John Anstey
John Anstey ’93 was recognized by American Advertising Federation, Roanoke Chapter, with the American Advertising Federation’s highest honor, the Silver Medal Award, at a ceremony on Thursday, October 20, 2016. John is the founder and CEO of the Anstey Hodge Advertising Group.
Founded in 1958, the AAF is Roanoke’s only professional organization devoted entirely to the business of advertising. Professionals in the areas of graphic design, marketing, TV and radio, photography, printing, web design and more, come together to represent a diversity of companies from our community
The Silver Medal Award was established by the American Advertising Federation in 1959 to recognize men and women who have made outstanding contributions to advertising and who have been active in furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concern.
Silver Medal recipients have achieved success within an advertising agency, or in a media or advertising service. They demonstrate outstanding creative ability and a consistent, high degree of original thinking in their field. Silver Medal recipients have worked to increase the stature and raise the standards of the advertising profession. Finally, they contribute to their community by being active in civic, religious, or other groups dedicated to human or social welfare.
Committed to public service, John Anstey has made an indelible mark on the community by contributing pro bono work for numerous Roanoke nonprofit organizations. His company, Anstey Hodge, has a national footprint in senior living marketing. He is also a successful developer who has revived historic properties in Roanoke. John holds a master’s degree in English, an MBA from Wake Forest University, and is a Who’s Who graduate of the University of Mary Washington, where he served as Founding Chair, College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board.
Karen Laino
Karen Laino graduated from Mary Washington College with a BA in German and French as well as a commission in the United States Marine Corps. She spent almost 10 years in the Corps, often spearheading jobs that had never been done by women in the past. She left the Corps in 1979 as the first woman commanding officer of a Fleet Marine Forces Company and was a designated SIGINT/Electronic Warfare Officer, a Communications Officer and a Public Affairs Officer. She had plenty of experiences that opened the path for the women who now are fully integrated in the services.
In 1980, she was recommissioned in the US Navy as a Lieutenant Commander cryptologist. She commanded a base in Puerto Rico, a unit in Germany and was the deputy cryptologist on staff in the United Kingdom totaling almost 12 years. She was then selected to the Senior Executive Service for DOD and served in a Legislative Affairs position assigned to the US Senate; the National Security Council as the Director of Intelligence Programs; and the Special Advisor and Chairman of the NATO Advisory Committee on Special Communications. In 2007, she became the Director of Intelligence for the International Military Staff at NATO HQs in Brussels, Belgium. She chaired several committees at the highest levels of intelligence and with many years in the European theater visited every NATO nation (28) and many of the 52 or so partners, including the Balkans and Afghanistan.