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Member Spotlight: Jeff Halik

In this Member Spotlight, we’re featuring Jeff Halik. With a career spanning over 30 years, Jeff reflects on some of his past experiences, including his time as a board member at PRSA Rochester and even his experience overseas. Learn more about Jeff in the interview below.

What initially led you into the field of PR?

I graduated from Emerson College with a goal of working in broadcasting, and while I did some part-time radio work, and had huge fun doing it, that was clearly not my path. Even after earning a master’s degree at Ithaca College (a clear stall tactic from entering the real world), jobs were hard to find, so I drove a cab and served at TGI Friday’s. I was fired after 16 months at my first tie-wearing job—promotion director at Eastview Mall—after which I accepted a position teaching advertising at Medaille College in Buffalo. (Was I qualified for that? Probably not, but the department chair was an Emerson alum.) While living there, I met the amazing Lynne Gerhard, who foolishly agreed to marry me, but then immediately joined the Air Force. I wasn’t about to do that, but I accompanied her on assignments around the world, working as an Air Force civilian employee in internal communications in Japan, and media relations in England. Our final assignment was at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and so it was in nearby Norfolk that I landed my first PR agency position working for the late, great Sean Brickell, APR, Fellow PRSA, who taught me invaluable lessons in marcom, music, and life. Sean was the one who urged me to become accredited. I had to take the written test twice, but he would not allow me to become discouraged. Sean was the coolest.

You have more than 30 years of experience in PR/communications. Tell us about some of the positions you’ve held and companies you’ve worked for. Which experience was the most impactful?

When I was hired to work in media relations at RAF Mildenhall in England, my supervisor, Major Alan Freitag, said, “I see that you were fired from a shopping plaza. That sounds just right to me.” In addition to harboring an apparent disdain for the retail sector, Alan served a highly distinguished military career before earning a Ph.D., and he now teaches and conducts PR research at UNC Charlotte. Alan taught me how innovative PR can be on a local level. It was his idea to invite all of the local British media to play softball with us on the base, and that served as a big boost to our relationship with them.

After our time in Virginia, now with two children, Lynne and I moved back to my hometown of Rochester with Wendy (now Wendy Boyce, assistant PR director at Highland Hospital) and Scott (a CPA, not a public relations professional; I still love him), where I proceeded to work at three successive agencies—Saphar & Associates (twice), Hutchins/Y&R and Roberts Communications. The work was everything you could imagine—crises of all descriptions, new products, plant closings, major layoffs, new tech (some remarkable and some truly terrible), and a good deal of pro bono mixed in. I don’t miss the recurring nightmare of weekly time entry.

The impact was really about people—interesting and troubled clients; smart and talented colleagues; and an endless array of weary and jaded reporters and editors. I appreciated nearly all of them.

The best part by far was working for more than 20 years with my friend, the incomparable Chip Partner, now assistant vice president for public relations at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who has a brilliant mind for all things PR and beyond, and an equally quick sense of humor. We helped scores of clients through the years and guffawed with abandon at each other’s jokes, many of which still recur. Unlike me, Chip is a bit of a workaholic, but he still found the time to covertly nominate me for the Sharleen M. Bruse Award, and I consider it a distinct honor that he wrote the nomination and collected supporting letters, and that our chapter selected me for it in 2006. 

Tell us about your journey to PRSA Rochester. When did you first get involved?

PRSA has played a very important role in my career. I was introduced to the organization by an Air Force public affairs officer when we were living in Japan. He urged me to join, saying that PRSA offered unique opportunities for professional growth, and he was so right. I have learned a host of helpful facts and tactics from fellow PRSA members, through national and regional conferences and seminars, as well as at chapter events and committee meetings.

I’m positive that there’s no better networking organization for our profession. When we moved to Virginia, my first call was to the PRSA Hampton Roads Chapter president, and I will never forget how welcoming and friendly he was, especially as I was fretting about my unemployment. He advised me of an unadvertised opening at Brickell PR, and I was in that position within three weeks. That’s the power of making PRSA connections.

As a previous board member of PRSA Rochester, what were your roles and responsibilities?

I’ve served our chapter in a number of positions, including program chair (which used to be a rung on the ladder to the president), Assembly delegate, ethics chair, president, district conference co-chair (alongside the inimitable Bobbi Lonobile; if you find yourself having a bad day, call Bobbi and life will improve), Northeast District board member and Northeast District chair. I imagine there are others who have churned through these positions and more. Perhaps the indefatigable Kevin Kane, APR, corporate communications special project manager at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

What were some key takeaways from holding these positions?

Most of us in this profession don’t work in large departments where there is ample opportunity to advance and develop leadership skills. Before I gained a supervisory position at work, I was leading and learning at PRSA, with smart people all around me ready to help. This builds confidence. And let’s face it: if you can learn to lead volunteers, you can lead anyone.

Today’s chapter leaders are inspiring to me. I don’t think I ever had that much energy. I’m looking at you, Rachel Laber Pulvino, vice president of communications at Visit Rochester, and PRSA Rochester Chapter president. Rachel came to us at Roberts Communications as a PR intern. Her enthusiasm was legendary then, and I’m happy to observe that it has not diminished.

What would you say is the value you attribute to belonging to PRSA as a retiree?

Confession time. In the midst of my agency career, I was focused on serving our clients and finding new ones. I viewed my work as very competitive, and along with that, for me personally, came some measure of defensiveness and envy. I hope that didn’t bubble up to the outside world too often, but I definitely felt it. As a retiree, I look back at that attitude as silly and unnecessary. I wish I could have Zen-mastered my way out of it. Now, as I interact with other PR pros, I feel nothing but appreciation and admiration for them. I don’t imagine anyone is completely free of work anxiety, no matter what their position is, and I resonate with that. Deep, cleansing breath. Put love into the world.

What’s the most gratifying part of volunteering for PRSA and/or in general?

The best part of PRSA is getting opportunities to meet colleagues locally, nationally and beyond, and working together to lift and advance our profession. In our work, there’s plenty of commonality in theory, but also a great deal of uniqueness in execution—especially among the countless industries in which we work. For every news article published, there likely is a PR pro on each side of the story. They might be pumping their fist in exhilaration, or cringing with frustration, but they are out there. I love hearing their stories, and I appreciate their efforts in counseling management and helping to find the best solutions, sometimes in the maelstrom of confusing and difficult challenges.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests.

Lynne and I are completely obsessed with our grandchildren: Stella Boyce, 3, and Kayley Halik, 8 months. Recent travel destinations have included France, Germany, India, and Nepal, and we’re about to add Australia and New Zealand. I will serve a year as president of Rochester Rotary starting in July. I like to read, walk and swim, but not at the same time. Did I mention the grandkids?