Advertising executive leaves after 30 years at Observer

Wendi Simons, senior advertising executive for the Longboat Observer and its longest-tenured employee, decided to leave her position Monday after 30 years of selling advertising on Longboat Key and St. Armands Circle.

“Matt (Walsh) and I have talked about the changes in my responsibilities over the years, and recent changes have been difficult,” Simons said. “I opted for a generous transition package.

“It has been a long ride and one that I’ve put a lot of myself into,” Simons added. “So, moving on can be a good thing. It’s whatever you make it.”

Simons, a native of South Carolina, joined the Longboat Observer when the paper had just completed its third year of operation, had seven employees and was publishing 28 pages a week under its founders Ralph, Claire and Janet Hunter. At the time, Simons was 33 years old and the paper’s first full-time sales associate.

As Hunter’s sales staff expanded, Simons remained the paper’s top-selling advertising executive. And after Hunter sold the paper in 1995 to its current owners, Simons remained the company’s top-producing sales executive for another dozen years.

“When we purchased the Longboat Observer, we held our breath and prayed that Wendi would stay with us,” said Matt Walsh, co-owner of The Observer Group Inc. “She was amazing.

“I know that Ralph, Claire and Janet started and were the heart of the Observer for its first 16 years, but in many respects you can credit Wendi with building the Longboat Observer’s strong customer base,” Walsh said.

Her specialty was customer service, Walsh said.

Fellow Longboat Observer advertising executive Laura Ritter echoed that sentiment.

“Wendi considered many of her advertisers personal friends and was dedicated to keeping them happy, “ Ritter said. “Wendi had a special connection with her clients that was more like a family working together than it was a customer/salesperson relationship.”

Whenever it looked like Longboat Key’s advertising sales opportunities were contracting, Simons bounced back with new business. Experience taught her, Walsh said, “that something new always comes along.”

Said Simons on Tuesday: “After working full-time for more than 45 years, 30 of them at the Observers, I’m ready to take some pressure off and get to feel like dancing again. Being in sales is time-consuming and eventually exhausting, so I plan to take some time to re-connect with friends I have not been with for years, finally get my French up to speed and pay attention to my spiritual as well as my mental and physical needs and resources.  

“I’ve seen quite a bit of the world,” Simons added, “and now a slower pace gives a person time to really enjoy her surroundings and, I hope, do some good in this world.”