Good afternoon,
It has been a rough few weeks in the media and marketing communications community.
Gone far too soon are Rob Kalesse and Drew Ostroski.
Those who worked with Drew said he was an editor’s editor, with strong skills in writing headlines and getting copy into fighting shape. He could also turn out well-crafted quick features.
His career included the Delaware State News daily in Dover and for well over a decade at Delaware Today.
Ostroski, 52, did not seek out the spotlight. His craft required sound judgment and the satisfaction that came at the end of the day when a reporter’s work is polished and perfected.
Kalesse, 43, wrote for a number of publications while more recently holding down a copywriting job at incorporation giant CSC Global. Free lancing is hard, but Kalesse became a go-to guy for a number of publications. He bravely battled cancer during much of his life.
Jerry Du Philly recently wrote that Kalesse made Out and About a better publication. Du Philly is owner and founder of the magazine.
I did not have the chance to work with either Rob or Drew. But I knew of their reputations for high quality work in a profession with modest pay scales and demanding deadlines.
Also gone far too soon was Matt Stehl , 46.
While Matt specialized in the nonprofit area, he was a familiar presence in media circles while working on the marketing communications side at health insurer Highmark. His last positon was at M&T Bank.
Matt was an effective communicator who went out of his way to be helpful in dealing with media inquiries. More importantly, he was a joiner and his active presence on nonprofit boards of directors was a blessing to many organizations. One of his many board posts was at NPR affiliate, Delaware Public Media.
Delaware will miss Drew, Rob and Matt. My thoughts go out to their families. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
