Margie Bowles, President/Creative Director
Margie Bowles has more than 20 years of experience as a commercial writer. Before establishing her company
in 1984, she was a senior writer at Temerlin McClain, where she created print and broadcast advertising,
videos and multimedia for American Airlines, Mary Kay Cosmetics, National Gypsum, Pace Picante Sauce and
other national accounts.
Prior to specializing in copywriting, Margie received her Bachelor of Fine Art in Advertising Design from
the University of North Texas, and completed post graduate work at the Art Center College of Design.
Included in the New Millennium Edition of Who's Who of North American Executives and Professionals, Margie
has also been honored over the years by The New York Art Directors Club, The Effie Awards, The Rx Club Show
for Health Care Advertising Excellence, Communication Arts magazine, The International Advertising Festival
of New York, National Advertising and Marketing Association (NAMA), the Dallas Society of Visual
Communications, the Dallas Ad League, the Art Directors Club of Houston, the San Diego Communications Arts
Group, and the Ad Club of San Diego.
In addition to managing 1400 Words, Margie teaches History of Communication
Graphics and Writing for Visual Media at Dallas' Brookhaven College.
Ellen Gunter, Writer
Ellen Gunter has more than 20 years of experience writing commercial, technical, newspaper and magazine
copy. Hired as a copywriter at a St. Louis blues radio station, Ellen segued to writing for a St. Louis
advertising agency after earning her B.A. in creative writing and English. From there she began a five-year
stint as a journalist and freelance writer, writing features, reviews, interviews and in-depth articles for
the Dallas Times Herald, Texas Monthly, Publishers Weekly, and the Dallas Observer. While working for
Texas Monthly, she wrote Dallas, Your Complete Guide to a Vibrant Texas City, one of their award-winning city
guidebooks.
Ellen moved from there to the technical field, where she worked for the last dozen years as a freelance
consultant writing marketing, video and online technical books for clients such as IBM, Texas Instruments,
GTE, Nortel and Xerox.
Laura Holt, Account Manager
Laura is responsible for the all-important task of project management and ensuring that our projects meet
every deadline. She came to us from the Boyer Group, where, as Account Manager, she was responsible for the
strategic development and production of print advertisements and collateral for all of the firm's clients.
Prior to that, Laura served as an Assistant Account Manager at Evans Advertising & Public Relations (a
division of EvansGroup) and PageNet, and Marketing Coordinator at COMPASS Design Automation. She earned her
Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from Southern Methodist University. Here at 1400
Words, Laura plays a key role in our commitment to deliver the best customer service, bar none.
Sandy Irwin, Writer
Sandy Irwin began her writing career as an intern at 1400 Words while attending the University of North
Texas where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design. Her knowledge of design and
typography has proven to be a valuable asset when dealing with art directors and designers.
Her work experience includes a wide range of print, Web, and multimedia projects for companies large and
small, including AMR Corporation, Blockbuster Inc., The Smithsonian Institution, King Ranch, and JCPenney.
Dee Anna Smith, Writer
Dee Anna's copywriting vocation grew from years in the newsroom. From her position as a copy editor at the highly
respected Austin American-Statesman to her appointment as editor/publisher of a Central Texas community newspaper,
she meshed creativity with a keen eye for detail to produce work that was engaging, informative, and above all,
accurate. Before joining 1400 Words, Dee Anna worked at Italia Advertising, where she wrote copy for both the
corporate and retail arms of CompUSA. She also concepted and wrote a number of CompUSA magazine ads, one of which
was ranked Number One by Incite magazine in a monthly readers' poll. Other clients featured in Dee Anna's portfolio
include Jose Cuervo, Overhead Door Corporation, Lowe's Home Improvement Centers, and Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation.
Elizabeth Mateja, Writer
Elizabeth's experiences in copywriting run the gamut, from print and broadcast advertising to collateral, Web sites,
corporate video, newsletters, and press kits. Here at 1400 Words, she's made her mark with clients including American
Airlines, Blockbuster, Inc., Bell Helicopter, Jose Cuervo, Qwest Communications, and the San Diego Museum of Art.
Elizabeth is an award-winning graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication at Arizona
State University, where she earned her Master of Mass Communication degree.