Designer wins three marketing awards: Web master, artist, musician sweeps competition

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Emerald Ralston
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Gary Huffman, a graphic designer and Web master for the 341st Services Squadron, won not one, not two, but three Air Force-level Achievement in Marketing Excellence awards for 2006.

Mr. Huffman took the top with his designs for the "Cruisin' the Summer" campaign, Lewis and Clark Grill menu and Largest Loser logo.

"The Lewis and Clark Grill menu was fun to do," Mr. Huffman said. "It's a three-panel menu I designed when I first got here about a year and a half ago. It was fun to design - it's nice looking and Lewis and Clark-y."

When he's not busy winning awards, Mr. Huffman's typical work routine includes making table advertisements for the dining facility and club, designing posters and maintaining the 341st SVS Web site, www.341services.com.

"Ben Wilkinson [former Web master] started the Web site from scratch, so I worked with that design for about a year," Mr. Huffman said. "It took about four months to completely redesign it."

The Web site now has a more artistic look, with themes tailored to Malmstrom, along with convenient drop down links and Services news on the home page.

Whether he's designing a Web site or making menus, Mr. Huffman said he thoroughly enjoys his job.

"This is one of the most fun jobs I've ever had," the graphic designer said. "I've always enjoyed doing artistic-type things - I took art classes in college, but I didn't graduate in graphic arts or design."

Former owner of a print shop, the Highwood, Mont., native said he learned most of his graphic art skills in the nine-and-a-half years while working there and that was also how he made his connection with Malmstrom to get his current job.

"One of my customers needed a logo for something they wanted to use on the base," Mr. Huffman said. "I talked to someone from the marketing section and that's how I found out about the possibility of a job at Malmstrom."

He seized the opportunity and has worked at Malmstrom for a year and a half.

In his free time, Mr. Huffman takes his artistic abilities he displays at the office to home, and he is a skilled watercolor painter and musician.

"In my spare time I like to play guitar," he said. "I play at my church with a few other young guys from the base and I recently joined a band in town. They've been trying to figure out how to describe the music they play - with guitars, horns and vocals, they are a very unique band."

The musically inclined graphic artist does what he enjoys both on- and off-duty at Malmstrom and as far as his marketing awards go, Mr. Huffman is modest about his work.

"A lot of the winners did really great jobs - a lot of good design stuff there," Mr. Huffman said. "I don't know what I did to win, we just do the best we can and sometimes it comes out good.

"When I found out I won it took a minute for it soak in that it was actually Air Force-wide," he said. "Also, at first I thought it was just one award, then I realized it was three so that was pretty neat. Getting three awards Air Force-wide makes you feel pretty swell."