15 years ago a group of ad types after a few pops one night started in with the "Whatever happened tos." Names of old media folks no one had seen for a while. Were they retired? Out of town? Dead?
Somebody said, "Gee, wouldn't it be nice if we could get all the old timers together and see all the folks who have been in this exciting business for years, but have now scattered hither and yon?"
"This business?" The media and advertising biz. Folks in radio, tv, print, PR, and all forms of communication.
Some of these were celebrities like the local Disc Jockeys....Jim Spero, Lucky Lawrence, Tony Evans, Dave Pratt, W. Steven Martin. Or, TV people like Bill Close, Ray Thompson, Bill Denney, and of course, Wallace and Ladmo.
But, most of the folks were behind the scenes. The account execs., production managers, engineers, writers, media buyers, clients who believed in advertising. Some were still active; a whole bunch were retired.
So, let's name names. Who were these visionaries who wanted to form a group like this? Dee Courtright, Karen DeWall, Jim Fraser, Maurie Helle, Carole Kann, and Lisa McFadden.
They started it, and since 1989, there has been a "reunion" of these old-timers, or should I say "Survivors," almost every year since. That's the name we chose, the Arizona Survivors. And, those four have done most of the work, thank you very much.
There are no membership applications, no dues, you don't have to prove to anybody that you belong.
Who attends these annual reunions? Usually about 200 fun-lovin' guys and gals who love this business and want to keep in touch with one another. It's that simple.
If you haven't been to an annul gathering, we hope you'll come next time. We miss you, and it's a blast!
In the meantime, enjoy this site, come often, and it will be like having a good time with your old friends, 365 days a year!
