Advertising Director Reflects on 20 Years at West Of
by Lindsey Chambers | Advertising Director
Being a salesperson at a community newspaper is so much more than just closing a deal or pocketing a commission. For me, it’s about creating lasting connections between the readers and the businesses that advertise within these pages. In 2005, I never could have imagined that walking into the West Of office would give me a sense of community that would change my life forever. It led to lasting friendships, meaningful business connections, and meeting my future husband, Lorne Chambers.
Before officially joining the West Of sales team, I was studying Media Communications at the College of Charleston. When my professor, Chris Lamb, told us a former CofC student was starting a newspaper for West Ashley and looking for interns, I was eager to learn more about the world of newspaper publishing. I jumped at the opportunity and a few days later, walked into the West Of office for an interview just as the first issue of the paper was being delivered.
I remember Lorne’s excitement. I was drawn to his passion and vision for the community. He wasn’t just starting a newspaper; he was giving an often-overlooked part of Charleston a voice. Without any outside investors, family wealth, or business partners, Lorne built West Of from the ground up. It was inspiring. The whole West Of team was inspiring. They were only a few years older than me and were forging ahead bravely into the abyss and doing it their way. From the start, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. They immediately accepted me as a member of the team. We had a lot of fun in those days. We worked hard and played hard.
A Newspaper with Real Heart
When I graduated, Lorne offered me a full-time job selling ads for the paper. Honestly, I wasn’t overly thrilled about the prospect, but it was a real job, one where I would get an actual paycheck. I remember telling him, “But I’m not a sales-y person.” He reassured me that this role was different—it wasn’t just about getting signatures, collecting money, and walking away. It was about building lasting relationships and helping businesses grow within our community. He said there’s a kind of mutually-assured success that comes with advertising in a local newspaper.
I took the job. And not long after I officially began working here, I walked into the West Of office carrying a scrawny, flea-ridden Jack Russell terrier mix I had found running in the street. I wanted to clean him up and find a home for him. But as it turned out, he was severely heartworm-positive and would not survive without several high-cost treatments. With tight finances just out of college, I just didn’t see how I could make it happen.
That’s when Lorne organized a fundraiser with our coworkers and friends at Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge, across the
street from our office. He pledged to match any funds raised and thanks to the generosity of my friends and the West Of team, I was able to get the pup the treatment he needed.
I named him “Westie” in honor of the paper that had saved his life. And I did end up finding him a good home. It was with me!
About a year or so later, Lorne and I had our first official date at the now-closed Al Di La in Avondale (R.I.P). We dated for more than five years before getting married in 2013. We’ve now had four dogs together, including Westie, who recovered fully from his heartworms and went on to have a long, happy life before passing away a couple of years ago. Lorne had local artist Lisa Shimko immortalize him with a painting that hangs in our home. Now, we just have the one dog, Margot, our 13-year-old bulldog/boxer mix, who rules the office with an iron paw.
Changing Times, Turning Pages
When I first started working at West Of, the media landscape was very different. There was fierce competition from radio, TV, and other print outlets. Newsstands were filled with publications, and the future of print media seemed secure. But then social media marketing exploded, offering cheap advertising with seemingly endless views.
It was a little scary. Then it became clear that getting a thumbs up or heart on a post might boost the ego for a moment, but it can’t compete with the true community engagement you get with a neighborhood newspaper like West Of.
I love walking into Gene’s Haufbrau and seeing old newspaper clippings on the wall from past West Of articles featuring friends decked out in lederhosen and dirndl for Oktoberfest. Even though those papers have yellowed with time, they’ve outlasted millions of social media posts that are gone in a swipe of a finger.
That’s not to say the changes in the media world didn’t impact our business. In 2018, we knew we needed to adapt if we were going to keep West Of going. We decided to reduce our frequency and become a monthly, rebranding ourselves as the West Of Free Press. Of course, everyone still knows us as West Of (and that’s what we still call it, too!). But as a monthly, we knew we could do a better job and offer more in-depth coverage of the issues facing West Ashley instead of trying to “break news,” which was never our role anyway. But we needed our advertisers to be on board if we were going to make the switch to a monthly.
I remember Lorne and I going to Charles Towne Landing near our home in West Ashley to talk about the future of our business. We made a list of our clients; some were weekly, some were bi-weekly, and some were once a month. We estimated that we could probably count on about 60 percent of them to continue advertising once we made the change. To our amazement, 100 percent stayed onboard. It was a testament to the bond between West Of and the community and the importance of building long-lasting business relationships.
For West Of, as we look ahead to our next 20 years, I’m confident we will continue to adapt as long as West Ashley continues to support the newspaper. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all of those who have supported us for the last two decades.
A Heartfelt Thank you
Flipping through our latest issue, I take pride in the fact that quite a few of our longtime advertisers are also celebrating milestone anniversaries this year: Ledford’s Termite & Pest Control just hit their golden anniversary of 50 years; Barks N Bubbles is now old enough to vote and buy cigarettes, A&A Insurance has 25 years under their belt, Consign Charleston celebrates their sweet 16, Swig and Swine hit 10 years last year, Mondo’s has been serving up Italian food for over 25 years; Clelia’s Guitar Studio is over 30 years old; as the first family of SC barbecue, Bessinger’s is quickly approaching the century mark, and CT Lowndes is celebrating 175 years, with their first and current office being located in West Ashley!
Today, we have nearly 20 clients who have consistently advertised with us for over a decade. Some as many as 15 years, and a handful have been with us since our very first issue in 2005. We asked them why it has been important to be a part of West Ashley’s community newspaper all these years. Here’s what some of them had to say:
