As Ohlmann Group celebrates its 75th anniversary, we reflect on the legacy of the late Walter Ohlmann, father of current CEO Linda Ohlmann Kahn and Senior Vice President Lori Ohlmann.
Walter’s professional career began as a sales representative for WLWD, which would later become WDTN. A successful sales rep, one of his primary accounts was a small ad agency known as Penny & Penny.
When Walter Ohlmann joined Penny and Penny Advertising in 1964, Bob and Jean Penny were operating their agency in a one-room office in Dayton. The agency, founded in 1949, was soon renamed Penny-Ohlmann, Inc., and moved to North Main Street in 1967. Over the next decades, Walter oversaw the agency’s incredible growth and cemented our culture in community service. “We care about our clients,” Walter said in an interview. He called that imperative his firm’s “golden rule.”
Experiences that Shaped a Life of Giving
Walter Ohlmann was born in Germany. His father was one of the Jewish men sent to a concentration camp after Kristallnacht in 1938 but was released due to his Iron Cross First Class medal for bravery in WWI. Walter and his siblings went into hiding and spent time in foster care in Scotland before the family could be reunited in New York in March 1940, a day Walter says “will go down in history” for his family. This experience shaped Walter Ohlmann’s profound appreciation for this country and his tireless goal to “give back in triplicate.”
During his years of leadership at the agency, Walter supported numerous community organizations and won multiple community service awards, both personally and with the agency:
- Humanitarian of the Year Award from the United Way of Greater Dayton
- Volunteer of the Year Award from the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
- Dayton Ad Club Man of the Year
- Free Enterprise Award from Junior Achievement
- Jobs for Graduates National Recognition
- Kettering Medical Center Foundation Volunteer of the Year
- Intermarket Agency Network Lifetime Achievement Award
- National Conference for Community and Justice award for dedication to community outreach in the Greater Dayton region
- Spirit of Life Award
- The American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award
- Integrity Eclipse Award
- Best Places to Work
- Volunteer of the Year by the National Society of Fund Raising Executives
He held leadership positions on multiple boards and committees, including:
- Dayton Dialog on Race Relations
- Better Business Bureau
- Hospice of Dayton
- Temple Israel
- Jewish War Veterans
- Jewish Family Service
- Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton
- County Corp
- Dayton Flood Memorial Park
- Dayton Opera
- National Aviation Heritage Area
- United Way of Greater Dayton
- Wallace Kettering Neuroscience Institute
- Dayton Foundation
- Governor’s Committee for a Drug Free Ohio
- Montgomery County Juvenile Court
- Wright State University School for Professional Psychology
One of Walter’s last wishes was to see Dayton take ownership of the birthplace of aviation with a tribute befitting the steps in flight made right here in Dayton through the Triumph of Flight monument. He was an instrumental board member of The Wright Image Group, a non-profit organization of business, government, and philanthropic leaders.
Continuing the Legacy of Service
After decades leading the agency and instilling a culture of giving back, Walter Ohlmann died in 2016. At the time, business leaders, clients, and community organizations shared their memories and recognized his years of dedicated service.
Linda Ohlmann Kahn and Lori Ohlmann continue operations, making Ohlmann Group the oldest existing full-service advertising agency in Dayton.
Linda and Lori made the decision to move Ohlmann Group to downtown Dayton and donate the agency’s longtime, 11,000-square-foot office building and fixtures to Omega Community Development Corporation, a non-profit focused on building the health of the Northwest Dayton community where the building is located. This large donation is in line with the agency’s longtime mission and their father’s legacy.
As Ohlmann Group looks to create the future, we are fortunate to have a strong foundation built on 75 years of serving our clients and giving back to the community.
Sharing Our Memories
As part of reflecting on Walter’s legacy, we invited the community to share their memories. We have received heartfelt comments on our Facebook page and on LinkedIn.
We also received some great comments from our Memory Form we want to share here:
- There are no words adequate to capture the essence of Walter. You had to EXPERIENCE him. Whether in person or on the phone, Walter had the most incredible positive energy. It was captivating. I was privileged to count him as a dear friend and to have worked with him as a customer.
- Walter was a truly amazing blend of intelligence, sharp wit, magnetism and sarcasm. And the sarcasm, while occasionally had an edge to it, was ALWAYS with love and good humor.
- His absolute devotion to making the Miami Valley a better place to work, live and prosper was legendary. Walter Ohlmann and the Ohlmann Group did more pro bono work than anyone or any organization. He always was willing to lend a hand and his brain to any non-profit groups and civic efforts to raise the standard of living for the entire community.
- Walter Ohlmann was much more than a man, a father and an executive. He was a true force of nature like none other!
Have your own memory, please use the Memory Form or visit our social pages to share it.
