AAF Nebraska Professional Development Webinar
Legislative Issues Panel Discussion
The Economic Impact of Advertising
Panelists:
Clark Rector, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, AAF
Ryan Horn, President, Bullhorn Communications
Veta Jeffery, President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
11:30 am
Free to AAF Nebraska Members & Students | $10 Non-Members/Guests
Please feel free to submit questions for our panelists prior to the webinar by emailing questions to our office.
The AAF Nebraska Legislative Committee's panel discussion will be led by Gil Cohen from Omaha Productions.
Panelists Clark Rector, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs for AAF, Ryan Horn President of Bullhorn Communications and Veta Jeffery President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce will share information and answer questions on the economic impact advertising makes for our country and for the state of Nebraska.
Panel discussions will also include information about national and state campaigns for political advertising and what congress may do on a national level in relation to the marketing industry.
Panelists Bios:
Ryan Horn President, Bullhorn Communications
Named the 2013 “Campaign Manager of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants, Ryan Horn is one of the GOP's premier media strategists. Trained in commercial advertising, Ryan and the Bullhorn team use traditional and cutting-edge communications tools to design innovative campaign strategies for candidates, organizations, SuperPAC's and corporations in multiple states. Horn’s current and previous clients include Freedom Partners, The Bolton SuperPAC, and candidates for Governor, Congress, Attorney General, and state legislature. Bullhorn Communications is proud to be outside the beltway -- based firmly in America's Heartland, Omaha, Nebraska.
As a corporate communications consultant, Ryan has served clients in the higher education, energy and retail sectors, including Wal-Mart and Nebraska Furniture Mart, America’s largest home furnishings store and a Berkshire Hathaway company. He has trained and counseled some of the Midwest’s most respected corporate leaders in dealing effectively with news media, as well as other PR and media professionals.
Previously, Horn directed public affairs and government relations for Wal-Mart in the western U.S. He led successful ballot initiatives, guided over 200 controversial real estate developments, and provided on-the-record media support and training to the company and its field executives in states throughout the West and Midwest.
Clark Rector, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs AAF
As Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, Clark Rector oversees and directs the lobbying efforts of the American Advertising Federation’s grassroots network of 35,000 advertising professionals in some 150 local advertising clubs and federations nationwide. Together, they have defeated ad tax proposals and other threats to advertising in Congress, nearly every state and numerous cities and counties. In his role as chief public policy advocate for the Federation, Rector meets with lawmakers and regulators to educate them about advertising and represent the industry’s position on important legislative and regulatory matters. He has testified for the AAF before the U.S. Senate and Federal Trade Commission, as well as numerous state legislatures and city governments.
Prior to joining the AAF in 1988, Rector spent two years on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant for Congressman Tom Luken of Ohio. He also spent three years working in local television in Austin, Texas. Rector is a graduate of the University of Texas and received a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa.
Veta Jeffery, President and CEO of the Great Omaha Chamber
Veta T. Jeffery is President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber, one of the largest, most highly accredited chambers in the nation and the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives’ (ACCE) 2015 Chamber of the Year. With a 5-star accreditation by the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Omaha Chamber is in the top one percent of chambers nationally.
Throughout her prolific career, Veta has helped shape her community through a variety of different positions, volunteer work, and leadership. She uses these experiences to guide the Chamber’s mission – to champion a thriving business community and a prosperous region. Representing more than 3,000 member businesses, Veta ensures the Chamber provides the highest quality programs and services as well as challenges itself to achieve greater results for the community at large.
Veta spent over 20 years working in the financial services and banking industry as a licensed professional and a member of Senior Management in both private and public sectors. She then went on to gain national recognition in financial services for the agencies she ran for production and recruitment and retention numbers. In banking as a Senior Vice President, her efforts helped to create new policies and new products creating a space for banking to be equitable for all.
Veta took an opportunity to make real and needed change in her community when she accepted a Special Assignment under Governor Nixon following the Ferguson uprising. She was tasked with serving as Manager of Community Development in the Office of Community Engagement and Department of Community and Economic Development. In this role, Veta served on many significant projects, again bridging gaps in difficult situations. The creation of the Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce was one of several successful programs that came from her service to the State of Missouri and is still in place today. Veta was then asked to join the executive team for the County Executive to serve St. Louis County as the Chief Diversity Officer where she had policy oversight for the MWBE Program and headed planning for St. Louis County ARPA Funding. She also served on the board of the US Black Chamber of Commerce where they assist over 146 Chambers internationally representing over 175,000 members.
After a nationwide search, Veta’s combination of public service, financial leadership and workforce development efforts uniquely qualified her to lead the Greater Omaha Chamber, where she now serves as President and CEO.
In addition to her professional accomplishments, Veta is a gifted public speaker, having spoken across the country representing the interests of corporations, organizations and communities utilizing her ability to bridge diversity gaps and inspiring others to do the same. She is passionate about growing businesses of all sizes, strengthening and building economically strong communities through work force development and helping families to build generational legacies.
Veta is married to Pastor Tony Jeffery and they are the proud parents of two beautiful girls, Ishmaiah age 21 and Toni age 12.
Thank you to AAF Nebraska's Elite Sponsors:
