The month was September. The year was 1974. The man was Charlie Ryan. He left a successful career in television to open, what seemed to be at that time, a risky business – a public relations shop in Charleston, WV, with only one employee, himself.
Fifty years later Charles Ryan Associates (CRA) is now a women-owned, strategic communications firm and touts its works for some of the largest brands in the country, with clients spanning more than 30 states in the past several years.
“Fifty years ago this week, Charles Ryan Associates first opened for business in the basement of a law firm. One man, one desk and one telephone in Charleston, WV, started half a century of smart brand communications — working with clients from coast to coast. We are grateful to our founder, Charles Ryan, who began this journey and for every member of CRA’s alumni who joined us over the past 50 years, helping us get to where we are today,” said CRA’s CEO Susan Lavenski.
CRA, as it is now called by staff and most clients, has grown into a successful communications and digital firm with a motto of “Smart Brand Communications” and has physical office locations in Charleston, WV, and Richmond, VA, with staff also in Chicago, Columbus and Virginia Beach.
Lavenski will start her 27th year at CRA this fall. She is joined by three other owners, all who have long careers at the firm – Alisha Maddox, chief communications officer, who resides in Charleston; and Matt Fidler, chief creative officer, and Matt Isner, chief strategy officer, who both reside in Richmond. Four vice presidents also are part of the management team: Meredyth Jenkins, Kyra Harris, Tommy Dutton and Kimm Boyd.
Lavenski adds that the owners are more than business partners, they are family, as all four have grown up together at CRA. Lavenski and Fidler are celebrating 27 years at the firm, Isner, 25 years and Maddox, 23 years.
After working at the company they poured their hearts and careers into for so long, they purchased CRA in 2015. CRA now has a major digital focus, while adhering to the principle that all brand communications must center around smart strategy, creative, digital and media. Notable accomplishments in the past several years include earning state and federal women-owned designations, as well as becoming GSA certified. The firm also has its own in-house video production division called CRA Film, led by Matt Fidler; a digital & media insights team, led by Matt Isner; and a strategic media and communications training division called CRA Forum, led by Alisha Maddox.
Charlie Ryan, now retired and living in North Carolina, says he stays in touch with CRA’s owners and is astounded by what they have built. “Congratulations to the men and women of Charles Ryan Associates, past and present, for 50 years of superlative service. I was there at the beginning, and I am elated that Susan Lavenski and the current owners of CRA have taken the firm I know and love to extraordinary heights,” said Ryan.
Lavenski says the owners are proud of CRA’s legacy in West Virginia as well as the firm’s successes across the country. “We have worked with clients from California, Texas, Oklahoma to New York and Georgia and many places in between. We love our West Virginia roots, but we are fortunate to have a large footprint across the country,” she added.
As CRA celebrates 50 years in business this week, the management team reflects on the memories that will never be forgotten but are excited about the future – one that holds many opportunities for the CRA legacy. Do you have a CRA memory to share? Post on Instagram, Facebook, or send us a note. We appreciate you!