Tampa P.R. exec, Tribune contributor Bill Gray dies

William "Bill" Gray, a guru of public relations who was on the cutting edge of the burgeoning business in the Tampa Bay area in the 1980s and '90s and taught the profession at five universities, including the University of South Florida, died Sunday. He was 82.

"A true Southern gentleman," said Harry Costello, general manager of Hill & Knowlton in Tampa, an office that opened in 1982 with Gray as its first general manager.

Costello, a former business editor with The Tampa Tribune, said he cringed whenever a public relations person came into his newspaper office. But Gray was different.

"Bill never brought an issue to me that wasn't real news," he said. "He clearly understood what journalists needed and the type of story they were looking for. When he presented a story, I knew there was good value to it."

Gray hired Costello away from the Tribune, offering a chance to participate in public relations that was far removed from old-time publicity stunts or writing news releases. Rather, the cutting edge of the field involved corporate image, analysis of issues, commentary and crisis management. It was something Gray understood and molded at Hill & Knowlton, Costello said.

"Bill became a great mentor," Costello said. "It was great to watch him give counsel to senior people, and they all respected him."

Costello, who was asked to deliver a eulogy at Gray's funeral service Thursday, said he kept in touch with Gray through the years.

"I talked to Bill every week," he said. Gray stayed active, even though he had severe back problems over the past two years.

"He continued to write for the Tribune," Costello said. "He wrote commentaries and book reviews. He loved to write. He loved to read. He was a wonderful guy, and this is a real loss for the business and the community."

A native of Jacksonville, Gray attended journalism school at the University of Alabama and moved to Tampa in 1955. After he began his career with Hill & Knowlton, he was accredited by the Public Relations Society of America and twice he served as president of the society's Central Florida chapter.

The society awarded Gray its distinguished service medal and lifetime achievement medal recognizing his commitment to the field of public relations.

Gray offered guest lectures at the University of Florida, Florida State University, Ohio State University and the University of Kentucky. In 1984, he became the first public relations professional inducted into the hall of fame of Kappa Tau Alpha, the national journalism honor society at USF.

Beyond his career in public relations, Gray loved to write. He often wrote opinion pieces that appeared on the editorial pages of the Tribune as well as book reviews for the Tribune's Sunday book page. In 2005, he published a novel, "Holding Hands at Midnight."

Ed Roberts, retired editorial department editor for the Tribune, knew Gray for 20 years.

"He was a wonderfully mellow individual," Roberts recalled this afternoon.

He said Gray once brought a client, a company representative that was knocking heads with the Tribune's editorial board, to meet the board one day.

"There was a disagreement between some of us and things started getting a little bit edgy," Roberts said. "And Bill Gray was just sitting there and when everybody shut up, he came out and said something that was just so reasonable. I thought that not only do I think that this company may have a point, but I want to get to know this Bill Gray better."

"He would have made a great secretary of state," Roberts said. The two became friends.

"We used to have lunch at the Colonnade on fairly regular basis," Roberts said.

Even after both retired, they talked by telephone every couple of weeks. "He was a wonderful guy."

A memorial service is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at Blount & Curry Funeral Home on South MacDill Avenue.