Hall of Fame Hosts NFL PR Professionals

The Pro Football Hall of Fame this past weekend hosted a group of more than 100 former and current NFL public relations professionals over the weekend. The group was in Canton to reunite and reminisce about their careers in professional football.

Dick Maxwell, former PR Executive for the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Director of NFL Broadcasting, organized the gathering with help from Hall of Fame Executive Vice President of Museums, Selection Process and Chief Communications Officer Joe Horrigan.

The Hall of Fame was "the perfect place" to host the event according Maxwell.

“The perfect place for this group of NFL executives to gather is where the National Football League was born and that’s in Canton,” Maxwell explained.

The Hall of Fame also invited students from several colleges and universities to participate and interact with the PR pros in educational workshops and a roundtable discussion.

The workshops included sessions with DeAndre Phillips of the New York Giants, Ross Taylor of the Washington Redskins and Scott Berchtold of the Buffalo Bills and covered topics such as social media, careers in public relations and crisis management.

The round table discussion titled “From Typewriters to Twitter” showcased (from left to right) Horrigan, Jim Saccomano of the Denver Broncos, Joe Gordon from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tony Wyllie of the Washington Redskins, Kevin Byrne from the Baltimore Ravens and longtime NFL Executive Joe Browne. Each participant shared personal insight and advice about careers in sports.

Friday night concluded with a private dinner held in the Hall of Fame Event Center where many professionals shared some of their best memories working in the NFL. There was even a video tribute from ESPN host, anchor and commentator Chris Berman.

On Saturday, HOF staff provided a unique behind-the-scenes tour of the Ralph Wilson Jr., Pro Football Research and Preservation Center. Attendees were instructed on how the Hall of Fame’s historic documents and artifacts are properly cared for and preserved.

Archivist @JK_AdLibbin offers attendees of the @nfl PR Reunion a look at historic documents in our collection. pic.twitter.com/eWArY07kf3

— Pro Football HOF (@ProFootballHOF) April 11, 2015