NEW ORLEANS — Cleveland Spears III, President and CEO of Spears Group, was recognized as the Agency Executive of the Year at the 2015 ADDY Awards, which took place on Friday, February 27, 2015, at the Ad Club of New Orleans.
The distinction is one of the organization's highest honors.
Ronald Evangelista, Spears Group's Special Project Manager, was recognized in the category of Promotions and Special Events for his work with Spears Group's flagship program the Social Renaissance. Spears and Evangelista were selected by a panel of judges made up of local advertising professionals.
"I am humbled and honored to be selected as Agency Executive of the Year," said Spears. This award is an acknowledgement of the hard work of the entire Spears team over the last several years."
The ADDY's are the most prestigious and competitive awards in the advertising industry and the Ad Persons awards are a way for the American Advertising Federation to honor the best and brightest professionals in the industry.
Spears, a New Orleans native, has more than a decade of professional experience in marketing and communications and opened Spears Group in 2008. In addition to serving on the City Park Board of Directors, the New Orleans Workforce Investment Board, Liberty's Kitchen Board of Directors and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, Spears dedicates his time to mentoring young African American males with the Silverback Society. Spears has been previously recognized by the Urban League of Greater New Orleans and the International Association of Business Communicators as one of New Orleans brightest stars.
Evangelista began his career at Keating Magee Marketing Communications and is the driving force behind Spears Group's flagship program, the Social Renaissance, a series of three annual experiences tailored to appeal to young professionals across the region. The experiences include Diner en Blanc New Orleans, The Millennials, and International Festival. Each experience has attracted thousands of attendees from different races, ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. The series has donated approximately $35,000 to local charities in the last two years.
"I feel honored to have won this award, especially because it is a recognition that is voted on by peers and colleagues in the industry," said Evangelista. "Winning in the Special Events category is especially rewarding because it validates all of the hard work that has been put into the different experiences we aimed to create within the Social Renaissance series."
In addition, Spears Group, along with 360i, FSC Interactive, and Countertake, won a Silver ADDY award for the "Taste of NOLA – Follow Your NOLA Food Truck" campaign, done on behalf of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation.
Spears Group, established in 2008, services clients across the region in the education, government, tourism, hospitality, lifestyle and healthcare sectors and was named Business of the Year in 2013 by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). A sampling of clients include the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC), Ochsner Health System, BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana, New Schools for New Orleans, NBA, and Regional Transit Authority.
