Henry, Rene A. 1933–

(Rene Arthur Henry)

PERSONAL: Born June 13, 1933, in Charleston, WV; son of Rene A. (in sales) and Lillian E. (a church organist) Henry; married Gillian M. Thompson, September 20, 1959 (divorced, 1972); children: Deborah Marie, Bruce R. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: College of William and Mary, A.B., 1954; West Virginia University, graduate study; also attended Harvard University. Politics: "Republican and Democrat." Religion: Episcopalian. Hobbies and other interests: Tennis, photography.

ADDRESSES: Home—Seattle, WA. Office—c/o Innovative Communication Corp., 777 S. Flagler Dr., Ste. 1201-E, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. E-mail—[email protected]

CAREER: Flournoy & Gibbs, Toledo, OH, account executive, 1956–59; Lennen & Newell, Inc., San Francisco, CA, publicity director, 1959–67; Office of Daniel J. Edelman, Inc., senior vice president and director of Los Angeles office, 1967–70; Rene A. Henry, Jr., Inc., Los Angeles, president, 1970–74; Allen, Ingersoll, Segal & Henry, Inc., Los Angeles, partner, 1974–75; ICPR, Los Angeles, principal, 1975–81; independent management and sports marketing consultant, 1981–86; National Institute of Building Sciences, Washington, DC, president and chief executive officer, 1986–88; U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC, special assistant to director of Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 1989–91; Texas A&M University, College Station, executive director of university relations, 1991–96; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Philadelphia, PA, director of Office of Communications and Government Relations, 1996–2001; Innovative Communication Corp., West Palm Beach, FL, counselor to the chair, president, and chief executive officer, 2003–. Council of Housing Producers, Los Angeles, executive director, 1968–75. U.S. Olympic Committee, member, 1981–85; President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, special advisor to the chairperson, 1981–91; consultant to National Fitness Foundation, International Children's Museum, and Center for Crisis Public Relations and Litigation, Lehigh University. Military service: U.S. Army, Armored Division; became first lieutenant. Also served in U.S. Army Reserve.

MEMBER: Public Relations Society of America (fellow; chair of College of Fellows, 2001; past member of executive board of environmental section; past member of board of directors, Los Angeles and Philadelphia chapters), Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sigma Nu.

AWARDS, HONORS: Decorated knight of honor, Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaler, 2003; Alumni Service Award, College of William and Mary, 2004; Paul M. Lund Award for Public Service, Public Relations Society of America, 2006, as well as three earlier Silver Anvil Awards and Distinguished Citizen Award from Los Angeles chapter; Clarion Award, human rights category, Women in Communications; three CEBA Awards of Excellence, World Institute of Black Communications; two CINE Golden Eagles, Council on International Nontheatrical Events; one silver and two bronze medals, WorldFest Houston International Film Festival.

WRITINGS:

How to Profitably Buy and Sell Land, Wiley (New York, NY), 1977.

(Coauthor) MIUS and You: The Developer Looks at a New Utility Concept, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Washington, DC), 1979.

Marketing Public Relations, Iowa State University Press (Ames, IA), 1995.

(Coauthor) Bears Handbook: Stories, Stats, and Stuff about Baylor University Football, Midwest Publishing Division, Wichita Eagle (Wichita, KS), 1996.

You'd Better Have a Hose if You Want to Put Out the Fire: The Complete Guide to Crisis and Risk Communications, Gollywobbler Productions (Philadelphia, PA), 2000.

Offsides! Fred Wyant's Provocative Look inside the National Football League, Xlibris (Philadelphia, PA), 2001.

Writer, executive producer, and director of television specials and videotapes, including George Bush Talks about His Presidential Library, 1992, Clinton and Congress, 1995, and Marching to the Beat, 1995. Author of opinion pieces to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS: Rene A. Henry once told CA: "My primary goal as a liberal arts major was to author at least five books, each requiring a different discipline. I almost did not write my first book, How to Profitably Buy and Sell Land, because I wanted to do a book about public relations first."

Henry later added: "I write to inform and communicate. My style is journalistic, especially with books.

"Recent op/ed and opinion pieces have related to customer service, crisis management and communications, and international sports. Recent books and future books relate to these causes and to informing the public about what to do and how to do it.

"Motivation is easy, especially in customer service with a public and a society that is becoming ruder each day. Many companies are more concerned about selling on price rather than quality of service. The airlines are the best (or worst) example of this."