<< Previous   of   Next >> Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service  (click to enlarge) Public Affairs Officer Michael Odle poses with Air Force One in the background during President George W. Bush's visit. Odle organized the president's briefing and tour of the wildfires which ravaged northern California in 2008.

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Local earns national award for public relations

Lynnwood native, Michael Odle, has overseen more disasters and presidential visits than many veterans of the trade

By Melissa Slager
For the Enterprise

Michael Odle has been on the tarmac alongside California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Air Force One landed.

He’s taken the microphone to comfort families of fallen firefighters in the largest firefighter aviation disaster in U.S. history even as wildfires continued to ravage acres of forest and threaten homes.

In Bangladesh, he helped coordinate media coverage of U.S. humanitarian efforts, working with everyone from Al-Jazeera to American media.

He was in the American South for the rescue efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and in Washington, D.C., for President Obama’s inauguration.

Then there was the time he had to rescue a congressman stranded in a California national forest who was dumped by the Air Force during a pot raid.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that Odle has the second-highest possible salary class in the military’s civil service pay system.

But he’s only getting started.

Odle, 29, was recently named one of the country’s top “15 to Watch” in 2009 by a public relations trade magazine. Odle, who grew up in Lynnwood, was the only federal employee on the list. He is a public affairs officer for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Billings as well as for the Oregon National Guard.

“I really see public relations and public affairs at its purest form (in federal civil service),” Odle said. “You’re not being driven to make a profit in the federal government. … Your sole responsibility is to get the message out and the information out so people can make their decisions about programs, activities, etc. Whereas in the private sector, I feel everything is kind of pushed by the bottom line.”

Those who know him say the award is well deserved.

Odle possesses drive and talent in equal measures, U.S. Forest Service Ranger Kristy Cottini said in nominating Odle for the PR News list. Odle worked with Cottini while at the Forest Service in California.

“Michael is often requested by name to assist in crisis response, complicated and/or controversial communications issues and sensitive subjects. He has made multitasking an art form, tackling challenges and projects with self-confidence and finesse,” Cottini wrote.

For himself, Odle sees the honor as validation for the work he’s doing but also for the federal government, which can draw the same kind of talent as the big, private corporations that also were represented on the PR News list.

Though often younger than other people in the room, Odle brings with him the credibility of having been there, done that. Not yet 30 years old, he’s already dealt with 17 fatalities, “which is more than a seasoned professional in government will ever have to deal with,” he said.

“I’m very capable of stepping right up to plate.”

Bob and Judy Odle, Mike’s parents, live in Edmonds.

“Nothing he does surprises me too much anymore. He works hard at it,” Bob Odle said.

Looking back, Judy Odle said her son has always had one gift required for public relations. “He’s got the gift of gab.” A retired flight attendant, Judy Odle recalled her son taking the microphone in flight on her last trip to tell the passengers all about his mom.

But Mike also showed leadership qualities since attending Meadowdale High School and getting involved in the school’s DECA marketing student group, his parents said.

“He’s a go-getter from the word go,” Judy Odle said.

Where will he go next? Well, for now, Odle said he’s simply looking forward to an awards reception Dec. 1 at the National Press Club in D.C. “I’ve always wanted to go to the National Press Club,” he said. “(It will be) very humbling and very exciting.”

Among the many highlights in his career, Odle said the first to spring to mind was working with the White House during a visit by then-President George W. Bush to California.

“Knowing that your boss is briefing the president with materials and visuals you prepared, it’s kind of a thrill,” Odle said. “And to see it all went well – because I still have my job.”