- Brad Crone
Brad Crone, 51, is president of Campaign Connections, a Raleigh-based consulting firm specializing in public affairs, public relations and grassroots campaigns for trade associations, advocacy groups and corporations.
A North Carolina native, Mr. Crone has been providing governmental affairs and public relations consulting services since creating his firm in 1991. Prior to that, he was a daily newspaper publisher at The Thomasville Times in Thomasville, N.C. He was the first desktop newspaper publisher in the state with his weekly publication The Clayton Star, which he sold in 1989.
Mr. Crone served as a special assistant to N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Jim Graham and deputy press secretary to U.S. Senator Lauch Faircloth during his 1984 Democratic gubernatorial campaign. While attending NC State University, Mr. Crone served as a political reporter and then afternoon news editor for WPTF Radio 680, a 50,000-watt news/talk station in Raleigh, N.C. He also served as a correspondent for The News & Observer and WAYS AM 610, Charlotte.
Mr. Crone has 27 years of experience in regional politics, managing campaigns and public affairs programs in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and West Virginia. He has been featured as a “Mover & Shaker” in Campaigns & Elections magazine. He has consulted on a number of policy issues including: health care reform, prescription drug policies, bankruptcy reform, agribusiness development, agriculture labor policies and volunteerism in America.
He holds a B.A. degree from North Carolina State University in Political Science and a concentration in Communications (December 1984). He has additional studies at Mount Olive College, N.C., and the N.C. Institute of Government.
Mr. Crone is a regular panelist for NC Spin, a statewide public affairs television program broadcast Sunday mornings in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Greenville and Wilmington. He writes a regular column for WMPM Radio, Smithfield, NC and is an instructor at the annual National Campaign Training Seminar sponsored by Campaigns & Elections magazine.
- Clark Coggin
Clark Coggin is creative director for Campaign Connections. As the company’s chief graphic designer, Mr. Coggin designs and oversees the production of corporate communications, direct mail items, brochures, graphic identities and websites.
After graduating from Duke University in 1989, Mr. Coggin completed graduate studies in graphic design and industrial design at North Carolina State’s School of Design. Mr. Coggin’s prior work, includes a stint as a designer of television commercials, creating award-winning, on-air promotions for ABC in Durham, North Carolina and later for CBS in Los Angeles, California.
Mr. Coggin is also an educator, having taught graphic design and typography at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has recently designed a lounge chair, inspired by his interest in typography, for Thayer Coggin furniture. Mr. Coggin’s designs have been featured in Campaigns and Elections magazine, Interior Design, and Luxe Interiors + Design.