John Vardeman is president and primary owner of Morton, Vardeman & Carlson.

 

Prior to his involvement in the advertising business, John was a reporter and editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His newspaper career in Atlanta included work as an editor on the National Desk, where he was part of the special Atlanta Journal-Constitution team covering the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.

 

Since returning to his hometown of Gainesville in 1989, John has authored a book, “On Eagles Wings”, which chronicles a true story of child abuse, courage and perseverance in the inspirational founding of Eagle Ranch, a boys’ home in Chestnut Mountain, Georgia. John also worked personally with former U.S. President Gerald Ford and an editorial team with Reader’s Digest magazine in 1978 and 1979 on the writing of Ford’s memoirs, “A Time to Heal.”

 

In part due to John’s work with Eagle Ranch as well as other volunteer activities, John was named Hall County’s Young Man of the Year for 1995.

 

John has served as a trustee with the Leadership Georgia organization, which trains and builds a network of emerging young leaders from across the state for future leadership roles. John and his wife, Tracy, have been involved with Leadership Georgia since 1996 when they were part of the organization’s 25th anniversary year. They also have served together as program chairs.

 

In another state level position, John was appointed in 2000 to serve on the Georgia Workforce Development Board.

 

In Gainesville, John has served as president of the Gainesville Rotary Club for 2002-03 as well as chairman of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce for 2005-06. He also has served on the boards of Eagle Ranch, the Family Relations Program, and Elachee Nature-Science Center.

 

A native of Gainesville, John is a graduate of Gainesville High School and the University of Georgia. John and Tracy have two children, Ella and Grady.

Long-time creative director and vice president, Tina’s role at Morton, Vardeman & Carlson expanded to executive vice president in 1999. As the driving force behind the creative direction, graphic design and copywriting for the agency’s clients, Tina understands how to position and brand clients strategically within their particular business environment.

 

Tina first joined Morton & Associates in 1980 as production manager, where she quickly put her writing and concepting expertise to work and became creative director within a year. She has helped shape and grow the agency from three employees with a primarily business-to business focus to 14 with a broad, full-service strategic marketing mission. Under her direction, the agency has won numerous ADDYS, as well as other national design, print and communications awards.

 

Tina is a former writer and feature editor with The Times newspaper, and she also worked with the Gainesville/Hall County Chamber of Commerce and as a freelance writer. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia. Active in the community, she is past president of The Gateway House board of directors and 2006 president of The Quinlan Visual Arts Center board of trustees, where she continues to serve on the board.

As senior account executive and shareholder, Patrick counsels a wide range of companies stretching from Maine to Florida and overseas as well.

 

With his broad business-to-business, consumer marketing and sales background, Patrick works with clients in developing comprehensive strategic marketing and implementation programs.

 

His language skills have solidified and secured several international clients. Patrick is bilingual in English and German and has basic knowledge of French.
Patrick formerly worked as a marketing assistant at Budget and then regional sales manager for Poultry and Egg News. Prior to joining MVC, he was the regional sales manager for Watt Publishing.

 

Patrick is currently serving as a board member with Challenged Child, the North Georgia Community Foundation, and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association’s Advisory Committee. He also served with the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, on the board of Friends of the Parks 1997 -2001 and Gateway House from 2000-2002. He is also a graduate of the 2000 Leadership Hall organization.

 

Patrick is a graduate of Florida State University and earned his degree in marketing and advertising.

Pat has been a senior account executive with the agency since 1999. As senior AE, Pat participates in the development and implementation of strategic marketing plans on behalf of our clients.

 

His advertising career began with Georgia Power Company in Atlanta in 1973,
where, as a new University of Georgia journalism graduate, he began writing advertising copy and producing broadcast from the outset.

 

Moving to the former Sawyer Advertising agency (now Sawyer Riley Compton) as a copywriter, he later was made one of two Creative Group Heads. While he has worked with advertisers in fields such as agribusiness, health care and consumer goods, Pat has developed extensive experience in banking and public utilities advertising.

 

He is a graduate of the Bank Marketing Association's School of Bank Marketing.

As Public Relations Account Executive, Jeff’s duties include compiling, writing and promoting our clients’ news through our PR News Bureau. He also provides support to the development and execution of strategic public relations plans.

 

Jeff, a Gainesville, Ga. native, has more than 20 years of writing experience for a daily newspaper and a national poultry trade newspaper.

 

He spent 12 years as a sports reporter and copy editor with The Times in Gainesville, where he was honored with more than 30 writing awards from the Georgia Press Association, Associated Press and the Gannett Corporation.

 

Prior to joining MVC, Jeff was a writer, editor and production coordinator for Poultry & Egg News and Poultry Times for eight years.

 

Jeff has volunteered at the Guest House, a senior adult daycare center, and the Gateway Domestic Violence Center.

