• Jim Leslie worked for The Shreveport Times and the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce before launching his advertising career. He got his start in advertising working locally on campaigns for United Gas with national agency Bozell & Jacobs. He then opened The Leslie Agency and worked on several political campaigns for Shreveport Commissioner George D’Artois.

    In 1976, he worked on a campaign to help pass “Right to Work” legislation in Louisiana. On July 9, 1976, after celebrating the passage of the bill in Baton Rouge, Leslie returned to his room at the Prince Murat Inn on Nicholson Drive and was gunned down by ambush in the Inn’s parking lot.

    Both the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and The Shreveport Advertising Federation (formerly the SBAF and currently the AAFSB) posted reward funds for the arrest and conviction of the killer. Though there were some investigations and a lot of charges and counter-charges, nothing flushed out the killer. In January 1978, the reward fund was converted into a perpetual scholarship for local advertising students in memory of Leslie’s impact on the local advertising community.

  • The Jim Leslie Memorial Scholarship is awarded each year, assisting scholars in communications-related curricula.

    $2,500 scholarship is awarded annually.

    Scholarship Administration

    The scholarship will be administered through the institution’s financial aid office and will be applied to tuition and textbooks. This is not a cash scholarship. In the event that a scholarship recipient for any reason does not complete said academic year, the institution shall return any applicable funds, credits, or reimbursements to the Jim Leslie Scholarship Fund. To enter, please complete and submit the application via the web form below by 11:59 PM on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

DEADLINE: May 6, 2024, 11:59pm

ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

Applicant must:

• Be an undergraduate student in good scholastic and social standing within their college/university (Graduate students are not eligible).
• Be maintaining an overall grade point average of 2.5 and 3.0 minimum in major.
• Be currently enrolled full-time (i.e. Semester System: 12 semester hours, Quarter System: 8 semester hours). Applicants currently in their graduating semester are not eligible.
• Be attending a north Louisiana or east Texas 2-year or 4-year regionally accredited college or university (See list of eligible institutions below).
• Not be paying any out-of-state tuition fees.
• Have earned at least 30 credit hours (non-credit hours are not applicable) toward the completion of a communications-related degree. Scholarship offered to communications-related fields only (See a list of eligible curricula/programs below. Please note that students taking individual courses but not receiving degrees or recognition of specialization in these curricula are not eligible.).

Eligible Institutions

• North Louisiana: Bossier Parish Community College, Centenary College, Grambling University, Louisiana Tech University, Louisiana State University Shreveport, Northwestern State University, Southern University Shreveport, University of Louisiana Monroe.

• East Texas: East Texas Baptist University, Kilgore College, LeTourneau University, Panola College, Texas A&M University – Texarkana, Texas State Technical College, University of Texas at Tyler, Wiley College

(Note: If your college or university is not listed and you would like to submit it for consideration, please send an email to info@aafsb.org.)

Eligible Curricula
Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, Radio and Television, Communications, Marketing, Graphic Design, Photography

(Note: If your curriculum/program is not listed and you would like to submit it for consideration, please send an email to
info@aafsb.org.)

Letters of Recommendation (At least one from each category below must be included. Not more than three can be submitted overall.)
• A letter of recommendation from a faculty member in the applicant’s major must accompany application/nomination (Optional letter from Dean of School may be included.).
• A letter of recommendation from a church or service-related organization leader.

Financial Need
The degree of financial need is a major factor in the awarding of this scholarship. To establish degree of financial need, applicant must state forms of income directed toward paying educational expenses since initiating college/university-level studies, as well as any places of employment and positions held. An IRS Form 1040 may be requested regarding applicant’s and parent’s/guardian’s income.

Transcript and Portfolio
A copy of the applicant’s university transcript must accompany the application. Applicant is requested, but not required, to present a collection/portfolio of their works/projects/creations to demonstrate level of expertise in chosen profession. While not mandatory, these materials will greatly assist the judges in determining final choices in the scholarship competition. You may upload pdf files with this application or submit a link to an online portfolio.

Failure to fulfill all eligibility requirements will result in immediate disqualification.

 

The AAF Tenth District Scholarships are designed to recognize, promote and encourage academically talented students of advertising-related disciplines, helping them complete their education. A total of $45,000 in scholarships will be awarded by the AAF Tenth District.

Applications are due March 29, 2024 by 5 PM.

For details and more information, click here.