BUSINESS WRITERS IN ROCHESTER

This section is intended to be a listing of writers in Rochester who write for business -- copywriters, public relations writers, and so on.

There are quite literally hundreds of business writers in Rochester, and many of them are prominent as well in literary and acedemic writing circles. But there are very few organizations for business writers as such in the Rochester area.

One notable exception is the Society for Technical Communication, an international organization which brings together technical writers in local chapters. The local Rochester Chapter of the STC has a contact information and a web site at www.stcrochester.org.

Two other organizations which are not exactly 'writers' groups' but which are a superb resource for business writers and those interested in contacting them, are the Rochester Advertising Federation and AdHub.

The RAF is an affiliate of the American Advertising Federation, a national organization consisting of 50,000 professionals in 220 advertising clubs, 220 college chapters and 100 corporations. It goals is to bring together current and aspiring communications professionals in all marketing disciplines.

With that goal in mind, the RAF hosts events, talks, wine tastings, presentations – any number of interesting fun gatherings where ad and marketing people (always including a heavy contingent of copywriters) can meet and network. Membership is reasonable, and entrance fees for non-members even more so. Definitely visit their web site at www.the-raf.org/.

AdHub is a directory of advertising, design, video production, training and development resources in Upstate New York. Those interested can search the site for information profiling virtually every agency or service in Rochester advertising and beyond -- as well as as locate information about Rochester business writers, many of whom are featured on individual web pages hosted on the site.

Are there sound places in Rochester to learn to write advertising and public relations and corporate communications? The best source is probably the universities.

The Department of Communication at RIT may well be the best place locally for training in business writing and corporate communications. It has experienced staff and solid classes in Professional and Technical Communication, Advertising and Public Relations, and Communication and Media Technologies.

The Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester has impressive MBA programs, certainly, but seems to place more of an emphasis on general business practices than on business communications as such.

The Rochester Business Alliance occasionally holds one-day classes or limited-session classes on various types of business writing, but courses and topics are not always well publicized or repeated. Search the RBA web site for further information.

David Pascal

David Pascal is a freelance marketing consultant and business writer, as well as the founder of Pascal & Associates, a marketing firm headquartered in Rochester, New York.

David was born in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in the Brighton area of Rochester.

He received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of the State of New York, and a second bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities (graduating magnum cum laude) from Charter Oak College in Connecticut. He's also done some postgrad study, and has Practitioner Certification in neuro-linguistic programming.

David's clients have included Xerox, Wegmans, the United States Postal Service, the New York Agency, the Elmwood Dental Group, the New York State Department of Education, Herb Gross Advertising, Travelodge, Corneles Engineering, Rainbow Communications, Hafner Associates, and many others.

David is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, and who has regularly taught writing and copywriting at Writers & Books.

David's business web site at www.davidpascal.com features a wide variety of samples, a client list, his resume, articles, contact information, and more. You can write to David directly from his web site, or email him at: david[at]davidpascal.com.

Jon Rich

Jonathan Tasker Rich is founder and president of the Galen Group.

Born in South Portland, Maine, on June 1st, 1955, Jon is the son of Robert P. Rich, former International Marketing Manager for Agriculture of the State of Virginia.

Jon received a Masters degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1980, and an MBA at New York University in New York City in 1984. After college, he worked for Metropolitan Home magazine and Better Homes & Gardens, then in 1986 left to form his own corporation -- The Galen Group, which initially focused on marketing of medical and dental practices.

Jon Rich moved the organization to New York in 1989, and settled in Rochester NY, where in 1996 he married singer Bonnie Abrams, and developed his marketing business and providing marketing services to professional clients.

Mr Rich has also been an Adjunct Professor at the English departments of St. John Fisher College and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is the author of a chapbook and numerous articles.

Jon's business web site is online at www.thegalengroup.com. You can email Jon from his web site, or send him an email him at: mishuge[at]aol.com.

Jonathan Sherwood

Born in the Rochester area, Jonathan Sherwood received his Masters degree in English from the University of Rochester, where he is now the senior science writer.

Jonathan is available to provide freelance technical, business, and public relations copy.

Also a fiction writer, Jonathan's novella, Under the Graying Sea, appeared in the February 2006 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Jonathan manages the large speculative-literature writing group, D309.

Contact and other information about Jonathan is available at his web site at www.JonathanSherwood.com.

Camy Sorbello

Camy Sorbello is a freelance journalist and translator, specializing in Spanish assistance for business clients. She is also Partner and Co-Founder of Latinos Communications, the only marketing and advertising firm in the Rochester New York area specializing in marketing to the Hispanic population.

Camy was born and raised in the Rochester area, and studied at the University of Rochester, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English, and studied foreign languages for her minor.

After receiving her degree, Camy went into the gardening and landscaping business with her family. She served as retail manager at the successful enterprise for well over a decade. Camy subsequently managed a 93-acre tree farm in the Western New York area.

Camy is the author of over 200 published newspaper and magazine articles, and her work has appeared in the Palmyra Courier-Journal, Genesee Country, and the Finger Lakes Travel Guide.

Camy has taught regularly at Writers & Books and in 2003 she was honored at a reception at the Rochester Academy of Medicine where she received the Writers & Books Literary Award.

Camy has also taught at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, Strong Childrens Museum, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Sul Ross University in Texas, and is the developer of a new method for teaching Spanish in business environments, which she is currently elaborating into a book called Spanish For Working People^©.

You can email Camy at: camy[at]camysorbello.com. or reach her via her web site at www.camysorbello.com.