PRSA PDX History: 1980s and 1990s
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PRSA PDX History: 1980s and 1990s

1980s and 1990s

Chapter Presidents

1980 – Jean Bradley, APR – Jean Bradley worked for Kaiser Permanente. She was the 1988 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1981 – Rolf D. Glerum, APR – Rolf Glerum was vice president and general manager of Rockey/Marsh Public Relations when he served as chapter president. He served a two-year term on the PRSA national board. He is also past president of the Portland Advertising Federation and the Public Relations Round Table and was the 1992 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1982 – Dan O. Barnhart, APR – Dan Barnhart was the Executive Director of the Oregon Nurserymen’s Association. His name also appears in news reports related to public relations for the Oregon Symphony and other organizations.

1983 – Lucy Z. Martin, APR – Lucy Martin was head of Lucy Z. Martin and Associates. [Copyrighted article courtesy The Oregonian. All rights reserved.] She was the 1998 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1984 – William J. Cary, APR – William J. (Bill) Cary was the business editor of the Oregon Journal. When the paper was absorbed by The Oregonian, Cary joined the PR department of Georgia-Pacific. In his later years, he was ordained as an Episcopal priest.

1985 – Brian Bell, APR – Brian Bell was a vice president at Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations in Seattle and general manager of its Portland Office. He later served as a senior consultant with Rockey Hill & Knowlton. He was the 1996 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1986 – Susan Stone, APR – Susan Stone, APR, was corporate public relations manager at Tektronix, Inc., when she began her tenure as chapter president. During the year she left Tektronix, she worked for Portland Mayor Bud Clark and founded the Stone-Sheridan Group, specializing in conflict resolution and environmental issues.

1987 – Vicki Quick, APR – Vicki Quick was a public relations manager at Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. when she was elected president of the Columbia River Chapter. [Copyrighted article courtesy The Oregonian. All rights reserved.]

1988 – Jim Mitchell, APR

1989 – Mary Wilber Smith, APR

1990 – Barry Lacter, APR – Barry Lacter coordinated media relations and served as spokesperson for Louisiana-Pacific Coprporation. He went on to serve as a public relations counselor in Bend, Oregon.

1991 – Martha C. Richmond, APR – Martha Crawford was an account executive at Pihas Schmidt Westerdahl in 1987 when she was named vice president of membership services for the PRSA Columbia River Chapter. She served as president in 1991. She was the 2007 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1992 – Vicky Hastings, APR – When Vicky Hastings was president, she was founder and principal at Hastings Humble Giardini. She went on to become a senior vice president at Cole & Weber then joined Maxwell PR in 2004. She was the 1997 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1993 – Dan Zenka, APR – After serving as an account supervisor at Whitman Advertising and PR, Dan Zenka was a senior account manager for the Brady Company, based in the Netherlands, then as director of public relations and brand management for FEI Company. In 2008, he joined the Prostate Cancer Foundation, where he serves as senior vice president for communications.

1994 – Sharon VanSickle, APR – Sharon VanSickle was a founding partner of Karakas VanSickle Ouellette (KVO) Advertising and Public Relations. She received the 1995 William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1995 – Patty Farrell, APR – Patty Farrell was a senior vice president at KVO. She received the 2001 William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1996 – Gail Dundas, APR – Gail Dundas was director of public relations at the Schmidt Westerdahl group. She joined Intel in 1997. She was the 2008 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award.

1997 – Chuck Williams, APR – Chuck Williams was a communications manager at Legacy Health then served as public relations manager for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. He continued his career at Providence Health & Services and Care Oregon. He was the 2000 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, he joined Patti Atkins, APR, and Mara Woloshin, APR, Fellow PRSA, as recipients of the inaugural Olga M. Haley Mentorship Award for their leadership of the chapter’s APR program.

1998 – Rebecca Brandt, APR – Rebecca Brandt was an account supervisors for KVO Advertising and Public Relations before transitioning to being an independent PR Consultant.

1999 – Mara Woloshin, APR, Fellow PRSA – Mara Woloshin has been an adjunct instructor and faculty member at Marylhurst University and the University of Portland. She is the principal and founder of Woloshin Communications. The 2003 recipient of the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award, she was inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows in 2005. In 2014, she joined Patti Atkins, APR, and Chuck Williams, APR, as recipients of the inaugural Olga M. Haley Mentorship Award.

