GO Agency Team
MICAH GAUDIO, President
Micah graduated from Liberty University with a double major in Communications and Advertising/Public Relations. He worked for some of the largest ad agencies in Tampa, Florida before returning to Smith Mountain Lake in 2000. During his career, Micah took on several roles in the corporate marketing community: a Senior Account Executive, Creative Director and even a Global Marketing Director for GE Medical Systems. He was also named one of the Top 20 business professionals under the age of 40 by the Blue Ridge Business Journal in 2003 and was the youngest professional to be featured. |
 |
Micah also served on the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and as Marketing/PR Chairman for three years. He was instrumental in bringing the first Business Expo to Franklin County, developing a successful “Chamber Champions” program, and he also served as PR Chairman for the SML Charity Home Tour for those three years while the event enjoyed its biggest gains to date. In addition, Micah served on the Board of Directors for the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce from 2005-2007.
In 2004, Micah sold his interest in the first magazine he founded, Lynchburg Living. A few years later, in 2007, he sold another successful publication, Smith Mountain Laker Magazine, to the Times World Corporation. With part of the proceeds of the sale to Times World Corp, Micah made significant contributions to help establish the Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy, a private education facility for grades K-7, which opened its doors to students in the fall of 2008.
In the last few years Micah has focused on growing GO Agency. Recent successful projects developed by the company include the “Closer Than You Think” marketing campaign for the SML Chamber of Commerce and the “Buy Now Roanoke” awareness campaign for the Roanoke Regional Homebuilders Association.
In addition to managing his advertising firm, Micah currently owns WakeNSkate.com, the third largest pro wakeboard shop on the east coast, and plans to build the first wakeboard cable park on the east coast at SML. He is married to Shannon Gaudio and has two children.
RENAE ANGEL, CFO
Renae is the team member who monitors client campaigns to be sure the media placements occur as intended and are fairly billed. As the GO Agency’s resident number cruncher, she makes sure the results of marketing campaigns are documented and clearly reported. Renae resides in Bedford County with her husband and two children.
JENNIFER CHURCH, Art Director
Jennifer graduated from Clemson University with a BS degree in Graphic Communications. In addition to the extensive printing and pre-press knowledge acquired from her formal education, Jennifer’s experience in computer-aided graphic design helps her form a well-rounded approach to all design projects. Her 15 years of experience in the printing and creative advertising industry has afforded Jennifer the opportunity to work in many areas of print design, including screen printing, package and specialty printing, as well as traditional lithography. Jennifer has won many industry awards for creative design projects completed while working for well-known advertising agencies in Greenville, SC, and Harlingen, TX, as well as in her freelance career. Jennifer and her husband David live on the Lake with their two children, Thomas (13) and Cameron (11).
AMANDA WOODS, Web Developer
Amanda joins the GO team after an impressive career with LuLu Publishing in Raleigh, N.C., where she worked since 2006. She manages all content management systems for GO including Joomla and WordPress sites. She currently lives in Ferrum and is enjoying the shorter commute to GO.
KAREN CROMWELL, Sales Manager
Karen, an award-winning sales specialist with more than 15 years of experience, joined the GO Agency as an account executive in 2007. Karen was raised in the Bay Area of California and earned an associates degree in Business Administration from De Anza College in Santa Clara, Calif. She spent seven years in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina before relocating to Smith Mountain Lake in 2006. Her professional experience includes sales positions for Sun Microsystems and Progress Software. Karen is married to Charlie and has three children.
LINDSEY WAGNON, Copywriter
Lindsey Wagnon joined GO Agency in January, 2008 as Copywriter. Lindsey holds a B.S. in Communications from Virginia Tech and is an experienced writer, journalist and videographer. Lindsey has been published in several local publications and has authored content for nationally distributed magazines and a variety of websites. Lindsey’s extracurricular pursuits include running, teaching piano, leading worship and doing ministry at her church. She lives in Rocky Mount, VA with her husband.
ANDIE GIBSON, Advertising Consultant
Andie Gibson contributed to the first issue of the Laker as a writer and copy editor and has been involved with the magazine in some capacity for every issue since. She has served as Editor of the Laker since 2005, generating story ideas, setting editorial and advertising deadlines, and managing contributing writers and photographers. She also serves as a project manager for GO Agency clients, working to assure projects are completed on time and to the client’s satisfaction. Andie earned a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Kansas in 1992 and started her career as a sports writer and copy editor at The Roanoke Times, where she earned several Virginia Press Association awards. She also held positions at the Associated Press and the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record. At the dawn of the internet era she helped launch roanoke.com and served as its marketing director. Andie was a three-year board member and 2005 president of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce. In addition to serving on several Chamber committees, she also volunteers her marketing services for numerous charities. Andie is married to Chris Gibson and has one son, Ben (7). They have made their home in Franklin County for most of the past 15 years.
JERRY HALE, Marketing and PR Consultant
Jerry holds a BS in Journalism/Advertising from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Delaware. He retired from the DuPont Company after a 33-year career as a marketing, advertising and PR executive. Since moving to the shores of the Blackwater and joining the Laker staff, Jerry has written extensively about Lake-area events and attractions. He uses Smith Mountain Lake on a daily basis year-round and is one of its most enthusiastic promoters. Jerry is a member of the SML Chamber of Commerce and is serving as Marketing Chairman for the annual Wine Festival, the chamber’s largest fundraising event. He also volunteers as a principal writer for the SML Charity Home Tour Publicity Team and has spearheaded the successful “No Wake Fireworks” event the past two years. Jerry is active in marketing strategy development for a number of area small businesses and has taught marketing skills to DuPont managers at training session in Asia, Europe, Mexico, South America and the U.S. He is married to Ferne Hale, a contributing writer for the Smith Mountain Laker.
