About Us

A 42-year advertising veteran, Larry started his career in advertising sales in 1970 at WLAP-AM/WLAP-FM.  In 1980, Larry was promoted to General Sales Manager of both Lexington market radio stations.  In 1988, he and Jim Jordan opened Jordan-Chiles.  In 2002, Chiles bought out Jim Jordan's interest in the company, then, in 2008, Chiles bought Meridian Communications and Meridian-Chiles was founded; instantly becoming one of the largest and most highly-regarded agencies in the region. Larry has an extensive record of community involvement, having served on numerous charitable campaigns and non- profit organization boards.

Andrew Chiles co-founded eLink Design with Thomas Chase Gullett in 2001, now the largest website development firm in Lexington, KY.

With over 500 websites developed and under active management, Andrew has overseen the rapid growth of eLink Design and the positioning of it as one of the premier web development and search engine marketing companies in the U.S. By closely integrating and locating eLink Design within Meridian-Chiles, eLink Design helps to uniquely position Meridian-Chiles as the definitive integrated advertising agency throughout the Southeast, years ahead of the competition in terms of expertise, website visibility, content management, branding, usability and functionality.

Jane Chiles brings over 30 years of experience to Meridian-Chiles.  Her work as a board member with over 20 nonprofit agencies positions her well for work with that sector of Meridian-Chiles clients.  Jane has extensive experience in nonprofit healthcare, particularly in government liaison work and health organization governance. Political campaigns and issue campaigns benefit from her 15 years of experience lobbying the executive and legislative branches of state government in Kentucky.  Jane serves as Secretary of the Corporation for Meridian-Chiles and, along with her husband Larry and Mary Ellen Slone, provides visionary input to assure continuous improvement of the agency and its work with its clients.

Marty is a native Lexingtonian, he graduated from Lexington Catholic High School in 1996, and later attended the University Of Mississippi, in Oxford, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Following graduation, Marty returned to Lexington to work as an Account Manager at WDKY-TV/Fox 56. A highly organized and dynamic leader, Marty now serves on the management team, where his experience spans many functions at the agency, including new business development, print production management, special events coordination and project management for a myriad of clients. Marty is extremely involved in numerous charitable and civic organizations in our community.

Linda has over 30 years experience in marketing, including 14 years in print production. As the former manager of printing of the Kentucky Council of State Governments, she handled a myriad of projects that demanded quality printing at the best possible cost. Prior to the merge Linda joined Meridian in 1999 as Print Production Manager and oversees production of all printed materials for agency clients and is responsible for all University of Kentucky materials printed through the existing contract.

Linda has an excellent reputation for vendor-client integrity and has built strong relationships with a wide network of printers since joining Meridian-Chiles. She was awarded the prestigious recognition as National Print Buyer of the Year in 2004.

Thomas Chase Gullett co-founded eLink Design Inc. with Andrew Chiles in 2001.  The main principle of eLink Design has been to create an excellent online presence for each client, while offering exemplary customer service.  Prior to starting eLink Design, he founded Intelliwire LLC., a hosting company, and currently manages Gullett Family Properties, LLC. 

Chase is driven by many factors in his life, but family has been and always will be the most important.  When not with his wonderful family, Chase is usually working. He specifically enjoys the latest and greatest technology, and is always looking to apply that technology at eLink Design and Intelliwire.

Don is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he earned a Bachelor’s of science degree in telecommunications.  He has been working in the web design field since 1998.  In 2002, he founded Don Johnson Design, LLC., a company that specialized in search engine optimization (SEO), web design and internet marketing.  Don became one of the first “Certified SEO Analysts” to graduate from the program and the first from this region of the country.  

In May 2007, Don sold his company to eLink Design and came on board as the Director of Internet Marketing. Over the years, he has developed a passion for combining search engine optimization and unique web design.  He understands the client’s perspective and how a great website can add to the value of a business.

Susie Knouff serves as Chief Operating Officer at Meridian-Chiles, and has worked for the company for over 18 years. She processes all clients’ billing and reconciles the media and production invoices. Her 30+ years experience in office management makes her the go-to person for administrative matters and sound business advice.  Susie’s organizational skills and attention to detail are without compare, making her an instrumental member of the Meridian-Chiles team. Susie’s other core responsibility is the health and well-being of Abigail Knouff, beloved pup and unofficial mascot for the agency.

Bryan graduated from Spring Hill College in 1998, with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. He has worked at Meridian-Chiles for more than five years, and is a seasoned media planner and buyer with both regional and national experience.  Bryan has planned and negotiated programs for American Airlines, Verizon DSL, JC Penney and Fazoli’s.  He specializes in creative, strategic media campaigns.
 
Bryan’s responsibilities include strategic marketing communications planning and implementation, research, situation analysis, developing goals and objectives, marketing budgets and evaluation. Bryan enjoys an unparalleled relationship with the Kentucky media community, earning an outstanding reputation throughout the industry.

Barb Sallee broke into the advertising business as a copywriter at WFMI-FM. Given the opportunity to focus on the creative side of the business at Saybrook Advertising, she worked as a researcher and copywriter for eight years. At the urging of a friend, Barb showed up at the doors of Jordan-Chiles in 1996 - not knowing better, they hired her.

Barb brings keen strategic insight to the task of solving clients' marketing problems, a skill that has helped her create work for clients ranging from large corporations to small, family-run businesses. She has also been very active in working with charitable organizations.

Kevin Wathen serves as Vice President of Creative Services at Meridian-Chiles. With more than 20 years experience in commercial broadcast production, Kevin manages pre-production, shooting and post-production of all video and commercial production at InnerPost, a full-service video editing studio located in the Meridian-Chiles complex.

Kevin is an award-winning editor receiving numerous ADDY awards for his commercial creativity and production. He has overseen broadcast production for clients in a verity of sectors, including automotive, financial, food service and a number of public service and charitable organizations.

Justin Webb is an Emmy Award-winning graphics and animation specialist. He began video and documentary work at age 15 at Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky, co-producing videos that aired on KET. After high school he became a production assistant with TCI's local origination channel in Lexington. Justin went on to work at WYMT-TV in Hazard, Kentucky as a broadcast director and commercial producer where he helped to build Eastern Kentucky's largest video editing and graphics production studio. Justin later worked as a motion graphics designer/animator and Creative Services Director at WKYT-TV in Lexington, before coming on board at Meridian Chiles in 2008. His experience and knowledge of digital post production editing, graphics and animation is unparalleled in this market.

Art Director

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Mental and emotional well being