News Archives/Dates of Significance

April 1980 – Elizabeth Cawood is the first public relations practitioner in Eugene to become an accredited member of PRSA.

1982 – William W. Marsh receives the national Paul M. Lund Public Service Award, given to a PRSA member whose participation as a volunteer in important public activities has increased the common good and reflected credit on the society.

1985 – The PRSA Columbia River Chapter hosts the first Spotlight Awards dinner.

Oct. 29, 1986 – The first William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award was presented during the PRSA Columbia River Chapter Spotlight Awards dinner at the Portland Hilton. The honoree: William W. Marsh. [Copyrighted article courtesy The Oregonian. All rights reserved.]

Oct. 21, 1987 – The William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to Ron Schmidt during third annual Spotlight Awards ceremony. [Copyrighted article courtesy The Oregonian. All rights reserved.]

Oct. 16, 1991 – Letter from Columbia River Chapter President Martha Crawford Richmond, APR, to PRSA National noting chapter approval of a bylaw to change the chapter name to the Portland Metro Chapter. A notation on the letter indicates that the request was approved by PRSA National on Oct. 31, 1991. [Source: PRSA National Archives]

1989 – PRSA established the College of Fellows.

Oct. 1993 – The first Ron Schmidt Community Involvement Award is presented to Ray Leary of Self Enhancement, Inc. Video memories: In 2013, during the 20^th anniversary of the Ron Schmidt Award, Ray Leary shared his experience as the first recipient of the Ron Schmidt Award. He received the award during the 1993 Spotlight Awards ceremony at the Pittock Mansion.

Sept. 19, 1996 – The Portland Metro Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) welcomed 68 professionals at the first Communicators Conference at Portland State University. [Document source: Tom Unger, APR, ABC, Fellow PRSA]

1997 – IABC Board minutes report that attendance at the second annual Communicators Conference increased to 95 people – a 39% increase from 1996.

1999 – PRSA’s Portland Metro Chapter creates a vision statement and action plan. [Source: PRSA Portland Metro Chapter Archives]

Memories

1981 Chapter President and 1992 William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Rolf Glerum shares his memories of the Columbia River (now Portland Metro) Chapter of PRSA, earning the APR, working with William Marsh and public relations from the late 1960s through the 1980s.

In his own words: 1981 Portland Metro Chapter President Rolf Glerum, APR

My assignment for this piece was to write some anecdotes and experiences I remember as a past-president of the Columbia River Chapter of PRSA. Easier said than done, my friends.

I was chapter president in 1981, a year I find easy to remember because it matches my present age. But accurately recalling things that took place 34 years ago, to me at least, is a daunting task.

You’ll have to forgive me for not getting the dates correct, but two PRSA-related events particularly stand out.

It was the day when I was to take my written exam for APR accreditation. All was in order, I thought. I had studied furiously, talked to many APR colleagues, went through the orals and mock exams . . . what could possibly go wrong?

SIDEBAR: From my early days in the PR business, I refused to type on anything except my trusty Royal Manual. I detested the then-new electric typewriters, because I developed an unbreakable habit of resting my fingers on the keys while I was thinking of the next sentence. You can imagine what happened if I did that on an electric typewriter!

Now back to my story. I was working for Gerber Advertising when I took the exam. However, the exam was to be held in the offices of W.W. Marsh and Associates (ironically, my employer-to-be several years later), and was scheduled to last the greater part of the day.

I showed up bright and early with the other candidates – six of us, I think – and sat down to receive our instructions. We each were assigned a separate office and then it hit me. Nothing but electric typewriters! Not a manual to be found! I was devastated.

I could really whale on my Royal machine, but I was sure my typing speed would seriously suffer if I had to correct all my mistakes and do-overs (especially when I didn’t know quite how to do it).

So I came up with the only course of action I could think of . . . a disclaimer. Before I even began the answer to the first question, I wrote at the top of the page:

Dear Examiner: I have never used an electric typewriter and am quite unfamiliar with its operation. Please, therefore, bear with me and forgive the errors and misspellings that are bound to occur in this exam paper. Were I to correct them all, I fear I would not nearly complete the exam in the time allotted. Thank you. I can’t remember the reaction to my plea, if any, but it must have worked, because I wrote and passed the exam, even with numerous typos, with flying colors.

