PRSSA News

Thursday, January 13, 2005

PRSA MOURNS THE LOSS OF RICHARD K. LONG

NEW YORK (January 13, 2005) - Richard K. Long, an associate chair for Undergraduate Studies in Brigham Young University's Department of Communications and longtime PRSA member, died on Jan. 11 several days after suffering a stroke. He was 60. "Rich was a great contributor to the PR profession, an outstanding practitioner and educator, and a model for all PR professionals to follow," said Judith T. Phair, APR, Fellow PRSA, PRSA's 2005 president and CEO. "Through his role as a teacher and PRSSA adviser at Brigham Young University, he has helped shape the next generation of PR professionals. For that, we are grateful." Before joining the BYU faculty in 1999, Long spent more than 30 years in corporate public relations. From 1991 to 1996, Long was vice president, corporate communications, for the Weyerhaeuser Company, Federal Way, Wash., where he was responsible for internal and external communications. There, he led a staff of 45 and managed annual budgets of $14 million to $16 million annually. From 1967 to 1991, he worked for the Dow Chemical Company, including six years in Dow Latin America, four years in the Washington, D.C., federal affairs office, and three different stints at the company's headquarters in Midland, Mich. He held a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's in journalism from Brigham Young University. Long was also a valuable - and frequent - contributor to PRSA's two award-winning publications, Tactics and The Strategist, where he wrote more than 25 articles since 2000. His topics ranged from crisis management to mentoring the next generation of PR leaders. "His work was always timely, informative and impressively communicated," said John Elsasser, the editor in chief of Tactics and The Strategist. "Rich was able to draw on his 30-plus years in corporate communications to share lessons learned and best practices. "I was always amazed that, despite his hectic school schedule, he wanted to volunteer to write more for the publications," Elsasser said. "While I'll certainly miss his contributions to our publications, more than anything, I'll miss his good cheer and deadpan sense of humor." Colleagues and former students remember Long's affinity and dedication for teaching above all else. Long had been the BYU PRSSA Chapter adviser since 1999. He led the Chapter's involvement in the 2000 World Congress, where BYU was named PRSSA's National Chapter of the Year. "Rich cared about our success. He would always make time to talk, and we always left his office smiling," said Leah Elison, a former BYU student who is now sales and marketing coordinator for PRSA. "As a professor, he won our respect by teaching about PR crises he had faced - not just textbook case studies. We'll miss his honesty, encouragement and shameless sense of humor." Contributions may be sent to the Rich Long/Dow Chemical Scholarship in the Department of Communications at Brigham Young University, E-509 Harris Fine Arts Center, Provo, Utah, 84604-5288. About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) The Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org), based in New York City, is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. The Society has more than 28,000 professional and student members. PRSA is organized into 114 Chapters nationwide, 19 Professional Interest Sections, along with Affinity Groups, which represent business and industry, counseling firms, independent practitioners, military, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations. The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has 255 Chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

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