Jeffrey Wayne Buntin, Sr. passed away on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at home surrounded by family.
A longtime resident of Nashville, Tennessee, Jeffrey was the fifth generation to live on the farm that is still in his family and today represents seven generations of continued ownership of the land. He graduated from The University of the South, Sewanee, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order, Order of Gownsmen and business manager of the university’s publication, The Sewanee Purple. While in college, he became a television news writer and reporter with WSM Incorporated and a correspondent for United Press International where he received recognition for his reporting on the Palmer, Tennessee coal mine strikes and violence in the 1960s. Subsequently, as a member of the Tennessee Air National Guard, he served as the Staff Sergeant and leader of the pilot and flying equipment section at Berry Field, Nashville.
Entering the advertising field in his early twenties, he worked with his father at Buntin & Associates, Inc. In 1972, he founded Buntin Advertising, Inc., which later became The Buntin Group. The Agency grew to be the largest advertising agency in the state and one of the top twenty-five independent marketing firms in the country. In 1990, he founded Buntin Out-of-Home Media, LLC, which became the largest independent outdoor media management company in America. In addition to numerous Clio, Addy and Film Festival creative awards, he was named the Outstanding Southeastern Advertising Executive of the year by ADWEEK Magazine. He was past President of the Nashville Advertising Federation and the Nashville Advertising Silver Medal honoree for leadership in the industry. In 2023, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award and on the web site noted that:
“Jeffrey Buntin, Sr. from The Buntin Group is not only an OOH expert but a true visionary who has spent over 35 years innovating, growing and championing the OOH industry. His impact on OOH has been tremendous. Quickly recognizing the role technology could play in the industry, he created GeoTrak which changed the way OOH could be marketed. Today, GeoTrak has become the premier OOH buying and planning tool in the US. Having been instrumental in several other OOH innovations and practices, his impact on the industry will be felt for decades to come.”
In addition to advertising, Jeffrey was active in the television production industry, founding Hawkins Street Productions, which produced a series of top-rated shows on TNN including Path to Stardom and Home to the Ryman. Other business interests included being an original organizer and owner of Channel 17, WZTV, in Nashville that was later sold to Fox Media. He was a founding partner in TravelMasters, Inc., a luxury travel agency that was sold to American Express Travel, and the owner of several Captain D’s Seafood Restaurants in Texas and Kentucky.
Jeffrey’s creative talents led to short story writing. Every year at Christmastime, he wrote a story of historical fiction that he would read to the agency and to his family on Christmas Eve. He attended the Sewanee’s Writers Conference in 2008 and in 2010 published a collection of short stories entitled Christmas Miracles. He has written and designed nine more books of private publishing, which capture the legacies of people and places he loved.
Insider’s Note: Most of you are familiar with the Buntin name through their long time relationship with Cracker Barrel. Blessings to the Buntin family. Jeffrey was a great friend of the Out of Home industry.
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