Hannah Pennell, President
Naval Aviation Museum Foundation
hpennell@navalaviationmuseum.org
LinkedIn

Hannah grew up all over the world and now currently resides in Florida. When she’s not lounging at the beach, reading up a storm, or contemplating the meaning of life, she serves as the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. She has a background in project management, marketing, and consulting.

She’s always been passionate about communicating complex ideas and important information in creative and succinct ways. She focused on museum communications in grad school with hope of using that passion to educate the next generation. She attained a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Alaska and received her graduate degree in Strategic Communication from Washington State University.

Imani Wright, Vice President

imani1129o@gmail.com
LinkedIn

A Florida native and art lover, Imani received a degree in Graphic Design from Pensacola State College. Previously, she was a Marketing Intern at Perfect Imprints and became a Marketing Coordinator at a local nonprofit. She recently joined the team at Signarama as a Graphic Designer. Where she plans on developing and creating creative promotional materials for the business's clients.

With her passion for photography, design, and marketing, Imani hopes to use her skills to help clients grow their businesses across the Emerald Coast in new and creative ways. In her free time, Imani is always trying out new hobbies. That could mean learning aerial silks for one week then bread baking the next week.

Jodi Bell, Secretary
LOCALiQ
jbell2@localiq.com
LinkedIn

Jodi Bell is the vice president of advertising and marketing for LOCALiQ, the digital advertising agency for the USA Today Network. She is based in Pensacola and is responsible for the Panhandle region. In this role, Jodi leads a team that consults with businesses to build creative marketing plans that leverage digital and print advertising to help businesses grow and thrive. During her career, she has worked with hundreds of businesses in a wide variety of industries from national law firms and retailers to regional hospitals and car dealers to local builders and small mom-and-pop businesses. She loves brainstorming solutions and building ideas that make an impact and drive results.

She has a heart for her community specifically in the areas of education and mental health. She serves as board chair for ReadyKids! and the Gulf Breeze Chamber Foundation and sits on the executive board for Junior Achievement and Autism Pensacola. She has served as a Reading Pal for four-year-olds for six years and is currently a mentor in the UWF Executive Mentor Program and Take Stock in Children. She is also involved in statewide industry associations serving on the board of Florida Newspaper Advertising and Marketing Executives, Florida Press Foundation and as board chair for the Florida Press Intersect Media sales association. 

Jodi earned her BA in Advertising and Journalism and a Masters in Human Resource Management from Troy University and her MBA from Columbus University.

Mike Craney
Pen Air Credit Union
mikecraney@cox.net
LinkedIn

Mike Craney is the Marketing Operations Manager for Pen Air Credit Union. With $2.9 Billion in assets, 11 branches (and growing), Pen Air serves the the Gulf Coast from Mobile, AL to Tallahassee, FL. An accomplished executive-level marketing professional with more than 30 years experience, Mike has a proven track record in strategic planning, budget management, operational leadership, program implementation, branding development, staff coaching, media planning, research and data analysis.

Over the course of his career, he has garnered numerous accolades, including over 300 American Advertising Federation ADDY Gold and 15 Best of Show awards as well as a national Travel+Leisure Smitty Award. Mike’s work is consistently recognized for his creative, innovative, enthusiastic and forward-thinking leadership in a team environment with a focus on achieving continuous, audience engagement and improved business performance.

Mike is a three-time AAF Pensacola President and is currently in his second term as treasurer. He has also previously served the AAF 4th District as Social Media Chair, Programs Chair, President's Council Chair and Membership Chair. He holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and an MBA with an emphasis in Management Information Systems & Marketing, both from Auburn University.

Katy Boykin, Membership Director
Southern Media Inc.
kboykin@sthmedia.com
LinkedIn

Bio Coming Soon…

Nathan Dillaha, ADDY Director
Levin Rinke Realty
nathandillaha@gmail.com
LinkedIn

Nathan is a graphic designer from the Florida panhandle. He specializes in branding, layout, UX/UI, illustration & typography, and photography. He plays guitar in a band and enjoys riding motorcycles in his spare time.

Mel McCrae, Sponsorship Director
Cat Country 98.7
mel@catcountry987.com
LinkedIn

Mel McCrae has a decade under her belt in country radio broadcasting and sales. She currently resides as one half of The Cat Pak Morning Show on Cat Country 98.7 here in Pensacola. Recently, she was named Country Music Association Broadcast Personality of the Year for Small Market Radio for 2022 alongside her co-host Brent Lane. In addition to radio, Mel is a voice over talent for corporate phone greetings and commercials across the country. Mel is passionate about the community and was in the Leadership Pensacola Class of 2023.

 Mel can be heard every morning on the Cat Pak Morning Show from 5am-10am.

Allison Ling, Communications Director
GovCIO
allison@allisonling.com
LinkedIn

Allison Ling is a graphic designer with in-house experience in digital and print design - including presentations, email marketing, digital campaigns, training material, event design, promotional items, and more. She’s also highly skilled in photography and social media.

In 2020, Allison graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Graphic Design. She served as a judge for the 2023 District 7 National Student Advertising Competition, and is a 2-time ADDY award winner.

Currently, Allison works on the corporate marketing team as a Creative Marketing Specialist for GovCIO, a government IT contracting company based in Fairfax, Virginia.

 

Mike Bates, Government Relations Director
mbates@gulf.net
LinkedIn

Mike Bates began his radio career in 1980 at age 14 while in high school in Virginia. When in college, he worked at a NPR station in Tennessee. Since 1989, he has worked at radio stations in Florida. He has been on the air in several formats including top 40, country, NPR, and news/talk, his favorite. He owned WEBY Radio from 2000 - 2018 and is now on the air at WPNN Radio in Pensacola.

He has covered numerous events at The White House plus visits to Northwest Florida by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. In March 2016, he was part of the Official White House Press Corps that accompanied President Obama on his historic trip to Havana, Cuba.

Bates has been active in the American Advertising Federation since 1989. He has chaired AAF-Pensacola's Government Relations Committee since 1998 and served as the Government Relations Chairman for the 4th District from 2017 - 2019. In that capacity, he represented the interests of Florida and the Caribbean in meetings with lawmakers in both Tallahassee and Washington. Bates is an AAF Silver Medalist and has won First Place nationally in Club Achievement for Government Relations three times (1998, 2002 & 2018).

In 2018, he was awarded 4AAF’s Governor's Cup Trophy at the American Advertising Awards in recognition of his outstanding volunteer service and dedication to the district.

He and his wife Kimberly reside in Pensacola.

Zachary Blessing, Past President
Naval Aviation Museum Foundation
zblessingdesign@gmail.com
LinkedIn

Zachary Blessing is a skilled multimedia designer with experience in video, print, and digital design. He is a former intern for Lamar Advertising, Pensacola State College, and juror for the 2021 Association of Florida Colleges Awards of Excellence and 2022 University of Southern Mississippi Student Graphic Design Exhibition.

Throughout his career, he has won AAF Pensacola’s Judge’s Choice Student Awards, a National Student Silver ADDY® Award, various Association of Florida Colleges Awards of Excellence, and multiple Professional ADDY® Awards.

Currently, Zachary serves as a Multimedia Designer for the National Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, where he executes visual communications and creative design solutions on a local, regional, national, and international scale.