Incidentally, I never did use an electric typewriter. I went from my Royal Manual straight to an Apple computer. What a trip!

My second remembrance came when I served on the national PRSA Board of Directors from 1984 to 1988 (I think). A national conclave of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) was scheduled in Vancouver, B.C. and, because I was the PRSA Board member who lived the closest, I was invited to attend as a featured speaker.

I really had no idea what subject would be most appropriate to present, but after letting a few thoughts percolate for several days, I decided to “shake the bushes” a bit and introduce a little controversy.

Both of my wife’s parents were Canadian, and I don’t have an anti-Canuck bone in my body. On the other hand, they really do have a somewhat stuffy reputation (eh?) and maybe could use a little deflating from time to time.

So the topic of my speech was the suggestion that CPRS and PRSA merge into one organization, to be known as the Public Relations Society of North America (PRSNA). The main focus was built around the added efficiency and influence a combined organization could provide, especially in the emerging global economy. I don’t remember if I suggested that Mexico be added, but if it had had a PR Society in those days, why not?

Well, let me tell you, my speech created quite a stir. It was written up in the Vancouver Sun, covered by several TV stations and trade media and I sat for two or three interviews.

I felt pretty satisfied with myself . . . until I received a phone call from the national PRSA president, Barbara Hunter. Barbara was, should we say, less than happy with my speech, not necessarily the topic (although she told me later she thought it was a lousy idea), but more so that I was speaking on behalf of the PRSA Board (which was true), but neglected to share my remarks with that Board before I made them.

It was a lesson well learned and never forgotten. Always get another set of eyes and ears on any controversial subject you are going to present as your own . . . and don’t be afraid to make changes if you’re on the wrong track.

Looking back on that event, however, it still makes sense to me, if not to others. Maybe there’s a chance for the PRSNA in the future?

In her own words: 1992 Portland Metro Chapter President Vicky Hastings, APR

When I was chapter president-elect, it was decreed from national that any chapter president had to be accredited. That meant I had to take the APR exam. Yikes! I was really busy as a partner in the Hastings Humble Giardini PR firm and also a wife and mother of two young kids without a lot of time to study. The stakes were high – how would it look if the managing principal of one the largest PR firms in town failed the test? Everybody would know because I would be unable to serve as chapter president. So I hunkered down, read the texts and met with the study group. We took the test at an office downtown. I felt good about my answers on the written exam and was confident the oral exam went well. Fortunately, I passed. Whew!

When I was chapter president, PRSA board meetings were often held at office Hastings Humble Giardini shared with Young & Roehr Advertising up on Sylvan. At the time, the chapter was struggling to be profitable. We had monthly luncheons that generally broke even but board expenses were significant. So Hastings Humble Giardini paid for newsletter and membership directory printing – yes, we actually sent a printed newsletter to members in those days – covered postage and board meeting refreshments expenses, helping in any way we reasonably could. By the end of the year, the chapter’s finances were solid. While it may not sound like a large accomplishment, it’s the one I remember most vividly from those days so long ago.

Photo: In 1997, PRSA Portland Metro Chapter President Chuck Williams, APR, presented the William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award to Vicky Hastings, APR.

Historic Documents from the Portland Metro Chapter Archives

1998 Communicators Conference Brochure web

Letter asking PRSA National to approve name change from Columbia River Chapter to Portland Metro Chapter – Oct. 16, 1991

Mind Games – Ron Schmidt

Oregonian — April 12, 1987 — Placement-Referral Service – new

Oregonian — December 14, 1986 — 1986 Spotlight Awards honorees – new

Oregonian — February 29, 1996 — William Marsh Obituary

Oregonian — March 18, 1975 — Tony Bacon named president – new

Oregonian — March 22, 1984 — Career Conference – new

Oregonian — March 28, 1986 — Ron Schmidt — Oregon Arts Commission – new

Oregonian – Nov. 9, 1992 – Ron Schmidt Obituary – new

Oregonian — November 2, 1986 — Marsh Award Op-Ed – new