Celebrated annually during February, Black History Month honors the contributions and triumphs of African Americans throughout U.S. history. One individual we’re honoring this month happens to be one of the founders of Laughlin, Marinaccio & Owens – the “O” in LMO – and a legend in the advertising industry, Mr. Ron Owens.

Throughout his career, Ron was a passionate and staunch advocate for multicultural advertising and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, and was committed to creating a community that shared these values. Ron worked tirelessly with youth in the Washington, D.C. area to reduce student truancy, discourage teen drug use, and increase the high school graduation rate. He was a frequent speaker at HBCUs, including Howard University, Morgan State University, Bowie State University, and Coppin State University, on topics such as multicultural advertising, market development, branding and more, and participated in many college career recruitment and networking fairs. In cooperation with Howard University and under Ron’s direction and oversight, LMO Advertising established the first historic formal partnership between an advertising agency and an institution of higher learning. This effort culminated with the assignment of one of LMO’s senior copywriters as an adjunct professor and led to the LMO conference room becoming a “classroom” that was frequently filled with students learning the ins and outs of the advertising world.

Thank you, Ron, for all you did for the LMO family, the DMV community and the greater advertising industry.