Drake Cooper PR Team
Bill Drake
President; Account Supervisor
Bill is the founder of the agency and in 1978 incorporated public relations services as an integral part of the agency. Bill started his PR career in Philadelphia as Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPA’s. When he returned to Boise he established a PR practice with Cline, Inc., the largest agency in Idaho at that time. He worked on behalf of the Boise Redevelopment Agency (predecessor to Capital City Development Corporation), the Idaho Potato Commission, and the JR Simplot Food Division.
After five years with Davies and Rourke, he opened WR Drake and Company, the predecessor to Drake Cooper. The firm was retained by the Idaho Safety Restraint Coalition for Seatbelt Safety, St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, and Farmers Group Insurance of Idaho. Bill supervised public relations on several Idaho public initiatives including No on Proposition 1 (property tax reform), Idaho Safe Trucks Coalition, and Idaho for Roads and Bridges.
He has been active assisting the public communications for several Idaho politicians.
Bill continues to play a significant role in strategic development, strategic counsel, and account planning and management across multiple industries, including business to consumer and business to business.
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Joanne Taylor
Public Relations Director
Joanne and her team manage PR activity for all Drake Cooper client campaigns, events, and promotions. As the public relations director for Drake Cooper, Joanne is charged with developing comprehensive, strategic campaign plans and is responsible for on-time, on-budget delivery of those plans. Joanne has extensive experience in developing specialized media and crisis communication training for clients. She also writes and distributes news releases, media advisories and story pitches to targeted media outlets. Among her agency clients are Dell, Idaho Travel Council, Idaho Lottery Commission, Keynetics Inc., CBH Homes, Valley Regional Transit and Bonefish Grill.
Joanne has more than 20 years experience as a public relations practitioner. Before joining Drake Cooper, she was vice president of a Boise-based public relations agency where she headed up technology, real estate, and recreation/tourism accounts including Idaho’s Tamarack Resort. At Extended Systems, she headed up corporate, analyst and media relations for all product lines and business units. As director of public relations at The Las Vegas Hilton, she was responsible for the development and generation of all publicity, promotion and media relations efforts related to hotel, gaming, entertainment, convention, and special event activities at one of the Hilton’s premiere properties.
Her work has resulted in coverage on CNN and in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and Los Angeles Times, just to name a few.
Joanne has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in communication.
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Megan Godwin
Public Relations Coordinator
As a public relations coordinator, Megan works closely with clients to help successful campaign planning and execution. She also functions as a media relations coordinator, strategist, copywriter, researcher and event planner. Her current accounts include the Idaho Travel Council, Sun Valley Company, BAM Jam Basketball, Idaho Preferred and Trey McIntyre Project.
Megan graduated from the University of Idaho in December 2007 with bachelors degrees in public relations and advertising and
an emphasis in Spanish. She completed successful internships at Drake Cooper as an account intern and later with the U.S. Forest
Service in California as public affairs intern. She spent a year serving as the director of communications for the Associated
Students of the University of Idaho and lived abroad for a year in Canberra, Australia and Bilbao, Spain.
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Steve Stuebner
Public Relations Account Manager
Steve works with clients in the areas of real estate development, tourism and outdoor recreation, public transit and alternative transportation, and other general topics. His primary clients include Valley Regional Transit, M3 Eagle, Jensen Jewelers and the Idaho Travel Council.
Steve has more than 15 years of public relations experience and over 25 years of experience as a published author and professional writer. Prior to joining Drake Cooper, Steve worked in PR, government affairs and recreation development for Tamarack Resort for five years. Before that, he worked as a senior PR consultant for Scott Peyron & Associates in Boise, serving clients such as Harris Ranch and Tamarack Resort.
As a writer, Steve’s work has been published in The New York Times, Outside, National Wildlife, Columbia Journalism Review, the Salt Lake Tribune, High Country News and the Idaho Statesman. Steve’s experience as a professional writer helps clients with promoting their news or story, web site copy and other writing needs. His books include Salmon River Country, Cool North Wind: Morley Nelson’s Life with Birds of Prey, Mountain Biking in Boise, Mountain Biking Idaho (Falcon Guide), and Paddling the Payette, a whitewater guide.
Steve received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from the University of Montana. He’s an avid outdoor recreationist and the father of two children. He resides in Boise with partner Wendy Wilson and their four children.
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