A clip from The Seattle Times during Gary Odegard s time as a Communication student.

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2 A clip from The Seattle Times during Gary Odegard s time as a Communication student. The caption reads, Jed Niederer, rushing chairman for Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity, University of Washington, dressed unwillingly in a Boy Scout outfit, was helped to board a Pan American Airways plane for Honolulu last night. He had a one-way ticket and a dime in his pocket. Such shanghai shenanigans are usual at the end of the fall fraternity season. Odegard is pictured second from the left. He credits Niederer for encouraging him to pursue his dreams of making it in the PR business.

3 From Gary Odegard s first job out of college as Public Information Officer for King County Department of Assessments, this handout was part of the program he put together for the reappraisal for Washington state real estate. At the age of 23, his program won national awards and brought him to speak at the annual convention for the International Association of Assessing Officials.

4 Odegard during his time as head of Media Relations at Steamboat Resorts in Colorado. He figured out how to sell skiing during the winter of 1980 when it didn t snow until February 26.

5 As account manager for what is now Westin Hotels, Odegard took a yacht for a spin in Boating Magazine, 1980.

6 In the early days of linking word processing and computers, Odegard met with Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, who benefited from the new technology. He could type his scripts and see everything on the screen, and save it on floppy disk. He thought the concept was fantastic, said Odegard. Roddenberry told him to meet him at Paramount Studios for the interview. He said, Hey you want to go over to the set of Star Trek 3? He took Odegard onto the Star Trek Enterprise which, looks huge on TV but it s really not, said Odegard. He said, Bill come on over here and take a picture with this guy, so there I am sitting on the Starship Enterprise with Roddenberry and Shatner.

7 Odegard worked on the Data Age account when they released the first rock n roll video game featuring the band Journey. In the game, the player must lead the band members to their Scarab Escape Vehicle, pictured here, while dodging concert obstacles like groupies, photographers, and stage barriers.

8 Odegard headed up a secret scenario for the Albertsons grocery stores in Colorado, in After blacking out the store windows with a sign saying, Opening tomorrow under a whole new business approach, the company president announced the slashing of prices in a media frenzy.

9 A photo from the grand opening of the Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard, November 13, Odegard was instrumental in developing the idea of the Rock Walk in which rock n roll legends are inducted. Pictured here are Eddie Van Halen and Les Paul.

10 While working for company founder and CEO, Thomas J. Stewart of Services Group of America, Odegard was sent to Africa to assess a business opportunity in the Serengeti. To the left, he is in Tanzania, pictured with large birds to which he said he wouldn t get any closer. Below, Odegard stands with colleagues, with the Indian Ocean in the background.

11 Pictured is the package of materials Odegard put together for the new branding of Services Group of America. When I arrived on the scene, the company had several subsidiaries but no brand or commonality, said Odegard. He took on the job of creating a thematic approach for each branch of the company, to show the outside world that they all fall under the same umbrella.

12 Odegard s most recent endeavor is his own private investigation agency. The way you run a PR firm is exactly the way you run a PI firm. The process is the same. Only the product is different, he said. Today he is successfully serving the needs of clients like he has before, only much more out of the limelight.