12/27/2024
Doug Lenger aka Dr Promo Retires!
After over 40 years in this crazy promo world industry veteran Doug Lenger is retiring!
Doug started this journey way back in 1983 as an end-user buying ball caps, pens, and block pads. Later working for an ad agency in St. Louis doubling as a promotional products distributor. Then moving to the supplier side spending many years as a Sales and Marketing executive with Hazel Promotional Products, the Dixon Ticonderoga Company, and finally with Visions/Awardcraft.
In 2003 after having had his fill of the corporate world along with long time partner Gordon Blake, Doug founded Big River Marketing. Armed with 20 business cards printed out of an old HP Inkjet printer Doug went to the first PPAI Expo held in Las Vegas seeking lines. By the close of that show Gordon and Doug had nine lines on board and the rest is history. There were many lean years but with great determination and perseverance Big River Marketing was built into one of the most respected independent sales representation agencies in the promotional products industry.
Now after all these years, millions of road miles, gazillions of hotel stays he's hanging it up! Being a planner, Doug had a transition plan in place and it has come to fruition. Long time friends and fellow "Road Warriors" Scott Ward and Mike Jones have agreed to take over control of Big River Marketing effective January 1st, 2025. Doug has agreed to stay involved for a few years as a consultant and will provide in house marketing assistance with very limited travel.
Doug plans to spend most of his time involved with a multitude of hobbies including but not limited to, golf, fishing, hunting, tinkering, building, and maybe a few icy cold beverages at his beloved lake house in Innsbrook Missouri.
Lenger said, "I will miss all my road family that I have spent so many wonderful years with, but the miles are catching up and I feel like it's time to leave this crazy biz to a younger generation"
