My Childhood & Family

I was born in San Diego, California, in September of 1996, but soon after my birth my family and I moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. My father was an assistant pastor at a church there for ten years. I grew up loving the city and the north. From a young age, I have been a sports fan, but mostly basketball and football. I grew up in a good home, and family is very important to me. This year in 2021, my parents celebrated 30 years of marriage. I am one of four children, having an older sister and two younger brothers.

 

The Move to the South

When I was 11 years old, my family moved to the small town Batesville, Arkansas. My father became the pastor of White Drive Baptist Church in a town with a population of less than 10,000 people. It was not long after our move that I began to take greater interest in technology and graphic design. I had my own computer, and knew how to use it better than most adults. When I was 13, my uncle began teaching me Adobe Photoshop. Although he moved away not long after that, I continued teaching myself. Through much trial and error, my design skills improved to a level where I would do projects for our church, some family, and some friends that had needs. I remained in Batesville all the way through high school, working various jobs including lawn care, power-washing houses, graphic design, and other odd jobs just to make some extra cash. I grew up in a pastor's home, with strong family values and morals based on the Bible. My upbringing has helped me be a better leader and community connection.

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My Education

I have been told I was very smart as a child. I was very creative, quiet, and good at just listening. I struggled with speaking clearly and had to go through speech therapy for a few years; however, that strong foundation in English put me ahead of my class by the time the courses were complete. I had a private Christian education from preschool all the way through 12th grade, attending a number of different schools that worked best for our family. I always earned great grades, but excelled more in both math and English. By maintaining very specific high standards in education in 4th-6th grade, 7th-9th grade, and 10th-12th grade, I repeatedly earned awards that put me on a national list with Presidential recognition for success in my studies. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA, and enrolled in a Bible college in Oklahoma City in the fall of 2015.

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The Move to Oklahoma City

I moved to Oklahoma City a few months after graduating high school, studying Youth Ministries  and Community Outreach at Heartland Baptist Bible College. It was there that I began dating a beautiful young lady named Maranda Weaver, who would later become my wife. During my second year, I was employed by the college to handle their graphic design and various media projects. I loved living in the city, with the higher energy and faster pace. After I completed two years there, I moved back to Batesville to start my own design business, work in the church that my father pastored, and get married to the love of my life.

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Back to Batesville

In the summer of 2017, I moved back to Batesville, Arkansas. I officially launched "Ryan Longo Design" as my own graphic design business that August, and only a few months later was married. Over the next few years, my graphic design business had its ups and downs. At the beginning of 2020, I decided that rather than using my expertise to be a smaller part of a lot of businesses, I'd rather be a larger part of one business. I became the sales and marketing manager at a new local discount retail store. Things were going well there, but after only about a month of being in business, the owner suddenly had a brain issue. He remained in the hospital with countless scans and procedures, and after over a month of no real progress, he passed away. The family decided to close the business, and I needed to find somewhere else to work. I went back to doing graphic design for various businesses, while also continuing to work for my church. Getting hired in marketing and design in a small town during the covid-19 was no easy task, and with a number of attempts, it was just bad timing for most businesses.

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Wood Family Dealerships

In August of 2020, a marketing manager position opened up at Wood Family Dealerships in our town. The official names of the two dealerships were "Stanley Wood Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac" and "Scott Wood Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram." This was my first job in the auto industry, but I learned quickly. I had incredible success in this position while I was there, and I still have a good relationship with the dealership and other managers there.

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Now to Tulsa

My wife and I with our daughter now live in Owasso just outside of Tulsa and absolutely love with the area. My wife is in pursuit of her nursing degree, and we did not want to be held back by the limitations of our small town of Batesville. Owasso/Tulsa provides much greater options for her career path, as well as great options for mine. Because of my experience and success in marketing, design, and consulting, I am looking to stay in this kind of position. To learn more about my work experience, click here. 

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This is a general overview of my personal story, and I hope that it gave a little further insight into my background. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a meeting, please reach out to me.

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