Passion Drives PR Firm

It’s been a good interview so far, a typical controlled exchange of information and background on the company. But suddenly, the words rush out in rapid fire and the pulse in the room quickens. As talks about her work for the Salvation Army—to help launch the $90 million KROC Community Center in Camden—we’ve clearly hit on her passion.

And that, she explains, is what makes her Moorestown public relations company tick. Passion.

“Everyone here has a cause or a passion and we encourage everyone to volunteer. To be passionate about something,” she explains.

Thomas founded Thomas/Boyd Communications in 1998 with partner . At first it was just the two of them and an administrative assistant located in the old Burr House on Main Street. She got the CEO title and Boyd was president. The difference?

“I think I’m CEO because I’m older,” she quips. “But really, our responsibilities are similar. Pam handles more of the day-to-day business and I’m out in the field selling a bit more.”

But for anyone who has worked with these two powerful and confident women, it’s obvious they are equal partners. Today, even in this rough economy, their firm is thriving.

“We are lucky to have as much work as we have,” Thomas acknowledges. There are now seven women in the office, which moved a few years ago to its Church Street location. The all-female firm was not necessarily by design, Thomas clarified. “We just hear from more women than men in the field of communications.”

Clients are largely clustered in education, health care, technology and nonprofit sectors, but no matter their industry or size, they all get the same treatment.

“We started out as a public relations firm, but we’ve really evolved to a full service communications agency,” Thomas says. “We don’t do everything in house, but we collaborate and bring in the best in the business and then serve as the quarterback.”

So whether it’s advertising and public relations, website design, special events planning or corporate identity and positioning, Thomas/Boyd can handle the task.

“We work hard, late and long,” Thomas assures.

As in any industry, clients come and go, but some, like Verizon Wireless have been a client for more than 20 years, carried over from other places of business and escorted through name changes and an evolving business model.

Thomas/Boyd also represents in Moorestown, , Palmyra Cove Nature Park, and of course, the Salvation Army, among others.

Thomas has been working with the Salvation Army’s capital campaign to get a shovel in the ground for the planned Kroc Center. She convinced fellow Moorestown resident Joe Ventresca to chair the capital campaign, and also got Moorestonians Randy Cherkas, Jake DerHagopian, Bill Barker, Frank Giordano and Mel Baida involved with the committee.

Together they are working to raise $10 million, which along with the $54 million from the Kroc Foundation, will help get the project under way.

“I’m a huge believer in Camden mayor Dana Redd. The time for Camden is now,” Thomas proclaims with a steely determination that convinces you it can happen.

Thomas/Boyd also represents Camden’s Cooper Ferry Development Association, and on this day, she’s preparing for a big announcement later in the week. Wells Fargo will give them $1 million for housing and programs in the city. And Thomas/Boyd will handle the publicity for this announcement, making sure the media is there, that there is coverage in the papers tomorrow. That the event comes off without a hitch and that someone other than Thomas/Boyd gets the credit for the good news, is the part that keeps the firm growing and thriving.

“Literally, every day, there’s something different," she said. "We are driven by the news cycle.”