PR pro, cancer survivor raises cash, awareness10 Apr
Phoenix Business Journal, April 10, 2009
Joe Cockrell has a big heart for the Phoenix community, but it was his thyroid that made him passionate about community service.
At the age of 29, Cockrell was diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer. The Mayo Clinic nursed him to recovery, but he was never quite the same.
“I met some amazing people who were also cancer patients,” he says. Through his public relations skills, he was able to help raise money for a 6-year-old with medical bills that were overwhelming his family.
The fundraising and public awareness campaign for the young cancer patient proved to be a great success — but then, Cockrell is quite a pro. He has served as PR director for both Jobing.com and the Apollo Group. Today, he holds that position at Inhouse Assist, a Glendale firm specializing in health care recruitment.
In his spare time, Cockrell has been creating www.ishouldbeinthenews.com to help people get inspirational stories in front of the public when they don’t understand how to work with the media.
“The ISBITN mission is to connect you with people in your community who have a great story … the truly out-of-the-ordinary stories you love to find,” Cockrell says.
Leave a Reply