 Jay Rockey '50 is proof that nice guys do not finish last. Photo by Robert Hubner.
Rockey has a persistent tendency to change the subject to
Washington State University. Naturally he is pleased with the way
the University has drawn more attention to itself.
He was president of the WSU Foundation in 1991-2, early in the
University's first full-blown campaign.
“He put his professional acumen to work for the Foundation, how
to develop a higher profile,” says Sharon Morgan, a senior member
of the Foundation who has worked with Rockey for years. “He’s a
philanthropist in the best sense of the word.”
He has also long had a close relationship with the Murrow
School, serving on its advisory board.
“His support of the program runs the spectrum,” says Bruce
Pinkleton, a professor of communication, “from words of
encouragement to interns and hiring grads, to supporting
scholarships. The more you learn about Jay, the more you learn
about public relations.”
The student chapter of the Public Relations Society of America
is named the Jay Rockey chapter.
In 1989, The Rockey Company was the #1 public relations company
on the Puget Sound Business Journal’s Book of Lists. But by
the late 1990s, the Seattle PR scene had changed dramatically. The
dotcom bust was yet to come. The perception on the Rockey Company
management team, says Pepple, was that it could no longer compete
with the small one- and two-person shops, which lacked Rockey’s
overhead.
They faced a decision: either get smaller, to compete with the
smaller shops, or get larger, to compete for the larger accounts.
Or join a larger firm.
Rockey had a history of interaction with Hill & Knowlton,
including work on the public relations for the New Carissa,
a ship that ran aground off Coos Bay, Oregon, and broke up over
time. When The Rockey Company decided on the third option, Hill
& Knowlton was a natural.
Today, at 79, Rockey still comes into the office every day. His
official title within the firm is “Founder.” He gives advice when
asked. He never intrudes. He continues to practice, it seems,
public relations, all the time. Public relations is his life and
philosophy. Jay Rockey is proof that nice guys do not finish last.
He has built a career and an industry on graciousness and . . .
“Charm,” he says, when I ask him to specify the traits that had
brought him success.
So is charm everything?
“Yes.” Then he laughs.
“I worked hard,” he says. “And I tried to work with people I
respected.”
“He has this low-key quality about himself that tends to be very
effective,” says West. “His way of engaging people is very
inclusive, and therefore he gets a lot of people on the same page
and gains a tremendous amount of respect, as a result of that
style.”
The key to understanding his success, she insists, is
understanding his character.
So is this guy for real? I had to ask.
“He is,” says. “Isn’t that amazing? Wouldn’t it be great if
there were a lot more like him out there?”
Read part one: It happened at the
World's Fair
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