40 Under 40: Emma Starett

A natural leader, Emma Starett graduated high school with more than 35 credit hours of college courses. She then graduated college Magna Cum Laude in two and a half years, with a four-year degree in business and marketing. At the age of 19 and with an entrepreneurial spirit, she launched her own marketing business dubbed East Marketing before joining Mountaineer RV & Outdoor Center.

Mountaineer RV & Outdoor Center is young itself, having just completed its sixth year in business and having opened a second location in 2023. Emma contributed to the marketing of the second location’s branding campaign through geo-fencing, ad campaigns, digital footprints and video content creation.

“Emma has a very organic approach that depicts her abilities and skill set,” a nominator wrote. “Upon launching the second location for Mountaineer RV, the company faced challenges in gaining traction of this new location with its local and surrounding communities. Emma began an all-out pursuit of an innovative branding campaign that has been of great success. The customer base has extended far beyond the regional area of West Virginia, well into Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina within a short year’s time period.”

In her role, Emma manages a quarter-million-dollar marketing budget and is responsible for the overall direction of Mountaineer RV’s marketing tactics and platforms, including two Facebook accounts, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, content creation, ad design and campaigns, plus overall website and Google business accounts for each location.

The marketing initiatives Emma has employed have no doubt helped lead to Mountaineer RV recently being nominated as one of the Top 50 RV Dealers in the nation. Her “Experience the Difference” campaign has targeted families searching for something different while saving money overall.

“Within one year’s time, our marketing efforts, driven by Emma, have reached millions across the platforms. These efforts have reached all up and down the East Coast, leading West as well and expanding our customer base. We are thankful to have Emma’s leadership and innovative abilities driving behind the scenes to show exactly who Mountaineer RV is and what we have to offer the
RV industry.”

Emma looks to draw other young people to careers in the industry by guiding young interns under her, with a heart to pass along the skills she has acquired.

Emma loves to spend time with her friends and family outside of work. She is a talented singer, as well as being gifted with music and instruments. She enjoys a beautiful sunset, loves to laugh and enjoys people.

Emma’s advice for upcoming leaders in the RV space:

“Never stop learning. I would advise them to try every avenue on any project, task and/or endeavor, to see what works best for them and their company. Do not fear the errors and mistakes that come with trying new tactics, for this will only improve and narrow what makes your business uniquely stand out and compete with those around you. Even outside of the RV industry, it is important to seek out continuous knowledge to become a successful, efficient and trustworthy leader.”