Single Mom Linked Toyota to Community Groups
Pat Tobin, a beloved public relations practitioner who co-founded the National Black Public Relations Society, died of cancer at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on Tuesday, her firm announced. She was 65.
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Pat Tobin |
“For 25 years, Tobin’s unique brand of public relations focused on building long-lasting relationships in the community, corporate America and Hollywood,” the firm, Tobin and Associates, said. “She was a dedicated activist for causes that impacted minorities, women and youth and she secured financial support from corporations and philanthropic organizations for a variety of important initiatives.”
“Tobin was a broadcaster when she originally joined NABJ. But when she moved into public relations, she became a strong advocate for public relations professionals within the organization,” the National Association of Black Journalists added in a statement.
Tobin was a fixture at NABJ conventions, co-chaired its public relations task force for many years and was a longtime member of the Black Journalists Association of Southern California. News of her death inspired an outpouring on the NABJ e-mail list. “Watching Tobin as the CEO of her own company it just inspired me to build my own media empire,” said one. “She was such a magnificent person, it’s hard not to rejoice in her impact. She supported young people in every way she could, especially with jobs,” said another.
Her firm said, “In 1988, when the Toyota Corporation sought to repair its relationship with African American consumers, Tobin seized the opportunity to educate the automotive giant on the power of the ‘Black’ dollar. Her efforts began a 20-year relationship with Toyota that resulted in countless community partnerships. Whether working with high-profile clients like Johnnie Cochran and Spike Lee or supporting nonprofit organizations like the Los Angeles NAACP and Urban League, Tobin’s energy and tireless work ethic contributed greatly to the project’s success.”
A 2005 bio, tracing her beginnings, said that “Tobin pushed her way into the public relations field in Los Angeles during the late-1970s, long before concepts like diversity and ethnic marketing became popular. She started her own business as a single mother with no safety net. . . . She worked for the 1984 Olympics in the international press department and was Jesse Jackson’s statewide fundraising director for his 1984 campaign for President, both positions that provided advantageous contacts. She gradually began to attract clients. The first big break for Tobin’s burgeoning PR agency? A little-known (at the time) director named Spike Lee. ‘We always say that we helped to put Spike on the map,’ says Tobin.”
Funeral arrangements are pending. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Pat Tobin Scholarship Fund or Pat Tobin Memorial Fund, 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 245, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
- Kevin Roderick, laobserved: Pat Tobin, honored PR exec was 65
- LaRita Shelby, EURWeb.com: We Remember Pat Tobin: Public relations icon loses her battle with cancer at 65 (July 11)
- Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Los Angeles Times: Patricia L. Tobin, 65; public relations pioneer in Los Angeles (July 11)
- Miki Turner blog: RIP pat tobin
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