New firm to serve Southern clients

NOVEMBER 2003 -- Veteran Georgia journalist and public relations executive Linton Johnson has announced the formation of Word Express, a full-service communications firm based in Elberton and serving clients throughout the state.

Word Express will specialize in communications strategies that identify targeted audiences and deliver the client's message efficiently and effectively to those groups. The firm's statewide approach and affordable fee structure will make its services more accessible to many Georgia businesses and organizations than those of the larger Atlanta-based public relations agencies.

Johnson was vice president/public relations of Cornerstone Communications Group from June 2000 through October 2003, following 17 years as a weekly newspaper editor and publisher in Elberton and Royston. He began his newspaper career as a sports writer for the Athens Banner-Herald/Daily News while studying journalism at the University of Georgia.

At Cornerstone, Johnson managed the public relations accounts for clients including the West Georgia Watershed Assessment, the Buckhead Community Improvement District, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the landscape architecture firm of Hughes, Good, O'Leary & Ryan Inc. in Atlanta and St. Joseph's/Candler Health System in Savannah. He also supervised and provided PR support to Cornerstone's work on the Georgia Cancer Awareness and Education Campaign for the Georgia Department of Human Resources and the Georgia Cancer Coalition.

Cornerstone and Word Express will maintain a collaborative relationship on certain present and future public relations accounts.
Word Express will also offer campaign consulting for political candidates and constituent communications for elected officials. Johnson has coordinated these services for 22 current members of the Georgia General Assembly. In 2002, he was directly involved in 15 political campaigns in all corners of Georgia, 12 of which were victorious.

For more information, contact Word Express today.