00:44:39 · Charlie Lamar
[00:44:39] S1: Yeah, I never would have. And I'm certain that my... Well, I'm not certain. My grandfather and my father were visionaries in their own way. So in kind of a theoretical scale kind of way, they could maybe see it. I don't really know. But if they did see it, I know they would be blown away by not only the industry and how different it is and especially the digitals, but all the other aspects of the industry and how it's sold and how it's delivered up on process of calling on a client to having in their ad up on a image somewhere, whether it's permanent or digital, is just as tremendous. But as far as our company itself, that's the one that would really be even more amazing to them, I think, is just the access to, or just the fact that we're such a large element in the industry from their back to the old story, very old story in 1927. They were such a small element that the big boys just basically kicked them out of New Orleans. And there was absolutely nothing they could have done. It turned out to be good fortune, but they were gonna get forced out one way or the other. And that's not true today. Not only is it not true, not that we're forcing anybody else out of anywhere else, but we certainly have the resources both financially, but also talent wise. We're very fortunate. The family has been very fortunate to have talented people within the family. And we've been very fortunate to have very talented people on our team. So, it's beyond imagining the reality of today.
00:46:28 · Ian Dallimore
[00:46:28] S0: It's fun to watch. I do have to tell the quick story is when I first started, I'm very proud, still very proud of this company and really kind of act as if I'm a part of the family. And I think a lot of our employees could say the same thing. But I used to get so upset when we would go up to New York and John Miller and I would talk about to agencies and John would always use the expression like, oh, we're just this little billboard company. And I don't know if it's just my athletic competitiveness, but I'm like, we're not some little billboard company. Obviously, John was just saying it as a part of the story, but for me, was just like, we're huge, we are the outdoor company. When you think of out of home, you think of Lamar Advertising, when you look at talent, and you wanna work in the media side of business, we have people locally that are leaving tech companies in certain markets to come work in the out of home space. So just having that pride that is just like, it's not like we're given this mantra when we first start, but you just you have this feeling of going back to like 1902, to that flip of the coin to people like, your father, your grandfather, all the way up to Kevin and Sean, and you feel this pride and ownership. And I think it does help elevate the talent that wants to be a part of, again, simultaneously the mediums growing and changing, and it's a lot of fun. I would be remiss not to talk just because locally you do, and just because I'm at certain events and I see, but I do want you to touch on, you give a lot back, I know locally to the community and I know there's a handful of organizations that you personally touch and you guys have a foundation, the Charlie Lamar Foundation, and you guys give to the Alzheimer's Association, which is a massive, it's a big part of
00:48:14 · Charlie Lamar, Ian Dallimore
[00:48:14] S1: Alzheimer's services Greater Baton Rouge. [00:48:16] S0: Yeah, huge, and then you got Distinct from Alzheimer's Association. Association, thank you for fixing that part out. And yeah, so touch on that a little bit, just obviously you've been a part of the family, you've worked extremely hard to be where you are today. And here you are in an office on a Friday as we recorded this in the summer. And I know you're here for a very short amount of time, but maybe as we end the podcast, the importance of you continuing to have the Lamar name outside of the ad space? [00:48:46] S1: Well, I think my parents inculcated in me from a young age that you give back. We were very lucky to have the things that we have and the opportunities that we have. And so when we're successful, then we should try to give back. So I've tried to do that. And back in my general counsel roles, as I said, I did public public relations. So a lot of that was interacting with nonprofits in the community. Lamar's interaction is basically putting up billboards to advertise their events or their organization. But I grew to know some [00:49:29] S0: of [00:49:29] S1: the players here. And then once we went public, basically, I had a lot more financial resources than I had ever before in my life. And so I started being more active as a funder. And then we established the Charlie Lamar Family Foundation, which continues to make grants. And so yeah, it's just in my DNA, I think, And give I'm very, very pleased with my history here in Baton Rouge.
00:49:29 · Charlie Lamar, Ian Dallimore
[00:49:29] S1: the players here. And then once we went public, basically, I had a lot more financial resources than I had ever before in my life. And so I started being more active as a funder. And then we established the Charlie Lamar Family Foundation, which continues to make grants. And so yeah, it's just in my DNA, I think, And give I'm very, very pleased with my history here in Baton Rouge. [00:50:02] S0: I love it, I love it. Look, this is the book, make sure we'll drop a link in for it, but Signs of Opportunity, it's a fantastic book. I make my new team read it, make sure we dive deep into the culture, because again, it bleeds into who you are and it kinda makes sure you have a part of that Lamar inside of you as you work every day. But I personally wanna thank you, because I know you've been a pivotal part of my career, whether you realize it or not from day one, when I first met you to all the board meetings that and the board allowed me to kind of present these wild crazy ideas that sometimes they work, sometimes they become the way, but it's definitely greatly appreciated. And I know the impact that you have, whether you believe it or not within the organization outside the family has tremendous impact. And I know a lot of people are gonna enjoy to hear this conversation both internally and externally. So always grateful for your time, my friend. Alright. [00:50:51] S1: Thank you.
00:50:51 · Charlie Lamar, Ian Dallimore
[00:50:51] S1: Thank you. [00:50:51] S0: Alright. Thanks, Charlie. Digital and Dirt is brought to you by Lamar Advertising. To learn more, check out the links in the description or go to lamar.com. If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review on Spotify, Apple, or other platforms where podcasts are found. Thanks for listening.