Bill Kostka Jr., who inherited and grew Denver's first PR agency over a 45-year career, died Nov. 22. He was 81.
Kostka, and Army vet, started out in journalism with the Aurora Sun and Rocky Mountain News and moved to corporate communications with Martin Marietta, handling media relations for the Gemini space project.
He took the reins of William Kostka & Associates in 1969, 20 years after its founding by his father, William Kostka Sr. as the Mile High City's first PR firm.
The Denver Business Journal credited Kostka's firm with helping Denver with an Olympic bid in 1979 (voters later rejected the bid) and handling landmark city events like the sale of the Denver Broncos, redevelopment of its downtown and the campaign to authorize contruction of the major education hub that houses the Univ. of Colorado and Denver, among other institutions.
WK&A, active in the Worldcom group of PR firms, was renamed Kostka Gleason Communications under the leadership of his wife and veteran staffer Cynthia Gleason, who ran the firm as president and CEO until 2010.
Kostka is survived by his wife, Cynthia, four children and four grandchildren.
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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