Francesca Benten
Moreland
Partner
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Francesca joined Williams Creative Group, Inc. (WCG) in April 1995 as an account executive and is now a Managing Partner and Co-Owner of the firm. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Public Relations at Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe, Louisiana.

Francesca has more than 30 years of experience in providing strategic consulting, public relations and marketing services to corporate clients and non-profit organizations regionally and nationally. Her clients represent a variety of industry lines, including city government, wealth management, energy, education, foodservice, cyber communications, economic development, community support services, retail, gaming, manufacturing, healthcare, banking, accounting, tourism, entertainment, education, and real estate.

Her copywriting and conceptual work has earned recognition through numerous local and regional awards presented by the Public Relations Society of America and the Shreveport-Bossier Advertising Federation. She was one of 10 leaders in the Shreveport-Bossier area featured in Forum News Magazine “Faces to Watch” (2003;) honored with the President’s Award by the Rotary Club of Shreveport (2004); received the “Top 40 Under 40” award for outstanding young professionals in Northwest Louisiana by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce (2007); and is a two-time honoree for the Chamber’s ATHENA Leadership Awards.

In 2022, she became the fifth woman to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce since the organization’s founding in 1910; she is also the fifth woman to serve as President of the Rotary Club of Shreveport’s executive club (2014), which was established in 1914. As the Chamber’s Immediate Past Chair, she currently serves on the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

Francesca currently serves on Mayor of Shreveport Tom Arceneaux’s Transition Team as part of the Economic Development Advisory Committee. She recently served as a Barksdale Forward board member, which advocates on regional, state and federal levels for Barksdale Air Force Base, located in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Previously, Francesca was a senior account executive in the Chicago office of Hill and Knowlton, Inc., an international public relations agency based in New York. At Hill and Knowlton, Francesca provided marketing communications services for corporate clients, including Ameritech, Illinois Bureau of Tourism, The Florsheim Shoe Company, Marquette Venture Partners, Kraft General Foods, and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Prior to her work with Hill and Knowlton, Inc., Francesca served as public relations coordinator for Arthur Andersen’s Chicago office. There, she worked in public relations and marketing communications for the firm’s Chicago office, including various firm-wide industry marketing/public relations initiatives. Francesca positioned tax and audit partners as expert news sources with media in such industries as manufacturing, real estate, healthcare, finance, banking insurance, retailing and wholesale distribution.

Francesca is a 1997 graduate of Leadership Shreveport-Bossier, a 2000 graduate of The Council for a Better Louisiana’s Leadership Louisiana program, and was a member of a Leadership Northwest Louisiana initiative, Shape Shreveport-Bossier. She served on the local advisory committee for Chimp Haven, Inc. and worked with the YWCA’s Celebration of Women’s Week for three years, serving as Chairperson of Public Relations. She was also Chairperson of the workforce availability subcommittee of the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce Competitive Index Taskforce, an economic development initiative for Shreveport-Bossier, and served on the grants review committee for the Caddo Public Education Foundation.

In 1999, Francesca was selected by Rotary International as part of a six-member team representing Louisiana to conduct a vocational and cultural exchange in England. She is a member of the Downtown Shreveport Rotary Club and has served as Chair for the club’s Group Study Exchange Committee and as a member of the Civic Grants committee.

Francesca is a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International and has served as District PR Chairperson and a Director on the Rotary Club of Shreveport Board. In 2014, Francesca was the Club’s President during its Centennial in 2014-15.

Francesca was also a board member for Sci-Port Discovery Center and served on the Community Development Committee. She was a board member for the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana (BRF) and served on the Executive Committee of BRF.

Ron Viskozki
Partner
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Ron Viskozki joined Williams Creative Group, Inc., in 1998. He has over 30 years’ experience in the advertising and marketing industry in Shreveport/Bossier and has handled major campaigns both regionally and nationally. His marketing experience includes all aspects of advertising and communication campaigns from initial strategic concept to creation, copywriting, production, placement across all platforms, post analysis and everything in between.

True to his liberal arts education at Centenary College of Louisiana, his client service covers many different styles of industry, including, but not limited to, health care, financial, retail, automobile, legal, major and minor league sports, oil and gas, non-profit, food service, broadcast, regional and national history, entertainment, and senior care…just to name a few.

Prior to joining WCG, Ron’s experience includes 6 years as Media Manager for Carter Advertising, Inc., 4 years as Assistant General Manager/Marketing Director for the Shreveport Captains Baseball Club, Inc., (including two Texas League Championships!) and 5 years as Marketing Director/Creative Services Director for KMSS FOX 33 Television.

While at FOX 33, Ron garnered numerous local and regional awards for television self-promotion broadcast campaigns. As creative supervisor, he won the prestigious FOX National Monument Award for ‘Best Overall Image Campaign-We Are’. Over his career, it is estimated that Ron has won over 175 local and regional American Advertising Awards including numerous Special Judges’ Choice, and 3 Best of Show awards for specific campaigns in broadcast, outdoor, and printed material.

Most recently, Ron was honored with the 2018 National Telly Award for William Creative Group’s local health care system’s television broadcast campaign. The National Telly honors excellence in video and television across all screens and it is judged by national and international leaders from video platforms, television and streaming networks, agencies, and productions companies.

Ron, who has made Shreveport/Bossier his home since he was 2, cites his greatest accomplishment as marrying his college sweetheart, Lynette, and raising two wonderful children, Emma and Hayden. Emma, also a graduate of Centenary College, makes her home in Shreveport and works in the advertising industry, and Hayden is a senior at Stephen F. Austin University while concurrently serving the military in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Kelly Simpson
Senior Graphic Designer
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Placing family, faith and four-legged friends high on her list, Kelly is an award-winning graphic designer with experience in all facets of design, creative concepts, computer production and print supervisions. From concept to completed piece, she brings an eye for detail and an artist's passion to every phase of production. A graduate of Louisiana Tech in graphic design, her dynamic style and unique use of color set her work apart – Kelly's focus and commitment set her apart.

Laurie Priftis
Digital Media Specialist
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Laurie Priftis joined Williams Creative Group in May of 2016. She was born and raised in the best state in the USA (Texas, of course) and left her hometown of Dallas to attend Centenary College of Louisiana. Laurie will still tell you she’s a Texan at heart, but Shreveport has a special charm that keeps her here. She graduated in with a bachelor’s degree in Communication, New Media. As part of the Williams Creative Group team, Laurie works on a variety of projects including website design and development, graphic design, online marketing, and social media strategy for a number of WCG’s clients in theater, oil and gas, healthcare, and tourism.

Laurie is a member of the American Advertising Federation, Shreveport-Bossier chapter and currently serves on the Executive Board as Past President and Membership Chair. Laurie also serves AAF’s District 10 as Louisiana State Representative. In addition, Laurie is a board member for Coastal Connection.