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Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Researchers may access born digital and digitized materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Rene A. Henry Papers, A&M 3720, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

From the Biographical Note in the Rene A. Henry Papers, College of William and Mary Special Collections (link in External Documents):

Rene Henry was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1933 and his family moved to the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area in 1948. He graduated from Granby High School in Norfolk in 1951 and received an A.B. in economics from the College of William and Mary in 1954. During his time at William and Mary, Henry served as a student assistant in sports information and also student assistant to the director of intramural athletics. In January 1953, while in his junior year, he was named the Sports Information Director for William and Mary.

He was Sports Information Director at West Virginia University (1954-1956) and did graduate work in marketing. He also completed executive management courses at the law schools of Harvard and Georgetown universities.

Rene Henry's professional career includes work in public relations, sports marketing, housing and construction, presidential campaigns, higher education, television and entertainment, association management, and government service. As a volunteer, he directed the international media campaign for the selection of Los Angeles as the host city of the 1984 Olympic Games, and has been active in the promotion and organization of a number of United States Olympic activities since 1968. He has been involved in the management, marketing, and sales of world cup and world championship events in sports including basketball, cycling, hockey, soccer, and tennis. Henry has also worked at various levels of the building and housing industry, developing and promoting a number of commercial, industrial, and federal projects. From 1968 to 1977, he was Executive Director of the Council of Housing Producers, an organization of the largest community developers in the country. Between 1986 and 1988, he served as President and CEO of the National Institute of Building Sciences. In 1988, he volunteered on the presidential campaign to elect George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle. From there, Henry was appointed to positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Agency for International Development, the Department of Labor in 1991, and the Environmental Protection Agency from 1996 to 2001.

Henry has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences since 1978. In 1994, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of America and served as Chair of the College in 2001. He is also a member of the Institute of Residential Marketing and former Trustee of the National Sales and Marketing Council of the National Association of Home Builders.

Additional information on Rene Henry may be found on his website (link in External Documents).

Scope and Contents

Historical material compiled by Rene A. Henry, documenting the history of South Charleston, West Virginia; Henry's family; the West Virginia University football team; and his career in public relations and sports marketing. An addendum of 2013-10-29 includes biographical material, correspondence, articles, clippings, scripts, photographs, and motion pictures pertaining to Henry, his work in sports journalism, and the WVU Mountaineers. An addendum of 2017-09-30 contains numbered prints of artworks (1970-1975). An addendum of 2018/01/19 contains photographs, publications, and other material (1910–2017). An addendum of 2021/07/31 includes scrapbooks and memorabilia from the Olympic Games and other athletic events as well as other material (1939-2005).

Series include:
Series 1. Initial Acquisition, 1950, 2013, undated [Small Collection folder]
Series 2. Addendum of 2013/10/29, Writings, Photographs, and Motion Pictures, 1919-2018, undated [box 1]
Series 3. Addendum of 2017/04/18, Postcards and Collectibles, 1910–2016 [boxes 2- 4]
Series 4. Addendum of 2017/09/30, Artworks, 1970-1975, undated [box 5]
Series 5. Addendum of 2018/01/19, Photographs, Publications, and Other Material, 1910–2017 [boxes 6-8]
Series 6. Addendum of 2021/07/31, Olympic Games Scrapbooks, Memorabilia, and Other Material, 1939-2005 [boxes 9-10]

Separated Material

Books authored by Rene A. Henry separated to the book collection:
Communicating In A Crisis: A Guide For Management; 2008
Customer Service: The Cornerstone of Success; 2013
Marketing Public Relations; 1995
Offsides; 2001
The Iron Indians; 2011
You'd Better Have A Hose If You Want To Put Out The Fire; 2000

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Charleston (W. Va.)
• Federal Writers' Project
• Henry, Rene A.
• Olympics
• Railroads -- West Virginia
• Sports journalism
• West Virginia Mountaineers (Football team)
• Winter Olympics