2003
Before there was the Walt Disney Company, there was WED Enterprises, Inc., a company personally owned and overseen by Walt Disney; and there was Bob Jackson, one of Disney's employees at WED and the first Publicity Manager for the then new California theme park - Disneyland.
Following the excitement of the Disneyland adventure, Jackson joined the federal government as Director of Media Services for the (now titled) U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration in the Dept. of Commerce. His role called for considerable involvement in special events and their producers throughout the nation, as events were part of the arsenal for attracting international tourists and encouraging intra-national travel by U.S. residents.
Jackson's government career continued when he moved to be the Director of Public Relations and Advertising for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He later moved into the then, new corporate world of sponsorship at General Mills, Inc., serving as Manager of Product Publicity and Event Marketing for the company's more than 200 brand units. Jackson planned many events for General Mills nationwide and created its internal system for processing an average of more than 4,000 sponsorship proposals annually.
Jackson served many national companies, agencies, communities and events as an Independent Special Events and Publicity Consultant. He suspended his agency operations to accept a two-year position as Special Events Manager for the 1991 International Special Olympic Games held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following the games he continued his creative input through INNOVA Marketing in Minneapolis and he's co-authored two books, "Special Events in the 21st Century," and "Special Events: Inside & Out."
Now retired and living in Maryland, Jackson is described as, without question, one of the most creative people to serve the festivals and events industry.