The Golding Group announced today the addition of Bob “Pritch” Pritchard, APR, Fellow PRSA, as Partner and Chief Strategic Counsel. Pritchard brings more than 40 years experience in public relations and will provide “big picture” communications thinking and executive mentoring to the firm.
“It’s rare to find someone of Pritch’s experience and talent so we jumped on the opportunity to add him to the team,” said Kyle Golding, The Golding Group CEO and Chief Strategic Idealist. “With experience across the breadth and depth of public relations and strategic communications, Pritch really rounds out what the Golding Group is able to offer clients.”
A member of the public relations faculty in the Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma, “Pritch” has more than 25 years experience as a public affairs officer in the U.S. Navy and more than 15 years experience as a public relations educator. An expert in crisis communication, he has published articles and presented papers in a number of national publications and been the subject of dozens of interviews following the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. In 2002, as the crisis communications expert on The Rendon Group training team under DOD contract, Pritchard assisted the Colombian Armed Forces General Staff in developing a crisis communications structure and process to help them improve their crisis management capabilities. He also trained key members of the Colombian Armed Forces General Staff, Colombian Chief of the Air Force staff and Colombian Chief of Naval Operations staff on how that structure and process worked and on the principles of effective crisis communications.
In recognition of his contributions as a role model and the advancement of the public relations profession, Pritchard was inducted into the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) College of Fellows in 2004, a distinction shared by fewer than two percent of the 20,000 members.
Pritchard has served on more than a dozen national Public Relations Society of America committees and task forces. He’s the 2011- 2015 PRSSA National Faculty Adviser, been a member of the PRSA Educational Affairs committee since 2005 and is a past chair of the Educators Academy. He’s been a member of the International Public Relations Research Conference executive board since 2008.
At the local level Pritchard has served as professional development and ethics chair for the Hoosier PRSA Chapter and as accreditation chair for the OKC PRSA Chapter.
Pritchard has been a Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Faculty Adviser for more than 15 years. He currently serves in that capacity for the Stewart Harral PRSSA Chapter in the Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma and as Faculty Adviser for Lindsey + Asp, the nationally affiliated student-operated advertising, public relations and digital agency in the Gaylord College.