Our Mission: Delivering innovative and effective marketing and advertising strategies to help businesses succeed.

About Us

Born from the tried and true world of print advertising, now a strategic, full-service marketing agency with offices in Southern Pines, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh. We’re a team of experienced marketers, strategists, creatives, and developers that believe every business can be a success.

Our agency’s name, inspired by the Wright Brothers’ innovation in our beloved Old North State, pays homage to their courage, creativity, and ingenuity that introduced us to the limitless possibilities of flight. We may not be a flying machine, but we will elevate your brand to new heights.

Work At First Flight

Our best perk is our peers! We’re always looking for more problem solvers, brand builders, rule breakers, and what’s nexters. Check out our most needed roles or feel free to contact us to start a conversation.

Mike Arnebeck

DESIGNER

MinneSNOWta. It takes a hearty soul to endure those Minnesota winters, as Mike Arnebeck can attest. Fortunately for First Flight, he migrated south and has been with the company for 10 years, currently as First Flight’s lead designer. You name it, and he can design it. As Mike is also our resident funny guy, he claims his education is a “BS in BS,” but we know better. He’s whip-smart, with not just one but two degrees in multimedia. He’s also an Army veteran with a wife still serving in the Army, four children, two dogs, and two cats.  

Diane DePaul

CLIENT DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

She’s spent over three decades in New York City at the helm of media brands like Southern Living, Marie Claire and Allure. She’s a New Jersey native, a world traveler, and she’ll wipe the floor with you in a game of pool. She’s Diane DePaul, and she’s First Flight’s Client Development Specialist for New Business. Armed with a BS in Advertising from Syracuse University, Diane specializes in working with clients to achieve their brand goals while developing new and innovative ideas with her team. Plus, she makes a pretty killer guacamole. When she’s not chasing down new leads or adding stamps to her passport, you can find Diane on a long walk with her husband Tom or hanging out with rescue cats Andy and Ollie.
Katie DuCharme
Katie DuCharme

Katie DuCharme

ACCOUNT MANAGER

If you look up “people person” in the dictionary, you’ll find that picture to the left. Our stellar account manager is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Heels), where she studied Business Management and Medieval History. In addition to effortlessly maintaining client relationships with First Flight, she’s pursuing a Master of Arts in Counseling with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health. Katie likes to consider herself a true outdoorswoman, but while she’s amongst the rest of us in civilization, you’ll probably find her reading, baking, or making (another) cup of tea.