 

He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and earned his degree in Communications.

Diane oversees the graphic arts department of Morton Vardeman & Carlson. Formerly an artist and studio manager with the Sawyer Riley Compton agency of Atlanta, she also has worked for Merial Select, Inc. in Gainesville as the company’s senior marketing communications specialist, providing her with an excellent background and marketing experience with an international corporation.

 

With more than a decade of graphic arts experience, Diane’s work in graphic arts ranges from a top national advertising agency to a worldwide corporation, providing the perfect balance in experience to our client partners.

 

In addition to her professional work, Diane has exhibited her artwork regionally in North Georgia, in numerous galleries, shows and collections.

A 2002 graduate of the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art in Graphic Design, Christie Carey helps conceive and implement advertising campaigns, branding efforts and design solutions for clients. She brings creative and technical edge to the MVC team in both new media, including web design and internet marketing, as well as in traditional mediums.

 

Prior to joining the MVC team, Christie worked as a designer for Partners + Napier Atlanta, where she helped craft memorable advertisements, marketing efforts, trade relations and other mass communications for major clients such as the Eastman Kodak Company.

 

Christie was also a design intern at Marketing Solutions Group, Inc., in Marietta, where she worked for clients such as the Georgia Baptist Convention and the Alabama Mission Board.

 

A Golden Key National Honor Society Member and a Governor’s Scholarship Recipient, Christie lives in Suwanee, Ga.

As production manager, Lisa Aldridge handles the scheduling, coordination and completion of projects designed by the agency's creative department. She is also responsible for managing printing and other work conducted by outside sources.

 

Prior to joining Morton Vardeman & Carlson, Aldridge was an account manager with ProGraphics Communications in Atlanta. With over 20 years experience, she also has held positions involving print production planning, estimating, customer service and sales. Aldridge attended West Georgia College.

Cindy Smith is the Accounting Clerk at Morton Vardeman & Carlson. She has been with MVC since 2002. Cindy is responsible for the agency’s production billing. She also gathers news article clippings and compiles contact and coverage reports for our public relations clients.

 

Cindy grew up in Griffin and Lafayette, Ga. She holds an associate degree in business administration from Gainesville State College.

Elaine works as an executive assistant and receptionist at Morton Vardeman & Carlson. She is the friendly voice who answers your call on the phone and the behind-the-scenes coordinator who makes sure our office runs efficiently and effectively.

Cynthia has been an administrative assistant and receptionist at Morton Vardeman & Carlson since 2002. The Gainesville native, who has more than 15 years of administrative assistant experience, helps keep the office running smoothly and efficiently.

 

Cynthia is a Johnson High School graduate and is certified to teach through the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators program. She also has taken classes toward Pre-K certification. Cynthia enjoys meeting and working with people as well as helping to fine-tune our administrative processes.

Bryan Nicoll was president of Web Department Inc. for more than thirteen years.

 

Prior to his position with Web Department, Bryan was an Engineering Manager in the printed circuit board fabrication industry. While an Engineering Manager, Bryan was part of a team assembled to design, construct and operate a state-of-the-art printed circuit board fabrication facility for Intergraph, a fortune 500 company located in Huntsville, Alabama. Bryan’s primary focus as an engineer was the Laser and CAD/CAM tools that enabled fabricators to manufacture denser, more sophisticated circuitry.

 

Bryan incorporated Web Department in 1997. Web Department provided a full range of Internet design and development services. Some notable projects include two PowerAde websites for Coca Cola, support for BellSouth’s Small Business division websites. Also, design, implementation and operation of seven ecommerce applications for Brigade Quartermasters in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Other clients include:

 

• Aldila - A designer, manufacturer and marketer high performance graphite golf shafts.
• American Coolair Corporation - A manufacturer of ventilation products.
• Dapec/Systemate Numafa - Manufacturer of poultry processing systems and industrial cleaning systems.
• Leadership Georgia - A leadership-training program for business, civic and community leaders in Georgia.
• MaxMedia Design - A multimedia and marketing firm in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Pritchett & Hull - Publish health education materials.
• Riverside Military Academy - An all-boys college preparatory school.
• Walton EMC/Walton EMC Natural Gas - A not-for-profit electric and natural gas utility.

 

A native of California, Bryan is a graduate of Cal Poly in Pomona, California. He and Jo Beth reside in Suwanee, Georgia and have one child, Avery.

When you partner with Morton Vardeman & Carlson, you seriously expand your toolbox through the experience and abilities of a dozen-plus communication professionals – at a fraction of the cost of a traditional in-house communications department. With a rich mixture of backgrounds in advertising, marketing, public relations, design, newspapers, consulting groups, museums, outdoor advertising, commercial printing and TV and radio broadcast, we bring a sweeping and intimate knowledge of the communications industries to your service.