Hammond, George

George Hammond (1907–2003) led a remarkable life in the practice of public relations. He earned the reputation of being the man who could make things happen.

The golden age of public relations began to shine during the darkest days of U. S. economic history, the Great Depression. At the Carl Byoir Company, a pioneer in the field, the gold turned to 24 carat under the leadership of George Hammond, who joined the firm in 1932 and retired as chairman of the board in 1981. The style and methods of the company, America's most successful public relations firm for 50 years, were never duplicated.

George Hammond was a problem solver who worked directly with company CEOs to analyze the problems and the goals of their companies and then directed those challenges to his hundreds of employees across this nation and around the world. Those clients—more than 100 Fortune 500 compa-nies—included BF Goodrich, Honeywell, Bendix, A&P, Hallmark, Johnson's Wax, and countless others. The accomplishments of those companies are legendary.

With every client of the Byoir organization, the contact was with the CEO, a far different method than exists today. Under George Hammond's direction, it was the job of the Byoir executive to continuously inform the CEO of anything that was happening in his company, the nation, or the world that could affect his company and its clients. This access and close contact with the CEO of the company prevented a host of problems that exist today.

This was not a spin company. This was not a company that made millions of dollars in profits or whose employees were the best paid in the industry. This was a company whose employees remained with the firm solely because George Hammond created an atmosphere in which they could do their best work. He was a strategic thinker; a visionary who thought through the problems, devised the plan, chose the best man or woman for the job, and allowed the freedom for them to do their best work.

He made things happen.

His parents, both well known but not wealthy musicians from Brooklyn, provided love and support and instilled confidence, which carried George Hammond to the heights of his profession, lauded by associates, clients, and peers worldwide.

His exposure from birth to the beauty of classical music and the visual arts continued throughout his life and produced a creative thinker. He continually expressed concern that the country's education formula did not acknowledge the need for more literature, art, and music.

In 1924, it took Hammond several trips from Brooklyn into New York City and eight tests in one [Page 380]day, but he persisted in pursuing a scholarship to Columbia. His persistence paid off with a full Pulitzer scholarship and $250 annually in spending money.

Persistence became a way of life for George Hammond. Throughout high school and college, he wrote sports copy for the New York Sun. After graduating from Columbia in 1928, he continued his sports career. He ghosted the Grantland Rice column, covered golf, and worked for a hotel chain in Cuba, where he met Carl Byoir. In 1932 he was hired by Byoir to manage a sports program at the Miami Biltmore Hotel to attract visitors to the empty hotel. Through his creative efforts, he filled the hotel in the depths of the Depression. He did the same for several other hotels on both coasts of Florida.

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