Jones Public Relations launches “The Oklahoma 100” as online publishing platform


OKLAHOMA CITY – In celebration of Jones PR’s 15th anniversary in 2016, the national integrated communications agency launched on Thursday (January 21) The Oklahoma 100 online publishing platform for Oklahomans.

“We wanted to thank the many Oklahoma companies, associations and organizations who have allowed us to grow into one of the leading agencies in the country,” said Jones PR President Brenda Jones Barwick, APR.

Jones PR was recently the only Oklahoma agency selected as a finalist in PRWeek national awards for best public relations campaigns. The firm earned the distinction in the “Non-Profit of the Year” category for the sophistication and effectiveness of a campaign supporting the National Down Syndrome Society – NDSS.

Mrs. Barwick won the “headliner awards” from the Association for Women in Communications (AWC) at the group’s national conference in Kansas City, Missouri last year.

Brenda, from Oklahoma City, has 35 years of public relations experience at the highest levels in Washington, D.C., politics, European diplomatic relations and with Fortune 500 companies. She was vice president of public relations for the Southwest’s sixth largest advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen, where she planned and coordinated campaigns for the Dallas Cowboys and Six Flags before establishing Jones PR in 2001.

She is the former vice chair of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber board of directors and has long been active in the state’s business leadership.

She served several years as a national delegate to the Public Relations Society of America International Conference.

Brenda earned public relations national accreditation in 1999.

The inaugural issue of The Oklahoma 100 features 100-second videos of Governor Mary Fallin and Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett. Emailed to over 25,000 Oklahoma business leaders, the online publishing platform will give readers a quick and concise, yet thorough view of the people and events shaping Oklahoma through 100-word articles and 100-second videos. The topics will range from arts, entertainment, tourism, history and restaurants to business, management, energy, healthcare and real estate.

Regular contributors will include Oklahoma History Center Executive Director Dr. Bob Blackburn, Secretary of Commerce and Tourism Deby Snodgrass, and ion Oklahoma publisher Don Swift. In addition, Barwick will have a column in each issue as “The 100 Gal,” and Connie Pearson, senior account executive in Jones PR’s Tulsa office, will author “The Tulsa Gal.”

The Oklahoma 100 will publish the first and third Thursday of each month and a free subscription is available.

The website will maintain a library of all The Oklahoma 100 stories and videos.

Barwick will serve as publisher of The Oklahoma 100, while Jones PR Vice President of Corporate Communications and Marketing Chip Carter is editor.

Carter previously worked as director of development for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), the state’s leading free market “think tank.” In business, his experience includes time as a vice president for Trammell Crow, and a similar post with Battelle Oklahoma.

Carter served on both political and policy staff for U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa. In 1996, Carter was assistant national political director for Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes.

The associate editor is Jake Pasdach, who joined Jones PR from The University of Oklahoma.

Barwick added that The Oklahoma 100 was started because she saw a need in the market for an outlet to publish intriguing current events and human-interest stories in a brief format that fits the busy lives of today’s Oklahoman’s.

Jones PR was formed in 2001 and has grown into a leading national integrated communications and public affairs agency with international partners through PROI Worldwide.  

Jones PR has assumed a leadership position the digital trend in Oklahoma with its new domain. According to the press release announcing this new venture, “The agency provides a full suite of services in public affairs, corporate communications, consumer marketing, digital and social media, and creative services for national corporations and associations.”

Editor’s Note: Pat McGuigan contributed to this story, which is expanded from a press release sent to CapitolBeatOK. The designation “APR” (Accreditation in Public Relations) is a professional certification awarded by the Public Relations Society of America.