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| Joe Epley |
Joe Epley, who built his firm into one of the largest PR shops in the southeast and was president of PRSA, died Nov. 5. He was 85.
Epley established Epley Associates in 1968 and was a founding partner of Worldcom Public Relations Group network of independent firms.
He was national president of PRSA and chaired the PRSA Foundation twice. He also has served as chair of the PRSA College of Fellows and the Counselors Academy.
Epley served in the Army before launching his professional communications career as a TV news reporter and editor in Asheville and Charlotte.
He is remembered as a strong advocate for social responsibility and ethical business behavior. He presented a study in 1993 to the Defense Information School on ethics, which is credited for putting professional ethics standards in the military PA sector.
PRSA awarded Epley, who sold his firm in 2005, its highest honor, the Gold Anvil, in 2008.
Hugh Braithwaite, founder of Braithwaite Communications in Philadelphia, died Feb. 28. He was 63.
Alfred Horowitz, who was a PR counselor, educator, businessman and philanthropist, died February 14 of natural causes. He was 93.
Ginger Reeder, the former VP-corporate communications at Neiman Marcus, died Jan. 9. She was 64.
José Antonio Llorente, founding partner and executive chairman of Spain’s LLYC, died from cancer on Jan. 1. He was
Bob Dorf, who founded his own firm and then ran Dorf & Stanton with Alex Stanton, died Dec. 2. He was 74.
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Nov. 14, 2023, by Bill Huey, Strategic Communications
I knew Joe in Charlotte during the late 1970s. He had a strong, well-regarded PR firm then, and it is unsurprising that he became president of PRSA. An avid outdoorsman and a fine fellow. RIP.