The "Your Shot" below this column is a remembrance of executive producer John Romeyn, by Flying Tiger Films’ partner/exec. producer Jeff Devlin. Romeyn passed away on March 1 due to respiratory failure; he was 57.
Besides a lasting body of work over a career of more than 30 years, Romeyn left behind another professional legacy—having been a mentor to assorted members of the commercial community, including assistant director Christian Van Fleet.
"John took great pride in showing me the old-school way of doing things," recalled Van Fleet. "And I took great pride in being taught by him. He not only gave me an opportunity, but also took the time to teach and groom me for that opportunity. It was common for crew people to call him ‘dad’ or ‘uncle.’ That’s the kind of giving person he was. For me, he was a second dad and a great mentor."
The value of mentorship underscores different stories every week in these pages, as well as online. In the current "Produce Stand" column on our Web site (www.shootonline. com), Brent Ladd, a creative director at GSD&M, Austin, Texas, talked about the positive influences on his career, citing such notables as Dr. Leonard Rubin, former agency creative and professor at University of Texas at Austin; creative director Larry Reinschmidt; spot director James Dalthorp of Santa Monica-based Area 51 Films (who worked as an art director/agency creative with Ladd at the former Tracy-Locke/ BBDO Dallas, which is now DDB Dallas); and the late art director Frank Rizzo. "These are people who led by example and were giving of themselves," Ladd recalled.
This spirit of giving has carried over into Ladd’s involvement in the Peace Council, a nonprofit corporation that hopes to raise awareness on issues of social consequence through advertising (SHOOT, 1/21, pgs. 4, 15). The Peace Council’s first foray into television addressed the issue of racial prejudice.
The importance of mentoring is also evident in the American Advertising Federation Foundation’s annual program to provide opportunities for "The 25 Most Promising Minority Advertising Students" (SHOOT, 3/10, p. 4). More than 70 percent of the students selected during the first three years of this program (’97-’99) are now working in the advertising industry for such employers as Nike, Procter & Gamble, The Gap, The Wall Street Journal, Ebony magazine, Univision, DDB, BBDO, Leo Burnett Co., and Saatchi & Saatchi.
Other industry mentoring programs are expected to surface in the coming months, and will be chronicled in SHOOT. Such endeavors help to replenish the talent pipeline, fostering the next generation of artisans who are critical to the future of the art and business of advertising. Mentoring can also spawn diversity as women and ethnic minorities gain the training and the chance to perform, bringing different perspectives and sensibilities into the mix.
In a sense, mentoring and the goals of the Peace Council parallel and intersect each other. Potentially they can both have an impact that transcends the daily business grind, and result in an enduring sense of accomplishment that far outweighs traditional industry recognition on the awards show circuit.
"Advertising is probably the most over-awarded industry of all," observed Ladd. "While it feels good to win awards, we started this [Peace Council] to feel good about what we can accomplish through advertising."
Ladd’s rationale for the Peace Council applies to public service as well as mentoring: "Advertising can be a tool for positive change, and for getting people involved."
