A WIDE SPECTRUM OF EXPERIENCES
During his business career, Charles Ecker has garnered eleven PR industry awards representing over 100 corporations, trade associations and non-profits. Among the organizations he planned and executed public relations and public affairs programs have been Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Commercial Credit, Control Data, Polaroid, Chocolate Manufacturers Association, General Foods, ERA, Taylor Wine, Florida Citrus Commission, AT&T Performing Arts Festival, Museum of Flying, Bell Jackpot Casino, Fujitsu, American School Food Service Association, LTV Hummer, Specialty Council, American Bakers Association, Tutor-Saliba Construction, Triple 5 Sunset Ranch, Extend-A-Life, Dewars Scotch Whisky, Heublein's "Club Cocktails", Indian River Plantation and Lake Sherwood Country Club and Estates.
In the area of corporate crisis communications, Ecker is best known locally for his very public work defending the New Otani Hotel, Los Angeles in a "last man standing" issues campaign with Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Workers Union. He was on the management team defending workers' rights to decide the issue of unionization by means of a federally-sponsored secret ballot election. When all was said and done, Local 11 gave up its effort to force the New Otani employees to decide by means of card checks. In this campaign, he took on the role of company spokeperson.
In the non-profit sector, Ecker received the prestigious Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase Outstanding Service Award for brokering a Heublein Company -sponsored song-writing competition held in Los Angeles,Long Beach and San Diego. This series of contests, the first of its kind for LASS, was held in open-air arenas with both the general public and talent scouts on hand. (The winner, Brian Stokes Mitchell, went on to become a well-known singer and actor on Broadway!)
On the air, Ecker was heard by millions of Angelenos on KBLA-AM as a business news reporter and studio-live anchorman as well as producer of special reports on the station's award-winning "California Drive." He considers this experience the high point of his eight years in broadcasting, beginning with his live appearances with the American Forces as a 22 year-old anchoring the nightly 10 P.M. newscast with Bob Edwards (who went on to a 25-year news career with National Public Radio) at the sports anchor desk.
Following his return stateside, Ecker completed a three year stint as a radio anchorman at WCTC-AM, New Jersey's largest radio station, selection as an ABC and NBC anchorman at television stations in New York State, then completing the broadcast news circuit at the top of the heap in New York City as a national broadcast writer with the Associated Press, the largest news-gathering organization in the world to this day.
Most recently, Ecker served as Communications Director for Bruce Brown, the candidate challenging the 35th Congressional District incumbent representative. His responsibilities included creating a campaign theme for the PA initiative, writing all news statements, developing all advertising and campaign videos, and getting involved "on the street" in garnering voter support in the western section of the district. Comments Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly regarding Ecker's ability to conduct a Congressional PA campaign with virtually no campaign funding: "Your focus to do the right thing with so little is admirable."
DUTY CALLS
In response to 9/11, Ecker, a former resident of Brooklyn Heights situated across the East River from Wall Street, joined the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2002 and quickly became Division 12 Public Affairs
Staff Officer, utilizing his vast experience in military and commercial
communications. He served a three-year stint at that CGAUX position, each of those years named Outstanding Division Public Affairs Officer. Additionally Ecker was elected as a two-term Flotilla Commander. After creating a highly-regarded two year series of internal e-mail publications true to his writing roots, he turned his attention to Public Education and was certified as a Team Coast Guard PE Instructor in late February, 2011, teaching his first class only two days after graduation.
Two weeks later, Ecker was awarded the prestigious CGAUX 5 Star Award, one of only ten in Division 12 to receive that honor for high levels of mission hours in 2010. That award completed the circuit of 1 Star, 2 Star, 3 Star and 4 Star honors during his time with CGAUX. Since joining the Auxiliary, he also earned five Sustained Service Awards, one of only a handful still active within his division to achieve this distinction.
He returned to division-wide duties in May of this year first as internal communications officer responsible for information directed to news and events impacting all four division flotillas, and second as a project officer tasked with developing public education forums to renew interest in the America's Waterway Watch program, implemented in response to 9-11.
Earlier in his military career, he served as Special PA Consultant to the Secretary of the Air Force at the Western Regional office assisting with home front duties during Operation Desert Storm. One of the most significant projects he undertook was the re-structuring of the national "Air Force Now" television program aired as a public service by stations throughout the U.S.
There was a precedent for this as Ecker, a graduate of Rutgers University, earned the Air Force Commendation Medal, the highest non-combat individual award in that service, for developing the largest regularly-scheduled Air Force base-level radio and television programming service in the U.S. in 1971 and 1972.
During his combined Air Force and CGAUX service, Ecker has received over 25 distinguished service ribbons and citations.
GOLDEN STATE BOUND
Ecker moved California in 1984 from his position as Media Relations Director of the Marriott Convention Hotel Network, based at the company's corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C., to become Vice President and General Manager of advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather’s Southern California public relations division. Starting with zero billings, Ecker and his four-person team made the Los Angeles Business Journal Top 25 within the first year of the newly created PR group.
In 1988, Ecker was named Vice President of L.A.-based Carl Terzian
Associates guiding the Dewar's national PR account program and handling all major real estate clients, the latter most impacted by the onset of the recession at that time. He returned to broadcasting in 1991 at what was then KBLA-AM based in Century City. After the station shut down during what was described in the Los Angeles Times as what had become a lingering "pocket depression" in early 1992, Ecker returned to PR specializing in Crisis Communications and Executive Media training consulting disciplines as co-founder of The Ecker Group.
More recently, Ecker represented both BoatUS and Boater's World, two of the leading boating product industries at the time. In
addition to his many articles on boating safety written for the
Mariner magazine, Ecker is an avid sailor and co-owner, with his wife,
Linda, of a Catalina '30 sailboat docked in Marina del Rey.
Additionally he has maintained an over 50-year interest in music,
including five years as an active LASS member and songwriter. He has composed, produced and registered at the Library of Congress 35 songs, including one that was adopted by his high school alma mater -- "Our Kimball Union Home."
FORMATIVE YEARS
Asked what was the highlight of his early life in Clinton, N.Y., Ecker quickly noted earning the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 13. "That set me up for a lifetime of hard work and focused goal-orientation and attainment."
He still looks for ways to contribute to his community and country. In addition to volunteer work with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Ecker, based on his writing and political consulting background, recently completed a website to help guide voters leading to the November, 2012 election. See http://solidifymainstreet.blogspot.com.
