FBI CHARLOTTE HONORS NORTH CAROLINA OUTDOOR ADVERTISING ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC-SAFETY PARTNERSHIP

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — FBI Charlotte has selected the North Carolina Outdoor Advertising Association as the state’s 2025 recipient of the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award, recognizing a partnership that has helped place missing-person alerts, fugitive notices and other time-sensitive public-safety messages before millions of drivers across North Carolina.

The North Carolina Outdoor Advertising Association, known as NCOAA, has worked with the FBI Charlotte Field Office since 2020. The statewide trade association represents outdoor advertising operators across North Carolina and has provided digital billboard space to support FBI public-awareness and investigative efforts.

FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis said the association’s contribution has strengthened the bureau’s ability to reach the public during investigations and emergencies. Digital billboards can rapidly place photographs, names and public-safety information in heavily traveled areas, expanding the reach of alerts beyond traditional media and law-enforcement channels.

The partnership has been used to display information involving missing children, wanted fugitives and critical crime alerts. Those public messages can generate tips from motorists and other members of the community who may recognize a person or information connected to an investigation.

The effectiveness of that approach depends on speed and visibility. Digital outdoor advertising networks can update displays quickly and distribute the same message across multiple locations, allowing law enforcement to reach large numbers of people during periods when public assistance may be especially important.

NCOAA Executive Director TJ Bugbee said the association’s members view public-service messaging as part of their broader role within the communities they serve. Through the association’s network, participating operators can place urgent FBI messages before motorists throughout North Carolina.

Davis presented the Director’s Community Leadership Award to Bugbee and NCOAA President Chris Colvin of Lamar Advertising on September 29, 2026.

The award recognizes more than a single advertising campaign. FBI Charlotte has worked with NCOAA for approximately six years, making the relationship an established communications partnership rather than a one-time public-service effort.

The FBI established the Director’s Community Leadership Award program in 1990 to recognize individuals and organizations that make significant contributions to their communities in areas connected to the bureau’s mission. Those areas include terrorism prevention, cybersecurity, drug and gang prevention, violence prevention and public education.

For FBI Charlotte, the NCOAA partnership provides a direct connection between investigative operations and a communications network capable of reaching residents throughout the state. When investigators need assistance locating a missing child, identifying a fugitive or circulating an urgent warning, billboard operators can help move that information from law enforcement systems into public view.

That capability can be particularly important in cases where time is critical. Missing-person investigations, fugitive searches and urgent public-safety alerts can depend on rapid distribution of identifying information, and digital displays can place those messages before large numbers of people.

The 2025 Director’s Community Leadership Award recognizes the North Carolina Outdoor Advertising Association for turning commercial advertising infrastructure into a recurring public-safety resource and for maintaining that cooperation with FBI Charlotte since 2020.

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