Advertising

Jack Thorwegen – 2016

Jack Thorwegen bounced around in art, design and retail before jumping into the field of advertising. After cutting his teeth in agency work he started his own shop, Zipatoni, in 1985, with four employees. The firm quickly became the hottest creative shop in town, and by 2000, Promo Magazine named Zipatoni Agency of the Year, with over 350 employees and offices in 6 cities. Three years later Zipatoni was sold and Jack retired from advertising, for a short time, only to start up another boutique agency in 2013 which he called the Proof Agency. He dedicated some of his spare time to working with the American Cancer Society on fundraising efforts.

Mary Lou Hess – 2017

Mary Lou Hess put her degree in journalism and advertising to good use throughout her entire career in St. Louis. She wrote ad copy and also worked as a fashion model for Stix, Baer & Fuller, staged fashion shows, and handled marketing for the May Company before becoming director of marketing for the soon-to-be-opened Plaza Frontenac. For her work there she was honored by the National Research Bureau, and, locally, her name became synonymous with her employer among members of the press who worked with her. She was the first woman to be elected president of the St. Louis Ad Club.

Susan Veidt – 2017

Susan Veidt spent her entire career in public relations in St. Louis, most of it at Fleishman-Hillard. When she retired at the beginning of 2018, she had risen to the position of Regional President, responsible for the operations and growth of the worldwide company’s largest office and world headquarters and three other Midwest branches. She was involved in changing the face of the PR industry from stunts and hype to strategic planning, crisis communications, media relations and community relations. Her teams at FH won over 20 major industry awards for their work, and her strong ties to St. Louis’ cultural institutions resulted in thousands of hours of community service.

Paul Fey – 2017

Paul Fey and Walt Jaschek were two kindred creative spirits who merged their efforts in 1991 to establish their agency, Paul & Walt Worldwide. The duo quickly gained national attention for their funny radio commercials for brands such as CBS-TV, Warner Brothers and many others, and their work has garnered more than 1,000 industry awards. Paul, having originally worked in St. Louis at KMOX-TV, moved to Hollywood, California to oversee production. Walt handled much of the scripting from his home office in St. Louis. The company’s name was later changed to World Wide Wadio and, in addition to its ongoing advertising work, expanded into the production of podcasts.

Walt Jaschek – 2017

Paul Fey and Walt Jaschek were two kindred creative spirits who merged their efforts in 1991 to establish their agency, Paul & Walt Worldwide. The duo quickly gained national attention for their funny radio commercials for brands such as CBS-TV, Warner Brothers and many others, and their work has garnered more than 1,000 industry awards. Paul, having originally worked in St. Louis at KMOX-TV, moved to Hollywood, California to oversee production. Walt handled much of the scripting from his home office in St. Louis. The company’s name was later changed to World Wide Wadio and, in addition to its ongoing advertising work, expanded into the production of podcasts.

Joe Finnigan – 2018

Joe’s work carried him to an executive vice-president’s position at Fleishman-Hillard where he oversaw blue ribbon clients Anheuser-Busch and Ralston Purina, work for which he received Silver Anvil Awards from the Public Relations Society of America. In the book he wrote following his retirement, Finnigan provided explicit details of the early stages of the nation’s beer wars and his part in them. During his 28 years at F-H, Joe also worked with Ameren/UE, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Granite City Steel, McDonnell Douglas/Boeing and the U.S. Space Foundation.