Fran Odyniec

His Story

Photo #1 - (above) Fran in 1969. His Hiram Scott College Official Yearbook Photo
Photo #2 - Serious Fran, an outtake from the official yearbook session
Photo #3 - Fran in a sweater in 1969 at Hiram Scott College broadcasting on KNEB-FM.
Photo #4 - Fran conducting an interview show on KOLT, Scottsbluff in 1969
Photo #5 - Fran in a serious mood broadcasting on KNEB-FM.
Photo #6 - Fran as a frat member. Original was dark and small so this is not the best quality.

The following is written by Gerry Wilkinson....Another one of the old WRTI gang has been found. This time I'm talking about Fran Odyniec. Alive and well, he can be found at 4000 Gypsy Lane, Apartment 609 in Philadelphia. According to Fran, this is his World Headquarters for Odyniec Marketing Communications dealing in commercial and consumer public relations. I told Fran, "Hell, let's make it the Galactic Headquarters." I said that I would like the Klingon franchise. He exclaimed, "Why not?" Seriously, Fran has been doing freelance for several years. However, he did mention that he was looking to get back into agency work or broadcasting.

See Joe Ryan, Fran and Ed Cunningham in 1967.

The last time I saw Fran Odyniec was in January or February of 1968. Come to think of it that was the last time I saw Ira Mellman too. That's because, all of a sudden, they were swept away to the mid-west as roommates. They ended up at Hiram Scott College in Scottsbluff, NE. While Ira transferred again at a later date, Fran finally received his "sheep skin" from Hiram Scott in 1970 with a BA in Business, Modern Economics. While Fran was delighted, the sheep was not.

When our old buddy Fran returned to Philly, he applied for a gig as a Want Ad Taker at the Philadelphia Inquirer. However, they needed someone right away and they made him the Contest Manager in the Circulation Sales department. A little while later, Fran received a ring on the telephone. It was Philadelphia Electric (now PECO) where Fran had worked a couple of summers previously. They were offering him a position as Senior Analyst in General Accounting. While Odyniec kept the job for four and a half years, he said that he had his own rules about accounting. He thought that if you hit the amount within a couple of dollars, good enough. Well, the Electric Company told him, "Don't pass GO, don't collect $200." There was one occasion where Fran was fifty cents short and no matter how long he worked on it, he couldn't figure where the half buck went. So he took the ledger, wrote down "fifty cents short" and taped two quarters onto the paper. Somehow, the boss didn't think it was very funny.

He was out in the cold, in the Poconos. He became a mild-mannered Account Executive by weekday and boss jock on the weekend at WVPO AM & FM in Stroudsburg, PA. This was about 1975 or 1976. He was on Saturdays from 6 pm to midnight and Sundays 12:30 pm to 6 pm. Sometimes they would have Fran do fill-in during mid-day. This station gave a new meaning to the words, MID-DAY. The shift was from 10 am to 5 pm. That's a long time to play BOSS JOCK.

Ames Publishing in Olney was the next place for Franny to show up. There he became Senior Editor/Managing Editor of a couple industrial publications. Then there was a brief stop at North American Publishing where he worked with Vic Brody. Next was Thiokol Speciality, Chemical Division where Fran did PR. The Fran Odyniec Express rolled by with a year and a half of freelance work followed by a stop into Butcher and Singer where he was Investor Relations Manager. This was followed by more freelance until Fran ended up in the Big Apple with Creamer, Dickson and Basford. There Franny was an Account Supervisor and also dealt with Public Relations. After that, he went to the Weightman Group as a Senior Vice-President for a half-dozen years. But NYC just couldn't compete with Philadelphia where Fran returned to take a VP gig with Fleishman Hillard until they closed their Philly office. Now it's back to freelance for Odyniec which is what he is doing today.

He has a special interest in old steam locomotives and in model railroading as does his girlfriend, Ellie.

Fran was very active in our efforts to save Thomas Hall. He along with Bob Cirillo, Gerry Wilkinson, Jerry Klein, Bob Backman and Ed Cunningham testified in front of the Philadelphia Historical Commission on several occasions.

Fran Odyniec has informed us that on Monday, August 23, 1999, he has started employment as a vice-president with Toplin & Associates, a Philadelphia area based PR firm. He resigned the position in mid-October.

This is the WRTI Old Gang Web Site!