Company: Eagle Outdoor Advertising
Headquarters: 1447 N 175 E, Warsaw, IN 46582
Market: Northern Indiana
Phone: 800-867-4467
Dan Walcott the founder of Eagle Outdoor started painting billboards at the age of fifteen. He literally “learned the ropes” by apprenticing for Lockridge Outdoor who hand painted billboards on site, hanging from a swing stage for Whiteco. Ot In 1984 Dan struck out independently starting Eagle Outdoor Sign Co. Inc. Lettering signs and vehicles along with a contract with billboard painting for National 3M, raised enough money to build Eagle’s first 6’x12’ billboard.
Eagle Outdoor has a billboard plant with 520 faces including 2 digital faces across 29 counties in Indiana. Dan Walcott is President. Gina Walcott handles bookkeeping. Darren Walcott is the company’s Vice President. Eagle Outdoor is a member of IBOUSA and the OAAA. Billboard Insider talked with Dan Walcott.
You just attended the IBO. What were your impressions?
My wife Gina and I enjoyed the presentation on how to design better billboard ads. On the drive home I was critiquing which billboards through my eye and which ones were memorable. I found the talk about The different generations and how to speak their language was helpful. AI was a subject that we started learning about and how to use it more effectively for the billboard business.
What’s new at Eagle Outdoor?
This year, Eagle Outdoor added a digital and also Tri visions.
You’ve used nonbank lenders and banks. What’s the difference?
Eagle Outdoor used a non-bank lender – Billboard Loans – for the first time in 2025. We had waited 5 months for our bank to approve a small acquisition and then they turned us down. I went to Billboard Loans and they approved and funded the transaction immediately. Non-bank lending is more expensive than bank lending so we eventually switched back to a bank to take advantage of cheaper funding. Dave Westburg and Ken Altena at Billboard Loans provided great wisdom and knowledge which we appreciated. They went the extra mile and helped educate our new banker on the value of OOH.
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He bought his first boards from Watchfire. It’s a shame that wasn’t mentioned in the article.