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By DEREK REDD
Olivia Litman lives by a simple credo: Don't stop.
The marketing director for Visit Wheeling, WV - the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau - Litman is on an everlasting mission to promote and market the Friendly City as a great place to visit and to live. And that's something that the Ohio County native has known since childhood.
Now she wants to make sure everyone else understands that, too. She laughs when she hears anyone say that there's nothing to do in the Friendly City.
"In my time at the CVB, we used to have intern after intern to assist to keep our calendar of events updated," she said. "One of those interns eventually became part of our full-time staff because of just how much there is to do and to make sure we know about them all."
Litman's role at the CVB can take her all around the city. Some days, she might stick around the office, chatting with visitors and managing advertising cold calls. Other days, she sitting on planning committees for new events, brainstorming about new projects or simply strolling around the city for inspiration.
Litman said she never knew what the perfect job was until she found the one she currently holds. She spent her first professional years in sales abroad and in Wheeling after graduating from Marshall University. One day, she was introduced to Denny Magruder, the recently retired executive director of WesBanco Arena and the Capitol Theatre. Magruder suggested Litman talk to CVB Executive Director Frank O'Brien, and soon she joined that team.
"My job quickly ignited my love for the area and the desire to work to make it a better place," she said. "My first day in office, a group of ladies came in and discussed how much they love visiting here and they meet in Wheeling every year as a group.
"Their excitement to be here reminded me of what I have always wanted to do," Litman added, "which is have fun and love life and everything it offers."
These days it is a nonstop life for Litman, who lives in Ohio County with husband Noah and children Lyla, 15, Cece, 10, and Willie, 5. Yet she embraces that, just like her parents did, and she surrounds herself with show don't shy away from hard work or difficult situations.
It's where she developed that motto of "Don't stop."
"Keep trying," Litman said, "and learn along the way."
It was the loss of both her parents in 2012 that led her to a valuable lesson. They lived lived to the fullest, she said, and without hesitation. Their passing showed her that she shouldn't take any moment in life, or the people that are in that life, for granted.
"So I try to give my all everyday to manifest positivity for myself, but hopefully do that for others as well," she said. "I take chances to learn from them or succeed and to make an impact to those around me and lead by example."
Over the last 15 years with the CVB, Litman has seen Wheeling grow and has seen people return to the Friendly City or move there for the first time. It makes her happy to know that that so many people wake up every day thinking about how they can make Wheeling a better place. That's something young people just starting in the working world can do, too, she said. And it doesn't matter what job they may have in those first years.
"You are important, no matter what job you have," she said. "You are important to the success of yourself, the company and your city. Sometimes the jobs no one wants are the jobs that are the most impactful.
"Those working the registers, waiting the tables and especially those making the beds and cleaning the rooms are those that will make the most impact in another's day."
Litman sees plenty of great days ahead in Wheeling. With the growth seen these days - new apartment buildings rising from the ground, new businesses entering the city, new sidewalks being built - she believes the possibilities are endless.
"In my 15 years working with Visit Wheeling, in partnership with many city entities and our state tourism department, we are on fire," she said. "Wheeling and Ohio County have never seen so much development and cranes in the sky and West Virginia is still 'Wild and Wonderful.'"