Ron Whittington

Ron Whittington, APR founded Ron Whittington & Associates in 2005. He has more than 20 years experience in communications and his consulting practice is anchored by his expertise in the field – as a reporter, public relations manager and spokesperson.

Ron Whittington & Associates assists a broad range of companies – providing services including public relations (with a focus on media relations), advertising and graphic design services, website development, copywriting, and media training services.

In the field of crisis communications, principal Ron Whittington has dealt with issues such as executive/staff turnover, layoffs, sexual harassment, service disruptions, personnel and political issues, diversity, corporate downsizing, and more serious situations like shootings and terrorist acts.

On the proactive media side, the firm handles product/service announcements and builds public awareness for new and existing businesses, and volunteers to provide public relations support for non-profit agencies including the American Cancer Society, Second Harvest Food Bank and Beaches Watch.

Whittington, who has been interviewed thousands of times since he entered the public relations profession, has prepared spokespersons for appearances on local news broadcasts – as well as network media outlets including CNN, Time Magazine and Barron’s.

Most recently, he served as spokesperson for JEA – the eighth largest municipal utility in the country. During his tenure, he worked with the media during an unprecedented four hurricanes in northeast Florida, a CEO transition and the first rate hikes experienced by the organization in more than 10 years.

Prior to JEA, Whittington owned WhittCom, Inc., which specialized public relations services for clients including Brasfield & Gorrie Construction, Cinemark Theatres, Rollins, Inc., Hallwood Development, Harland Financial, Southern Energy, and Parsons Brinkerhoff Engineering.

Whittington also served as the Olympic Information Officer for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transportation Authority during the 1996 Olympic Games, Public Relations Manager for Dallas Area Rapid Transit and as Media Relations Manager for the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Before entering the public relations field, he was a researcher/reporter with the Dallas-Fort Worth Business Journal and a reporter/anchor with CNN Radio in Atlanta.

Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards for his work, including the Women in Communications, Inc. Award of Excellence and Matrix Award, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Silver Quill of Excellence and Bronze Quill awards, the Dallas Press Club Katie Award, the Print Excellence Award from the Printing Industry Association of Georgia, and has been nominated as an IABC Communicator of the Year.

Whittington received his APR accreditation through the Public Relations Society of America in 2005. In 2007, he was accepted by FEMA as a public relations support employee for the Southeast United States, which includes the Jacksonville area.

…& Associates

Other public relations and marketing professionals who work with Ron Whittington & Associates include:

Stephanie Barker McLain, APR (public relations)

Bob Conrad (graphic design)

Joe Merkley (web design)

Scott Griswold (web design)

Wendy Loughton (administration)

Chantal Koerner (support services)