Jerry W McCarver. Born December 25, 1939. Died June 10, 2024 in an Atlanta hospital. Jerry had been in the Outdoor Advertising industry since the mid 1960’s – almost forty years.
Jerry began his Outdoor career with Creative Displays in Richmond VA then Birmingham Al. He followed this up with stints at Donrey Media Group in (Spokane WA and Little Rock AR), Peterson Outdoor (Orlando, FL), Patrick Outdoor (Houston TX) and Outdoor West (Macon Ga). Jerry recently lived in Madonna Ga.
Emerald Outdoor’s Tom Townsend tells Billboard Insider
Jerry hired me as a snot nosed and cocky 23 year old kid into the billboard business on November 1, 1983…and essentially effected the rest of my life…I now have almost 41 years in the business and I owe it all to him. I was born in Germany and was born a German citizen….he convinced me to get my US citizenship in 1988…he obviously had a big impact on my life…I talked to him a few years back but he was battling Alzheimer’s…I will always be in debt to him….I also know his world revolved around his wife Joy who passed many years back…he loved outdoor….
Richard Drummond of Mountain South Media remembers this…
I worked with Jerry in Birmingham and when he joined Donrey Media Group in Spokane he asked me to come and help. Moving from the deep south to Washington State was a big change but I really enjoyed it. It was then that Jerry began to teach me about managing an outdoor company as opposed to just selling ad space. Jeri and I were friends for many years and it was dissappointing to see his fight with Alzheimer’s…Jerry always recalled an event which happened in Birmingham in 1979. His company posted a display for a Bowling Alley Association. The copy stated “Have some fun…Beat your wife tonight.” Well, you can imagine it did not go well. Before the answer “Go Bowling” could be posted Jerry was on the 6pm news apologizing for the copy. For many years after he said, “everyone wants to be the manager until the cameras show up.”
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It’s appropriate the photo of Jerry he’s wearing a big smile…..always upbeat and positive. We were teammates for years with Creative Displays. He was a serious man but also funny and loved a good promotion. He was also a solid family man and loved his family. Creative ask a lot of Jerry and in my view he always delivered. I know his many friends will miss his wit and insights. I certainly enjoyed our experiences together.
I will miss my friend…..
Bob Young