The reestablishment of the Outdoor Advertising Association of West Virginia has been over two years in the making. After a 10 year hiatus, it became official on July 17, 2024. WV Outdoor President & CEO, Bill Lodzinski along with Lamar-Wheeling VP/GM, Shane Walters were instrumental in starting the conversations and driving the initiative. Operators in the state all stepped up with great effort to make this a reality. Their expertise, experience and engagement were immensely valuable in this process. The OAAA, as well as Jim Vlasach, Lamar VP/Regional Development and OAAP President were great resources and provided much needed guidance.
Bill Lodzinski of WV Outdoor filled us in on the details.
Who are the new officers, their companies and what position do they hold in the OAAWV?
President – Shane Walters, VP/GM Lamar-Wheeling.
Vice President – Brian Conley, GM Link Media, WV & TN
Secretary – Lise Keefer, VP/GM, Lamar- Huntington
Treasure – Bill Lodzinski, President/CEO WV Outdoor
How many total companies are in the State Association?
- WV Outdoor
- Logan Outdoor
- Hicks Outdoor
- Link Media
- Lamar Advertising (Wheeling, Bridgeport, Huntington, Bluefield & Altoona)
There are currently nine confirmed members. Of the nine, five are the various Lamar offices that have the required inventory count in WV. Two other operators; Kegerries Outdoor and Micro Outdoor have expressed interest, but have not confirmed. Hopefully, we will have them on board for a total of 11 members. In addition, OAAWV will be accepting applications for affiliate membership in the near future.
Below is list of attendees at the meeting:
- Bill Lodzinski – WV Outdoor
- John Liller – WV Outdoor
- Shane Walters – Lamar- Wheeling
- Rueben Blankenship – Lamar – Bridgeport
- Mark Cannon- Lamar – Bluefield
- Lisa Keefer – Lamar- Huntington
- Bruce Morrison– Lamar – Huntington
- George Foster – Lamar – Altoona
- Jim Vlasach – Lamar – Pittsburgh
- Brian Conley – Link Media
- Greg Hicks – Hicks Outdoor
Is it one Company one vote or do the larger companies get more votes?
Each “Operator member” company gets one vote. The larger companies (Lamar in this case), get one vote for each of their plants that are members. Those Lamar plants are considered their own individual companies. Affliate membership will not have voting privileges.
Is the Association targeting any particular projects?
At this time, the first order of business is to develop and launch an OAAWV website. Beyond that, OOH matters that come up that have statewide implications will be addressed accordingly.
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