Contact: Scott Warner
703-744-7824
swarner@qorvis.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

QORVIS COMMUNICATIONS ADDS CHANDLER HOWELL AS MANAGING DIRECTOR  

Washington , DC- August 27, 2003 – Qorvis Communications LLC, a privately held full service public relations firm, today announced the addition of Chandler Howell.  He joins the firm as a managing director and will enhance the firm's Internet PR campaign capabilities. 

"Howell's vast knowledge and experience at conducting successful Internet campaigns adds yet another dimension to our array of services to offer our clients and prospects," said managing partner Michael Petruzzello.  "He has consulted with a number of organizations to help improve internal and external communications and we are fortunate to have him at Qorvis where he can apply that focus." 

Howell brings over 20 years of communications and marketing experience to Qorvis.  Prior to joining Qorvis, he managed the Strategic Internet Communications Services Group at Issue Dynamics, Inc.  "One of our goals is to offer a very broad breadth of capabilities in-house at very high quality level," Petruzzello said.  "We believe we should have a core capability to use the Internet to help our clients communicate with their constituencies in a dynamic way.  Chandler brings us that capability."   

Prior to his experience at Issue Dynamics, Howell managed his own successful corporate communications and marketing firm based in Reston, Va.  Earlier, he was a member of Allstate Insurance's corporate relations division in Chicago, where he directed communications between the home office and their regional locations.  Howell is an award winning video and television producer/director, and served as historian for Sen. James Eastland (D-MS). 

"I am excited to be with Qorvis, where the core belief of building integrated strategies is at the heart of our practice," said Howell.  "Where many public affairs and public relations professionals ponder the Internet as an afterthought, we consider it early in the planning stages.  Qorvis understands that the value of online communications is more about building relationships than building Web sites.  We bring the full power of the Internet to the campaigns we develop."

About Qorvis
Qorvis Communications is widely regarded as the largest independently owned public relations firm based in the Greater Washington, DC area.  Formed in August 2000, Qorvis has offices in Washington, DC and McLean, Virginia, and provides its clients with expertise in the areas of investor and financial relations, public affairs, grass roots campaigns, public and media relations, marketing communications, Internet-based campaigns, and research and opinion surveys.  The Washington, DC based law firm of Patton Boggs is an investor in and strategic partner to Qorvis.