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| Jay Van Vechten |
Jay Van Vechten, who ran Van Vechten & Co. PR firm for 32 years and was an advocate for disabled people, died July 11 in Boca Raton. He was 75.
VV&C, which launched in 1979 in New York, ran campaigns for pharmaceutical, healthcare, medical trade associations and publishing clients, as well as crisis programs in 34 countries. It relocated to Boca Raton during the 1990s.
Van Vechten, who was injured by a fall in 2001, founded the American Disabilities Foundation and the Boating Beach Bash for People with Disabilities in 2008.
The Bash, which bills itself as largest, free, fun event in the US for people with physical and/or intellectual challenges, draws more than 5,000 people each year for a day-long BBQ, plus boat rides on 20-plus yachts and a full-range of activities for children.
Kassie Canter, a media and entertainment PR veteran, died October 24 in New York. She was 67.
Leo Pearlstein, the “king of culinary PR,” died on Sept. 10 in Los Angeles at the age of 104.
Tim Metz, who joined Hill & Knowlton in 1989 after a 23-year career at the Wall Street Journal died Aug. 15. He was 86.
Bill Murray, who had been with MikeWorldWide for 35 years (most recently as EVP/national director, public affairs), has passed away at 67 after a battle with cancer.
Peter Costiglio, a top corporate communications executive for more than 40 years, died March 17 after a long-battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. He was 76.
