juggling act

Poised under pressure

For C. Del Galloway, PR 1981, MA 1983, it’s not a question of if he can do it – it’s why he wants to.

“People ask me, ‘Why are you doing this?’” said Galloway, who added president and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) to his long list of responsibilities for 2004.

His answer, like his life, is multifaceted.

“First, I love this field,” said the recently named partner in Jacksonville-based Husk Jennings Galloway and Robinson. “PR is a reflection of a free and democratic society.”

Second, whether he intended to or not at the outset, he has been working toward this goal for years. In 1997, he helped create the Universal Accreditation Board.  

Third, he sees a direct benefit for his firm. In fact, his new PRSA connections led to new contracts.

Disney picked Husk Jennings to help test its new film-on-demand service, MovieBeam. And Brewery Budweiser in the Czech Republic chose the firm to promote its newly named beer, Czechvar.

Still, heading a nonprofit organization of 20,000 members, 50 employees and 116 chapters can be, well, daunting.

“It’s a full-time job,” said Kathleen Kelly, chair of the College’s Department of Public Relations. “You really have to take a sabbatical from your regular job to do it.”

What allows Galloway to do it, he said, are the folks around him – at home, in the office and at PRSA headquarters.   

“I have a strong support system,” he said.

In March, he needed this support more than ever. Keith Francois, his life partner for 10 years, suffered a fatal heart attack.

But Galloway finds comfort and strength in his family and friends.

“My mother always said I was a bridge-maker,” said Galloway, an alumnus of distinction and a former member of the College’s PR Advisory Council. “I enjoy connecting the dots, bringing groups of people of common interest together.”

                   —Boaz Dvir