YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (Jan. 3, 2011) — Pecchia Communications today announced that Jim Houck, a 15-year public relations veteran and Youngstown-area native, has joined the company as senior consultant.

Houck was most recently an account director at Akhia Public Relations and Marketing Communications in Hudson, Ohio. Previously, he was an account manager with Marcus Thomas LLC in Cleveland, Ohio, and a corporate communications representative with Delphi Packard Electric in Warren, Ohio.

“Jim brings us the skills of an accomplished professional and a passion to work in the Mahoning Valley,” said Dan Pecchia, president of Pecchia Communications. “He’ll be an asset to our existing clients and a driver of continued growth for our company.

“We’re fortunate to be in a growth mode due to an improving local economy, strong demand for our services and the advantages we offer organizations that need experienced counsel at a competitive price,” Pecchia added.

Pecchia Communications provides senior-level public relations, media relations, professional writing, marketing, social media and change management services to companies large and small, primarily in Northeastern Ohio.

Houck, as an account director at Akhia, provided strategic counsel on public relations campaigns for regional, national and global companies such as Diebold, Parker Hannifin and AmTrust Financial Services, among others.

While at Marcus Thomas, one of Ohio’s largest advertising and public relations agencies, Houck’s clients included Alcoa, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, the Ohio Steel Council, Hometown Health Network and the Cleveland Browns.

A native of McDonald, Ohio, and a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Houck spent the first seven years of his career at Delphi Packard. He started out on the plant floor before quickly ascending to management positions in corporate communications and labor relations.

After living in Stow, Ohio, for 10 years, Houck and his family recently relocated to Boardman.

“It’s an exciting time to be a public relations professional and there’s nowhere I’d rather take my career and raise my children than right here in the Mahoning Valley,” Houck said. “I look forward to re-establishing myself in the community and working to help local companies grow and expand their business.”

Pecchia Communications was established in 2005 by Pecchia, who had been a partner at Innis Maggiore Group, a director at Ira Thomas Associates and business editor at The Vindicator. Clients include Whirlpool Corp., Akzo Nobel Paints, Harrington Hoppe & Mitchell, The Timken Company, Aim NationaLease and other Youngstown-area organizations. Pecchia Communications maintains a website at pecchiacomm.com.

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