Linda Arnold

2018 Inductee

Linda Arnold is the founder and former chairman & CEO of The Arnold Agency, a multi-state advertising, public relations and governmental relations company that grew to have offices in Washington, D.C., Montana and West Virginia.
Specializing in health care marketing, telecommunications, banking, energy and franchised businesses, the firm’s reach included clients in various states, including Hawaii. Many of those remain, following Arnold’s sale of the agency to a national holding company.
Arnold is also a syndicated columnist and the author of two books. Her syndicated column, “Live Life Fully,” has been in publication for ten years and appears in newspapers across the country and online, reaching 500,000 readers on a regular basis. As a motivational speaker, she has an upcoming TEDx talk in the works.
She is the former director of communications and press secretary for John D. Rockefeller IV during his tenure as Governor, and has more than 25 years of experience working with the media on a regional and national basis. She was also on the ground floor of the launch of the Wisdom Network and served as an on-air television host for the channel.
Arnold holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, along with two master’s degrees – an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Psychological Counseling. She is a recipient of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award from Ernst & Young and has been recognized with industry awards from the American Advertising Federation and Public Relations Society of America, including more than 200 Addy, Crystal and Telly awards for the agency.
She has been honored as a “Woman of Achievement” by the YWCA, inducted into the P.I. Reed Society at West Virginia University and has served on the visiting committee of the Reed College of Media at WVU. She is also a recipient of the “Who’s Who in West Virginia Business” award from The State Journal and has been inducted into the Marshall University Business Hall of Fame.
Arnold has received awards for her syndicated column and has served on numerous civic, community and professional boards over the years, including service as a bank director and as a trustee for the Nature Conservancy, among others. She’s also an Honorary Member of the Marine Corps League.
And, just to show she’s not all work and no play, she won a first place trophy in West Virginia’s first “Dancing With the Stars” competition for her rendition of the Argentine Tango! Arnold is a native West Virginian – and very proud of her roots. She remains grateful to her family, friends and colleagues for their support and encouragement along the way, as she credits that “special sauce” West Virginians share to help one another.
She and her husband, John Catselis, divide their time between their homes in the mountains of West Virginia and the beaches of Coastal Carolina. They enjoy sailing and traveling – having visited all 50 states and most of the continents – with Antarctica being a favorite!
As Arnold often says, “life is not a dress rehearsal.” She strives every day to serve in the best possible way -- and to honor the title of her column by “living life fully.”