille Booth at 904.398.5222 or visit www.jaxmac.org.