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Thomas L. Preston

Thomas L. Preston, Preston Global

Tom Preston is a veteran of the Public Relations profession in both public and private sectors.

A UK journalism graduate, Preston opened his Lexington PR company in 1968. The firm quickly became multi-disciplined in expertise and international in scope. Clients included CSX, Jefferson-Pilot, Ashland, Inc., Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Arch Mineral, the U.S. Selective Service, Florida Hospital, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dow Corning, Air Product and Chemicals, Occidental Petroleum, and 3M.

Another client was the eventual majority whip of the U.S. Senate and former governor of Kentucky, the Honorable Wendell Ford.
In 1971, Ford asked Preston to enter the governor's office on a four-month leave of absence from his firm. That "leave" became a four-year stint during which Preston served as the governor's special assistant, press secretary and commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Public Information. During this time Preston also served a stint as press secretary to Ford in Washington after he was elected U.S. senator.

Preston's distinguished achievements do not stop at corporate PR work and politics. In the 1980s, Preston developed a model for public relations contingency planning and response against terrorism and workplace violence. While many professionals initially dismissed the strategy, industry experts in the 1990s hailed Preston's company as one of the few firms outside of New York with a marquee crisis management function -- and one of the only with a terrorism sub-specialty.

Preston now operates Preston Global, a company that focuses exclusively on management of and response to truculent crises for corporations, institutions and individuals.

Preston is a UK fellow and the only native Kentuckian elected to the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of America.

Links:
Preston Global
www.prestonglobal.com