ST. LOUIS, March 10, 2010 — Ruth Krause Jacobson, a pioneer for women in the field of public relations and a civic luminary whose rolodex once served as the unofficial Who’s Who of St. Louis, died yesterday after a long illness at St. John’s Hospital. She was 84.
For 46 years, Jacobson was an icon at Fleishman-Hillard Inc., the St. Louis-based public relations firm, where she developed and perfected the concept of special events for St. Louis’s corporate and philanthropic community. But her influence extended far beyond that.
She played a key role in the establishment of the annual VP Fair celebrations on the riverfront beginning in the 1980s, and served on more than 30 local boards – at one point, serving on more than 20 simultaneously. Among her friends and confidants, many of whom looked to her for advice, were some of the region’s top business and civic leaders, including August A. Busch Jr., of Anheuser-Busch; Robert F. Hyland, of KMOX Radio; and Clarence C. Barksdale, of First National Bank in St. Louis.
“I worshipped her every word,” Barksdale said in an interview today. “If she said it, I did it.”
“Ruth was extremely creative and hard-working; she set very high standards” said John D. Graham, chairman of Fleishman-Hillard. “But she also brought to her work some human qualities that people really appreciated and that made her all the more effective. She genuinely cared. People sensed that about her. And she treated her colleagues and the members of the media with great respect.”
Jacobson also served as a mentor to an entire generation of younger executives at Fleishman-Hillard, especially women, many of whom are now in senior positions there and elsewhere. She gave them her time and advice unstintingly, and they responded by considering her among their closest friends, and even family.
“Ruth took a genuine interest in us professionally and personally,” said Susan M. Veidt, senior partner and president of Fleishman-Hillard’s Central Region, which includes St. Louis. “She was an extraordinarily generous and caring colleague and friend.”
“When Ruth entered public relations, it was a bastion of male dominance,” said Dave Senay, CEO and president of Fleishman-Hillard. “But she was fearless, smart, quick-witted, and prescient; in other words, she over-matched most of the men in our industry. Long before Oprah Winfrey, the Internet and self-help groups, she became a living patron saint of women in public relations. She was a one-woman, women’s rights movement.
“Today,” Senay added, “women are ascendant in public relations, and just days ago, the National Association of Female Executives named FH one of the top firms for women executives. Ruth can take more than her share of the credit.”
At Fleishman-Hillard, one of Jacobson’s titles was “director of special events.” It was a niche she elevated to an art form.
“Before Ruth,” the late Robert Hillard, one of the company’s co-founders, once commented, “we thought the only way to publicize was to write intelligent news releases. It was Ruth who thought up all these neat things to make it a memorable event.”
Things with style: helicoptering-in home plate for the opening of the old Busch Memorial Stadium. And with substance: conceiving a day-long forum with government leaders that accompanied the opening of the Equitable Assurance Co. Building. Among her other productions: the 50th anniversary celebration of Charles A. Lindbergh’s trans-Atlantic flight, the centennial of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the opening of The Living World at the Saint Louis Zoo. She also was instrumental in developing numerous prestigious civic and professional awards.
“If a big special event was needed,” said Molly Hyland, daughter of former KMOX General Manager Robert Hyland and public relations officer at Commerce Bank, “civic leaders like my father knew that Ruth Jacobson was the person they could count on to create and execute one that would be talked about for years. Ruth approached every occasion with the seriousness of a surgeon and the creativity of an artist.”
About Fleishman-Hillard
Fleishman-Hillard Inc., one of the world’s leading strategic communications firms, has built its reputation on creating integrated solutions that deliver what its clients value most: meaningful, positive and measurable impact on the performance of their organizations. The firm is widely recognized for excellent client service and a strong company culture founded on teamwork, integrity and personal commitment. Based in St. Louis, the firm operates throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America through its 80 owned offices. For more information, visit the Fleishman-Hillard website at www.fleishmanhillard.com
Fleishman-Hillard is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com). Omnicom is a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to more than 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
