Houser, Black and Palermo form marketing firm

SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. – Gordon Houser, Bob Black and Joe Palermo have started Wolfpack Marketing together, targeting companies both inside and outside boating industry, they reported in a statement today.

Gordon Houser started his career in a boat dealership in upstate New York in 1955. Bob Black covered his first New York National Boat Show at Kingsbridge Armory in 1954. Joe Palermo started with an ad agency and graduated to designing high-profile paint jobs for go-fast Scarabs.

Now, Houser, from Sarasota, who created ads and marketing programs for Chris-Craft, Donzi, Wellcraft and others; Black, of Sun City Center, whose 50 years encompass at least as many marine public relations clients from boat shows to boat builders to accessory makers; and Palermo, of Bradenton, whose designs and advertising concepts have graced both boats and magazine pages, have teamed up to form Wolfpack Marketing, a consulting group in advertising, public relations, design and special events.

Houser’s experience crosses several industries

C. Gordon Houser, served as marketing vice president for Chris-Craft for many years, and held much the same job at Genmar’s Sarasota campus for Wellcraft, Hydra-Sports and Aquasport, according to the new company. In between, he was president and CEO of Donzi until shortly after the OMC takeover.

He has also worked directly with media, both CBS Publications and Peterson Publishing. For Genmar, he created the High Performance Boot Camp, and now the Genmar/Evinrude Backwater Fishing School, of which he remains the director. Houser was also president of Wellcraft’s High-Performance Division for some years.

He matriculated at the State University of New York and was recently named one of SUNY’s Distinguished Graduates. He also served as the volunteer chairman of the Goodwill Industries four-county area surrounding Sarasota.

For decades, Houser has been a consultant to the motion pictures industry, associated with films from On Golden Pond to Striking Distance. For many years he also has been a member of the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s Shows Committee, the company reported.

Black took on many roles over 50 years in the industry

Robert G. Black has over 50 years of newspaper, magazine, wire service, and public relations experience. He served as executive director of Boating Writers International from 1984 to 1992 and again from 2000 to 2003.

Black has worked in the airline industry as well as in boating and has divided his boating work between powerboating and sailing clients. He covered the America’s Cup and the Olympics and served as media director for the American Power Boat Association’s Offshore Racing circuit, Wolfpack Marketing reported.

Among his public relations clients, he counts Betty Cook, Chris-Craft, Cigarette, Dennis Conner, Donzi, Gentry Transatlantic, the National Marine Manufacturer’s Association (and its predecessor, the National Engine and Boat Manufacturers), National Sailing Industry Association, New York National Boat Show, Triumph Boats, Wellcraft Marine and Westlawn School of Yacht Design. He also managed the Norwalk International Boat and Newport International Sailboat Shows, according to the marketing firm.

Black was the first public relations person to be honored with a Life Membership by Boating Writers International. He is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Florida Southern College. He was adjunct professor of journalism and public relations at Florida Southern between 1995 and 2002 and also served as marketing consultant to the college.

Palermo’s graphics experience spans 20 years

Palermo received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Ringling School of Art and Design. He started in 1983 as the art director at Shaker Advertising in Tampa and worked with Upjohn Laboratories, Denny’s Restaurants, Smith Aerospace, Tampa General Hospital, and others. He was then the in-house creative director at Teltronics, a manufacturer of telecommunications products.

In 1995, he joined Wellcraft Marine in the engineering department and designed product line graphics for all Wellcraft lines including the high-performance Scarab paint schemes. He has also worked for Chris-Craft and Predator Custom Yachts before starting his own design group in 2001.

Outside of the recreational marine industry, Wolfpack Marketing has experience in air transport and aerospace, insurance, health care, construction, manufacturing and non-profit organizations, the company reported.

Wolfpack Marketing may be reached at 941-747-6742 or by contacting: Gordonhouser@comcast.net or Rgblack@Verizon.net or jpalermo@tampabay.rr.com.

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