It is with great sadness that we announce the death on Saturday, May 20, of our friend and colleague, Marilyn Potts, APR, due to injuries from a car accident two weeks ago. We are forever grateful for the significant professional and personal contributions Marilyn made not only to the PRSA but to the public relations profession.
Since 2000, Marilyn was the PR/Marketing Specialist at Methodist Healthcare System. Previously, she worked with University Health System in San Antonio planning public relations, including special events and internal communications. Before coming to San Antonio, Marilyn worked with Catholic Charities in Wichita, Kansas, where her communications work resulted in a 69 percent increase in annual giving. She has also been a feature writer and development manager.
A member of the Public Relations Society of America for 25 years, Marilyn served in several board positions in chapters in San Antonio and previously in Wichita, Kansas. She was the San Antonio chapter president last year. Marilyn also was deeply devoted to supporting students and recent graduates into the profession of public relations.
Marilyn earned a bachelor of language arts from Wichita State University and several hours toward a master’s degree in marketing and management from the same university. She was accredited in public relations by PRSA.
Marilyn was married to fellow chapter member, Michael Potts, APR, and has a daughter and three grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Porter Loring (2102 N. Loop 1604 East, at Gold Canyon Road). Other details will be posted on this PRSA San Antonio chapter blog as they become available.
We invite you to share your own fond memories of Marilyn with us. Please leave your warm recollections as comments on this chapter blog.
6 comments:
My prayers go out to Marilyn and her family. Such a wonderful life and a blessing to anyone she encountered. She will be greatly missed.
I am so saddened to hear of her sudden passing. I know she will be greatly missed by her family, friends and colleagues. Her untimely death has reminded me to make the most of my days and remember what's most important. Thank you for all you did for PRSA, Marilyn.
Marilyn was always there to help anyone out, to connect people, to give real meaning to the word service. She loved being a grandma, and since I have a two year old, we would swap stories all the time. It is hard to believe that she is gone. I will miss her.
Marilyn was one of the first people I met when I moved to San Antonio. I remember her and Mike greeting me at my first PRSA/SA meeting, sitting with me and making me feel very welcome. I then got to know Marilyn on a personal level as she became my mentor as I prepared to take the APR exam, and we started meeting during lunch and after work about once a month or so. We continued that tradition throughout the years and solved many local and worldly problems during those times. It is hard to believe that she is gone...I will really miss her.
Monica Faulkenbery, APR
Marilyn was such a great person with a big heart. She always talked about her daughter and grand children along with her place located on the east coast. I first met Marilyn at UHS and I was working for an agency, I was delivering a project and assisted her in assembling it. It was so funny because i remember her telling me i did not have to help and that i was going above and beyond the call of duty, But i insisted because i was enjoying our conversation .That was the first time we met and since then her and I would continue to work together and become friends. She inspired me and always gave me professional advice when i asked and was always willing to help in anyway. She will be missed deeply. My prayers go out to the family.
What a shock. What a loss. I just returned from a couple of weeks out of town to this sad news. Marilyn devoted so much to PRSA and its members. She and Mike generously offered their home for a couple of board meetings. After one chapter event, she took time to mail me (and others, I'm sure) a photo and a letter of appreciation, even though my role was small. I was so impressed by that gesture -- just one small example of her caring nature.
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