Celebrating The Life Of Rod Bradley
(Point of Personal Privilege)
Bradley Reid + Associates founder Rod Bradley (NGP Photo) passed away Oct. 24 after a valiant battle against cancer. Rod was 67 years old. This week I celebrate many warm memories of our 40 year friendship, from those early days with the Alaska Visitors Association and State Tourism Account to Anchorage Chamber leadership positions.
Murray, Kraft and Rocky was the original firm from which Bradley Reid descended. In 1972, the firm's leader, Conn Murray, hired me to be public relations director. Rod and I "double-teamed" a number of accounts. He served as advertising account executive while I handled the public relations side. Such accounts included Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, Exxon Company U.S.A. and Sohio. We also competed for and won — with Conn's genius and leadership — the State accounts which included Division of Tourism, Division of Aviation, Division of Marine Highways and Division of Economic Enterprise, as I remember.
I left the agency to join former Lieutenant Governor Bob Ward with the Alaskan Arctic Gas Pipeline Project a year later, and became Rod's client. In the 80s, as a vice president of Alaska Pacific University, Rod continued to provide our agency support. We also created government communications programs and worked to improve the strength and outreach of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce.
Thanks, Rod, for the memories and inspiration….
Dave
Anchorage Daily News Obituary, 10-27-13:
|
If attendance at a man's memorial service is a measure of his life, Rod Bradley's measure will be overflowing on Nov. 19, his birthday. Bradley, former head of Bradley Reid and Associates, the leading advertising firm in Anchorage for decades, died on Thursday. He was 67. Numerous national, international and local awards, his client list, community service and the careers John Tracy, who with Debbie Reinwand now owns Bradley Reid, said members of the firm toasted their mentor and friend and watched videos of some of his best work on Friday. But what Tracy and others remembered most about him was not so much what he did, but who he was. Conn Murray, who gave Bradley his first Alaskaad job Tracy said Bradley's honesty and his genuine care were the keys to both a his good life and business success. "I don't think there was a phony bone in his body," he said. Reinwand, who was recruited to the firm 20 years ago by Bradley and then co-owner Connie Reid, said that she hopes everyone is fortunate enough to work with a leader like Bradley sometime in their lives. "It was like breathing for him," she said of his creative ideas. Yet "he never put on airs." "He was always one of us." She said he treated those who worked for him as colleagues. He would introduce them by saying "we work together," or "I work with her." Reid, who worked with Bradley for her entire career "He carried that spirit with him so gracefully," she said. Even at the end, he was helping his family and friends deal with his dying. "He loved life and he lived it well and honestly," she said. Rod Bradley is an Alaskan who will be sorely missed. But another measure of a man's life is the sense of presence that he leaves behind. Tracy said Bradley continued to be a guiding hand at the agency even after he sold it, and that he expects he'll keep asking, "What would Rod do?" It's clear that Tracy won't be the only one who asks. That's a fine legacy. Our condolences go to Rod Bradley's family and so many friends.
Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/10/26/3144023/our-view-rod-bradley-leaves-a.html#storylink=cpy
|
'He loved life and he lived it well and honestly'Longtime Alaskan Rodney C. "Rod" Bradley succumbed to multiple myeloma
/amyloidosis, rare bone marrow disorders, at home surrounded by the love of family and friends on October 24, 2013.
Rod was born in 1946 in Maywood, California, to Lois and Leo Bradley. At age six, Rod and his family headed to Alaska towing a 35-foot Airstream trailer. They were greeted by the ash-covered city of Anchorage: two days earlier nearby Mount Spurr had erupted.
Rod graduated from West High in 1964, the year of the Alaskan Earthquake. Upon graduation, he attended California State University, Fullerton, 1965-1969, graduating at the top of his class in Marketing and Public Relations.
Rod returned to Alaska to work at the fledgling advertising agency, Murray, Kraft and Rocky, Alaska's first accredited advertising agency. Becoming a partner in the firm in 1976, he was instrumental in the agency's growth and success. Ten years later, Rod became the owner of Bradley Advertising. During that time Rod handled the advertising accounts of many of Alaska's largest and most prestigious companies, Today, the agency continues to do business as Bradley Reid + Associates, thanks in large part to the solid foundation Rod built throughout his tenure as Alaska's very own advertising genius. His family, friends and colleagues referred to him as an "Advertising Powerhouse." This drew a laugh from Rod, always genuine, funny and understated about his accomplishments.
Incredibly active in the community, he was a founding member of the Better Business Bureau, Alaskan's for Litter Prevention, member of the Advertising Federation of Alaska and board member for the Alaska Performing Arts Center. During his membership in the Advertising Federation (ADFED), Rod received awards and accolades, including Advertising Professional of the Year and the 1997 ADFED lifetime achievement award. A member of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, he held various positions including chairman of the board. He received the Chamber's prestigious Gold Pan Award in 1988.
Committed to the Alaskan travel industry for 25 years plus, he received the Alaska Visitor's Association 1998 North Star Award acknowledging him for his dedication, knowledge of and commitment to the Alaska tourism industry. In 1989, in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Rod spearheaded an Alaska tourism advertising campaign credited with helping save that year's tourism season winning the U.S. Travel Association's "Mercury Award" for Best Travel and Tourism Television. In October 2013, the Alaska Travel Industry Association awarded Rod with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his lifelong support and leadership in growing Alaska's tourism.
Retiring in 1998 after selling his business to Connie Reid, he and his wife, built a beautiful home in Mexico, featured in Metropolitan Home magazine in 2001 and in a sustainable "green" homes exhibition at the National Building Museum in D.C. Rod and Carmen mused, "who would have ever thunk' that a guy from Spenard and a girl from Muldoon would ever end up with a home on the cover of Met Home." Rod and Carmen enjoyed a decade in the Baja with family and friends.
Carmen Gutierrez Bradley, his wife; his children, Adam Bradley (Shelly Culbertson), Nevada and Kianna B. Bradley (Kay Little, Jr.) Oregon; his brother, Ronald Bradley (Peggy) Florida, nephews, Sean (Teri) Bradley, Anchorage, Chris and Tim Bradley, niece Shannon Bradley, survive Rod. His parents and brother, Richard Bradley, preceded him in death.
Rod was truly a success. He loved to be happy. His interests included golf, meals with family and friends, travel, car shows and his 1964 Corvette. He loved and was so proud of his children. He had the grace and dignity to laugh in the face of adversity. He showed courage in dealing with his illness, never once asking "why me" or complaining. Instead, he continued to live his life as fully as possible, smiling every step of the way. Through Rod's smile you knew his sweet nature. Rod will be missed by the many who loved and respected him and were honored to call him husband, father, or friend.
Rod's family express their heartfelt gratitude to his Anchorage and Mayo Clinic doctors and nurses for their dedication, professionalism, and kindness while they guided Rod in this crossing.
If donations considered: Friends of Pets, P.O. Box 240981, Anchorage
– See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/adn/obituary.aspx?n=rodney-bradley&pid=167702858#sthash.ybKVovbZ.dpuf
Leave A Comment