OMA Award Spotlight - Logan Rex
On Sunday, April 19, the Ohio Museums Association held our Annual Awards dinner to recognize the winners of our 2025 Awards of Achievement and 2025 Visual Communication Awards, in conjunction with the 2026 Annual Conference in Columbus.
During the ceremony, OMA celebrated the outstanding achievement of Ohio museums in Visual Communications, individual and institutional achievement, and the tireless work museum professionals undertake to help to advance Ohio’s museum community both locally, and on a national level.
Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting our 2025 OMA Award of Achievement winners with our OMA Award Spotlight.
OMA Award Spotlight - Awards of Achievement
The Awards of Achievement are presented to reflect the outstanding quality and caliber of work by Ohio museums and their professionals in two categories: Institutional Achievement Awards and Individual Achievement Awards.
Nominations for these awards are incredibly detailed. This in-depth process helps to illustrate how these institutions and individuals have gone “above and beyond” the normal call of duty to support their institution, serve their public and advance the cause of the museum community.
Each year, the review panel is overwhelmed by the outstanding projects, innovative programming and dedication to our field as exhibited in each of the institutional and individual nominations. Congratulations again to each of our award winners!
Today, we'll be featuring our winner for the 2025 award for Emerging Professional of the Year.
Logan Rex - Armstrong Air & Space Museum
Logan Rex’s official title is curator & communications director, a job that has him wearing two rather broad hats. In just over six years at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, he has spearheaded no less than six new discrete exhibits, including the installation of a Learjet, while concurrently managing the museum’s marketing initiatives. He also is responsible for coordinating contractors to update the theater AV equipment and gallantly deal with outdated software and technology issues in the exhibits. Logan was first hired at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in 2019 in a part-time guest services position and within a few months was hired into his current role, although he was not originally hired with communications responsibilities in mind. As the need developed to have someone focus on marketing, and to not decentralize efforts, Logan progressively picked up more marketing tasks until it was formalized into his role after he demonstrated excellence in this area.
Through Logan’s efforts, the Museum has developed a strong and growing presence on social media and has evolved a coherent marketing strategy. Just this past year alone the museum’s Facebook followers grew at a pace double that in 2024—a year of the total solar eclipse! He has created creative social campaigns that have drawn in followers and attention and has used this to partner with our local community entities as well as state and regional member organizations. Several of Logan’s collateral pieces and advertising campaigns have been recognized statewide through RUBY Awards and Citations of Excellence from the Ohio Travel Association. And the Museum’s recent Best in Show award from OMA was for our new website, which was overhauled under Logan’s supervision through a tight timeline as we needed it completed in time for the 2024 total eclipse.
At the statewide level, Logan was appointed by Governor DeWine to the State Tourism Advisory Board. This role has provided valuable opportunities to collaborate with leaders across the tourism industry and state government where Logan’s insights are shared. Logan has also been active in advancing the Museum by attending numerous annual meetings and conferences for OMA, OLHA, OTA and AASLH. In a letter of support from the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce, Logan is described as someone who consistently demonstrates an ability to connect history, culture, and storytelling with meaningful community engagement. His work extends beyond traditional museum operations and reflects a deep understanding of museums as dynamic community assets that contribute to quality of life, education, and economic vitality.”
Do you know a dynamic emerging professional, helping to lead the way for the future of museums? Be sure to nominate them for the 2026 award for Emerging Professional of the Year! Learn more here.