New LSCO marketing manager is at home in Orange County

Daniel McLemore knows he found his work home at LSCO. He only has to spend 15 minutes now to travel from his residence in Orangefield.

As a veteran of marketing and advertising, he's not accustomed to being so close to his family. For years, he's had to travel 30 to 35 miles to his office.

McLemore, an Orangefield resident, is the new LSCO director of marketing and communications. Before he lived in Orangefield, he lived in Bridge City. He and his wife, Chelsea, have a daughter, 8-year-old Lorelei, and a son, 6-year-old Jensen. "They are Bobcats through and through," he said.

He grew up from Nederland and graduated from high school there before heading on to Lamar University in Beaumont. "I was one of the rare kids that went to college knowing what I wanted to do," he said. "I wanted to be creative."

Her pursued his creativity in television and communications, graduating with a BS in communications with a concentration in advertising and marketing. He later earned a master's of business administration (MBA) degree from Lamar in marketing and management.

After working with a couple of television stations making commercial videos, he decided to go full-time into advertising and marketing with Cornerstone Media in Beaumont. There, he used his skills in copywriting, graphic arts, and marketing.

His wife, who is also a graphic artist, was working at Lamar and saw that the university's marketing and communications team had an open position. He applied and was hired by the now-retired director, Brian Sattler. McLemore worked his way up at Lamar to become associate director of marketing and communications.

During that time, he and his wife started a family and she began working part-time as a graphic artist. Currently, she works at Bridge Point Fellowship Church, where he is also active.

After working for years at Lamar, he started working with a good friend who is an executive at the Calcasieu Teachers and Employees Credit Union in Lake Charles. The friend asked for help, and McLemore's assistance turned into a full-time job and a position as vice president of marketing.

But recently, when the LSCO position became open, McLemore knew he had a chance to get back to promoting education with an opportunity to work close to home.

Education marketing is "fun and engaging," he said. And LSCO is in an exciting phase as it keeps growing to meet the area's demand for industrial training.

"I've always believed in education and what education can do for a person," he said.

LSCO is now offering many practical training courses to work in the region's petrochemical industry and oil refineries. "We have a lot of hands-on training that other places don't have," he said.

But it isn't all career training at LSCO, either. He said the school is perfect for college-bound students to begin at locally to get credits that will transfer to any accredited university.

LSCO is now one of the fastest-growing public colleges in Texas. The school is growing in downtown Orange and is even expanding into Lumberton. LSCO has a new 55,000 square foot, $38.1 million academic building being constructed off Green Avenue in Orange between Fourth and Fifth Streets.

Plus, the historic brick First Baptist Church on Green Avenue and Fifth Street has been acquired by the college and is being converted for use as a reception center and a one-stop center for registering, advising, and financial aid. McLemore said the historic aspects of the church with its unique features will be incorporated into the new center.

"There's a lot to be excited about at this campus," he said.