OUR FOCUS
Principals John and Renay Daigle anchor the agency’s leadership with more than 50 years of combined professional experience in the fields of public relations and advertising. John and Renay apply that expertise to lead a talented team of creative professionals who develop and implement creative strategies for all our clients, regardless of their size or needs.
The agency was formed almost 15 years ago with a commitment to customer service, a dedication to high-quality work at competitive prices and a constant focus on results. It has been successful, and continues to flourish, because we have vigilantly kept that crucial focus.
Daigle Creative services small business and large nonprofits, Fortune 500 companies and large government/education organizations. Clients choose us for our track record, talent, innovation and energy. They stay with us because we respect their budgets, their deadlines, their time and most importantly, because we provide them with dynamic, creative solutions that work.
OUR TEAM
JOHN DAIGLE
Principal
RENAY DAIGLE
Principal
KRISTEN DESMIDT
VP of Operations & PR
BECKY RUSSO
Creative Consultant
BETH ANNE HOLL
Director of Public Relations
MICHAEL LEARY
Senior Graphic Designer
RYAN HELTERHOFF
Public Relations Intern
LYNETTE BENTON
Business Manager
John anchors our agency with more than 25 years of successful, award-winning communications and business leadership experience. His diverse career includes service as an Army officer, more than a decade as a top political reporter/editor and 17 years in public relations and political consulting.
With a Bachelor of Science in journalism degree and a Master of Arts in mass communications degree from the University of Florida, his strengths include consulting at senior management levels, crisis communications, project team leadership and change communications management.
John earned numerous awards for his writing and editing, including three statewide Florida Press Association awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. As Jacksonville University’s communications director, John led a staff that won nine national Council for the Advancement & Support of Education awards and two national Admission Marketing Association of America awards. He also helped lead JU’s historic $60 million Beyond Excellence capital campaign. He serves or has served in leadership roles with a variety of area nonprofit organizations.
Out of the office, John stays busy volunteering as a youth mentor, coaching his daughters’ soccer teams and enjoying Florida’s outdoors from sailing and snorkeling to running and tennis. John brings a lot of valuable skills and experience to our team, but to see his best talent you have to catch him cooking his spicy steamed blue crab recipe for friends around the pool.
Renay brings creative leadership, marketing strategy, earned/paid media expertise and boundless energy to our team. She has developed creative work and advertising strategies for area ad agencies such as The William Cook Agency, Empire Communications Group and her own firm, Daigle Creative.
Renay earned a Bachelor of Science in advertising degree from the University of Florida and gained valuable perspective working on both sides of the industry fence — first as a media sales representative and later as a senior media buyer. This dual experience enables her to help our clients plan and execute exceptional media buys with stronger returns on investments. Since 2006, Renay has planned and/or overseen media campaigns for clients totaling more than $3.5 million.
Renay’s personal passion for nonprofits has heavily influenced Daigle Creative’s client work. She has led successful communications efforts for local organizations including Voices for Children of the First Coast, The First Coast Guardian ad Litem Foundation, Communities In Schools of Jacksonville, The Nourishment Network, The Women’s Center of Jacksonville, Girls, Inc. and Daniel, Florida’s oldest child-service agency. Renay also serves on the Board of Directors for Girls Inc. and as a prominent local breast cancer survivors’ advocate and fundraiser.
Out of the office, Renay’s all about her daughters. She’s a stage mom, tutor, dance mom, gymnastics mom, counselor and soccer coach — all while working full-time in leading our agency. Somehow she still finds time occasionally to slip out to her lifelong refuge, the beach. That’s one of the few places you’ll find her calm and quiet, either going for a solo run or lounging with a good book.
Becky is an extraordinary creative consultant and project manager who has built a reputation for listening to her clients and dependably delivering exactly what they want. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Florida, with a concentration in graphic design, Becky understands all aspects of the graphic design and production processes.
Aside from working with Daigle Creative, Becky has earned extensive graphic design experience at the Adams Mark Hotel, C&H Printing and Burdette Ketchem. She is also an accomplished illustrator, painter and photographer.
Becky is an outdoor fan; sky diving, white water river rafting and lounging in her hammock are just a few of her favorite things. She enjoys wedding photography, but it’s capturing the real-life moments that captures her heart. She is very close with her two sisters and she is also a two-time champion in a cupcake war.
Kristen offers a great combination of talents as our VP of operations & public relations. She manages our agency’s innerworkings and counsels clients on creating innovative, integrated marketing solutions to reach their goals. Her strong writing and photography skills, complimented by her natural ability to build relationships, also make her a valuable asset to our team of creatives.
Since joining Daigle Creative in 2012, Kristen’s successful navigation of media relations has bolstered Daigle Creative’s success in securing prime broadcast, print and online earned media for our clients.
Kristen holds a Bachelor of Science in public relations degree from the University of Florida. Before joining Daigle Creative she worked in Public Affairs at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.
In her free time, Kristen enjoys traveling, spending time with her husband and children, and kickboxing. She’s also played the piano since the age of 4, which could explain why she’s such a huge music buff.
Beth Anne is responsible for directing public relations efforts for Daigle Creative’s diverse clients, while also supporting key marketing and social media initiatives. Her natural communications instincts and strong media relations are critical in placing valuable broadcast, print and online earned media hits for the organizations who work with us.
Beth Anne earned a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Public Relations and Advertising from Towson University in Towson, Md. Before joining the team at Daigle Creative, she worked as Director of Social Media & Educational Outreach at the American Breast Cancer Foundation, a national breast cancer nonprofit based in Columbia, Md.
Beth Anne is a huge fan of musical theater and enjoys singing and performing. On the weekends, you can find her at the movies, spending hours at Sephora, or working on her figure skating skills at the ice rink.
Ryan received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Telecommunication from the University of Florida, and is continuing his education at UF by pursuing a Master of Arts in Mass Communication.
Before interning at Daigle Creative, Ryan interned at the Florida Museum and the UF College of the Arts. He also worked for AlphaPRoductions, Florida’s largest student-run public relations firm. He credits his involvement with the UF community for helping him in his journey through his undergraduate studies and looks forward to new learning experiences as he continues his education.
Ryan is a movie and pop-culture fanatic, and an avid traveler. In his free time, you can find him at the movie theater, playing tennis, or taking pictures of his cat.
Lynette is the left-brain rock that keeps all our agency’s right-brain creative types grounded. With a Bachelor in computer information systems degree from Saint Leo University she has more than 18 years of accounting experience and has been a QuickBooks Certified Professional Advisor since the inception of that program. She is also a member of the American Association of Professional Bookkeepers.
Working with QuickBooks for more than eight years, she has specialized in setting small businesses up and training them how to use QuickBooks. She is the author of several books on QuickBooks, including ones specifically tailored for attorneys and property managers.
She has set up more than 100 small business and law firms and trained them on the use of QuickBooks.
Michael received his Bachelor of Fine Art with a concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media from the University of North Florida.
During his time at North Florida, he was the graphic designer and social media coordinator for the Osprey Lacrosse Club. He played a big role in the programs success over the years.
When Michael is not designing, he enjoys the outdoors and playing lacrosse. He is also a self-proclaimed UNO Champion.