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Suzanne Gentry Flodin, founder and president of The Gentry Agency, is an experienced communications professional, specializing in publicity, media relations and special events.
Suzanne understands the power of public relations and will work with your company to design, develop and implement the public relations strategy and tactics to communicate your message to one of your most important target audiences: the press.
Suzanne is a results-oriented public relations professional with 20 years of experience working with clients large and small including: Toyota, Lexus, OLAY, Jean-Philippe Salon, Pantene, 7-11, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, and United Way Metropolitan Dallas, to name a few. In addition, she served as a public relations consultant for HARPO during the Texas Cattlemen vs. Oprah Winfrey trial in Amarillo Texas, working with local, national, and international press. Suzanne also brings her professional expertise to her pro bono projects, which have included her church’s innovative fundraising initiative, “GiveDifferent.org” for Springcreek Church in Garland. Additionally, Suzanne has also supported World Vision: Africa and AIDS Experience with public relations assistance.
Suzanne has facilitated the placement of thousands of stories in print, internet, radio and television including Washington Post, Dow Jones Newswires, Wall Street Journal, ESPN, Entrepreneur, Glamour, InStyle, Southwest Spirit, FOXSports.com, CNN Traveler, CBS This Morning, ABC National Radio, The Dallas Morning News, D Magazine, Good Day SA, Good Morning Texas, KTCK, NFL.com and many, many more.
Suzanne infuses clients with her unique and innovative approach to public relations and marketing which is non-traditional at times, yet very effective and results-based. Her philosophy is based on the extensive training and experience that she received during the first several years of her career working in the entertainment and sports community. Her high-profile accounts included Ringling Bros. Circus, Disney Pictures, 1996 Olympic Torch Run, Tour of World Figure Skating Champions and even the famed “Real Cowboys Drink Coke” campaign featuring Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith.
Suzanne's philosophy is to provide the highest level of service to the media, fulfilling their needs in a timely and professional manner, following through on their requests, and in the process, building strong relationships with media contacts. This level of responsiveness ensures your company will not miss out on important opportunities for coverage.
Suzanne loves to travel with her husband, Doug, a commercial pilot, and relishes being a mom to her four-year-old son, Riley. She is an avid sports fan and has season tickets to the Washington Huskies home games in Seattle and goes to as many as she can. She serves on the board of Honor Flight DFW, an organization committed to getting every WWII veteran from DFW to see their memorial in Washington, D.C., at no cost to them. She is a member and volunteer at Springcreek Church in Garland and is committed to raising money and awareness for the church’s sister community in Katito, Kenya, where she sponsors two local children.
Rachel Hedstrom is a public relations and marketing communications professional with more than 10 years’ experience in moving the needle on public perception of her clients’ businesses and messages. Her strengths include effective brand representation via written and verbal communication to key audiences, from internal, employee groups to external stakeholders and consumers, via the media, strategic web communication, speaking circuits, and more.
Hedstrom began her career in Washington, D.C., serving long-term Congressman Ralph M. Hall’s North Texas constituency. She was recruited by a Dallas-based public relations agency to work with national-level brands in the energy, automotive, and retail industries.
Hedstrom’s corporate and not-for-profit experience was honed in healthcare, in her role as the media relations manager at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Her focus on consumer and industry awareness of the hospital’s brand via effective media relations took the program from less than $25 million in earned media coverage to almost $100 million a year. Her non-profit and healthcare experience has been called upon by hospitals across Texas, the American Lung Association, and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, the children’s hospitals’ national lobbying and membership group.
Hedstrom serves as president of the Public Relations Society of America, Dallas Chapter, and is accredited in public relations through a stringent qualification process. A licensed pilot and race car driver, Hedstrom also has served in the Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that performs important search and rescue operations on a local and state level, and regularly draws upon that background in crisis communications to benefit her clients.
Publicity technician, logician, and magician. She works magic. Susan Friedman has over 17 years of experience in promotions, special events, marketing and publicity, with special emphasis in media relations. The Super Bowl Official After-Parties in Houston, Ghostbar Dallas, The 500, Inc.’s ARTFEST, Dallas Symphony Orchestra AT&T Gala, WineFest, Artania Circus, and Charbay Winery and Distillery in Napa Valley have received media recognition as a result of her work.
By creating a calculated and strategic PR plan, crafting innovative, well-written press pitches, and building trustworthy relationships with the media, Susan attains press coverage for her clients. Her philosophy is that she is not pleased until the client is pleased.
Her media relationships have led placements in the Huffington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Elle, In Style, Associated Press, People Magazine, and Food & Wine, to name a few. Local results include Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Business Journal, Texas Monthly, D Magazine, Modern Luxury, and numerous radio and television segments, among many others.
Working with Burberry's, Max Mara and other high-end designers, Susan launched her PR career as an intern in London in the fashion industry. After graduating from Texas Christian University, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in public relations for high profile fashion designers and dance companies including Mikhail Baryshnikov, The Royal Ballet, Jean Paul Gaultier and Moschino. In 1998, Susan moved to Texas where she served as Marketing & PR Director for Liberty Noodles and Club Clearview before launching her own company in 2004.
Susan recently served as Publicity Chair of AIDS Services of Dallas’s No Tie Dinner & Dessert Party. She has been involved with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Elan Circle, Texas Ballet Theatre’s Lone Star Adagio, Leadership Ballet, Association for Women in Communication, The Trinity Trust River Rats, Austin Restaurant Association, and Greater Dallas Restaurant Association, among other organizations.
Jessica Newell is an accredited public relations professional with a penchant for the written word. However, her background in broadcast journalism gives her a unique insight into media newsrooms and her clients a leg-up on the competition.
Newell has helped organizations develop their online voices, penned award-winning magazines and marketing materials and managed multi-million dollar philanthropic relationships. Most recently, she spent nearly half a decade getting patients and doctors from Children’s Medical Center in Dallas on the front page of The Dallas Morning News, on the Today Show and even on the pitcher’s mound at Fenway Park during the World Series.
When she’s not crafting the perfect messages for clients, you’ll likely find her in the kitchen baking melt-in-your-mouth sweet little things like cakes, cookies and cupcakes or maintaining her menagerie which includes a husband, toddler-aged daughter and two Chihuahuas.
As The Gentry Agency’s resident social media wiz, Sara is “very connected.” Specializing in social media and digital brand management for businesses of all sizes, Sara is on the cutting edge of new technologies to make their brands, services and products sing to both consumer and business audiences. She utilizes a large network of online relationships and technical know-how to find the most effective and efficient way of bringing fans to brands. Sara received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. When not immersed in the social media world, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and exploring the world of wine -- preferably both at once!
