By Mike Hershey, OAAA Government Affairs

Roger Kemp, the Kansas dad who used billboards to help find the man who killed his daughter two decades ago, passed away last week. Longtime friend Bob Fessler (OAAA HoF 2007) of Lamar Advertising Company in Kansas City confirmed his passing and will attend a memorial service this Friday, March 11.

In 2002, Kemp approached Fessler with an idea: could he use billboards to engage the public and assist law enforcement in finding a fugitive who murdered Kemp’s daughter Ali in Leawood, KS. In 2004, a tip generated by the “wanted” billboards helped find a man who was arrested and later convicted in the case.

Kemp encouraged police and the billboard industry to use this tactic in other fugitive cases in metro Kansas City and beyond.

In 2008, the FBI launched a partnership with the out of home advertising industry to communicate with the public via digital billboards.

In 2011, in recognition of his anti-crime advocacy, Kemp received a Presidential Citizens Medal from President Obama in a White House ceremony.

Excerpts from past statements issued by the White House and then-Congressman Jerry Moran, R-KS.

• Roger Kemp, Leawood, KS received a Presidential Citizens Medal on October 20, 2011 from President Obama. The White House said: Roger Kemp faced the ultimate parent’s nightmare. In a random act of violence, Roger’s daughter Ali, 19, was killed by a predator in the summer of 2002. In response Kemp created The Ali Kemp Defense Education (TAKE) Foundation. Inspired by his belief that his daughter could have survived if she had an edge on her attackers, TAKE has trained more than 46,000 women in self-defense. Kemp has also advocated for “wanted” billboards as a means to locate and arrest criminals. Kemp receives the Citizens Medal for working to empower young women to prevent themselves from becoming victims.

• Jerry Moran of Kansas, Congressional Record, March 18, 2010:  Roger Kemp encouraged law enforcement to try a new idea, to display “wanted” information on billboards. It worked in the Ali Kemp case, producing a tip that led to an arrest in 2004 and later a  conviction.  Roger Kemp figured that this tactic could be broadly applied to help law enforcement. He was right. Now, billboards are a tool for police at all levels.  Police in Kansas say billboards are an asset to public safety. The FBI is using donated high-tech digital billboards coast to coast, even in Times Square. U.S. Marshals report dramatic results.  Lamar Advertising’s Bob Fessler . . . said, “It goes back to the old days, to Western days, when they put posters up for wanted people. It’s the same concept.”  To that analysis, I would add that effective modern “wanted” billboards are also the legacy of a special man from Kansas who is doing his part to make Kansans safer.

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