Ray Ackerman

Ray Ackerman joined the company that would become Ackerman McQueen in 1952. At the time, the George W. Knox advertising agency was comprised of a handful of people and was billing only about a quarter of a million dollars a year. Ray took what money he had and bought the company two years later. He spent the next four decades nurturing it, growing it and sometimes suffering with it in a tough industry. The company survived and flourished in those earlier years largely due to many early mornings that Ray spent alone on the road, selling small projects piece by piece. Ackerman McQueen maintains a strong relationship with the Oklahoma City community, which was also greatly facilitated by Ray’s efforts. Over the years, he contributed to the agency as general chairman and president and to the community as a board member of the following: National Finals Rodeo, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, Allied Arts, Kirkpatrick Museum Center, St. Anthony Hospital Foundation, Better Business Bureau, Salvation Army, Science Museum of Oklahoma and Rotary Club 29 among many others. He was also on the Board of Trustees of OCU for more than 20 years. In 1992, Ray retired from active leadership and served the company as Chairman Emeritus until his death in 2012.