Ohlmann served as president and CEO of the Ohlmann Group, Dayton’s oldest advertising and marketing firm, for more than 30 years before stepping down last December and becoming chairman of the group. He first joined the group in 1964, about 15 years after it had been founded as Penny and Penny by Bob and Jean Penny.
In December, Ohlmann told the Dayton Daily News that much had changed in his industry since he joined it. What had not changed, however, was attention to clients.
“We care about clients,” he said. He called that imperative his firm’s “golden rule.”
Ohlmann was inspirational to many Dayton business leaders.
“Walter Ohlmann was one of the finest men I have ever known,” said Phil Parker, CEO and president of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. “Always there to help you help our community. As a professional, he has helped thousands of businesses and/or not-for-profits in our region build their brand, tell their story and grow their organization. As a community leader, he did much of this work on his own time….just for the love of Dayton. We will all miss Walter and his guidance and kind words.”
Rob Rohr, market vice president for Cox Media Group Ohio, said Ohlmann’s leadership will be missed in the community.
“Brilliant marketing is about forming powerful and emotional connections between companies and their customers,” Rohr said. “Walter Ohlmann understood this recipe for success better than any person in advertising that I’ve ever come across. And I think what made Walter special is that marketing this way was never his job — it was his life. And thus he formed powerful connections with everyone in this community. We will all miss his leadership and his generosity.”
Ohlmann’s leadership went beyond the business community. He served for 18 years on the Dayton Area Dialogue on Race Relations.
“To say this is a loss not only to the dialogue but to the entire Greater Dayton community is an egregious understatement,” U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice said, referring to Ohlmann’s death.
“He is one of those very few people of which it can truly be said he left his community a far better, far more caring place for his having lived and worked within it.”
Ohlmann was a long standing member of American Advertising Federation-Dayton, serving on many committees and on the Board of Directors. He was awarded the AAF Silver Medal in 1995 and was honored multiple times in the Mercury Awards.
He also was active in the Better Business Bureau, Hospice of Dayton, Temple Israel, Kettering Medical Center Foundation, Wright Image Group and Jewish War Veterans, according to his company.
“He exemplified integrity, generosity, and compassion and was beloved by all who knew him. Our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones during this time,” the American Advertising Federation-Dayton said in a release.
Ohlmann’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Temple Israel and is open to the public. The interment service will follow at Riverview Cemetery. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Temple Israel or Wright Image Group.
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