Agency History
Jean as president of The Runyon Agency, Inc., 1976, at 27th and K St. location.
Jean and Estelle in Dunn Mansion (22nd and L St.) home of The Runyon Agency, Inc., 1981.
Jane, Jean and Estelle at 25th and K St. location, celebrating special anniversary of firm.
Estelle, Chris, Jean, Scott and Jane at Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn, Inc. holiday party, One Capitol Mall, 2007.
The founder of Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn, Inc. (RS&E) was Jean Runyon, an actress and entertainer at heart, who launched her public relations career in 1952 by organizing and promoting theater parties for Sacramento's Music Circus. In 1972, her company – by then called Dannenfelser, Runyon, Craig (DRC) – had won the advertising and public relations contract from the California Exposition and State Fair. Estelle Saltzman, a former newspaper reporter, copy editor and freelance writer, had recently moved to Sacramento and was hired by Jean to write press releases and facilitate media coverage of the Fair. A few months later, Estelle moved to the agency's Old Sacramento office to become DRC's main public relations writer.
In 1976, Jean and her DRC partners decided to go their separate ways and Jean and Estelle went into business together in a small office in mid-town Sacramento, initially calling their firm The Runyon Agency, Inc. and later, Runyon Saltzman, Inc.
Jane Einhorn joined the company in late 1980, having worked previously as a reporter for a New York-based supermarket trade publication and as a publicist for the Polaroid Company in Boston. By 1984, she was a shareholder and in 1993, the firm's name was changed to Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn, Inc.
Current RS&E owners are Estelle, president/CEO; Jane, senior vice president; and vice presidents Scott Rose, who became a shareholder in 1999, and Chris Holben, who became a shareholder in 2005. Prior to joining the firm, Scott had worked in the California Legislature as an aide to then-Assemblyman Rusty Arias. Likewise, before Chris' arrival, he worked for then-U.S. Senator and later, then-California Governor Pete Wilson.
Current RS&E owners are Estelle, president/CEO; Jane, senior vice president; and vice presidents Scott Rose, who became a shareholder in 1999, and Chris Holben, who became a shareholder in 2005. Paul McClure, also a vice president, joined the firm as a shareholder in 2010.
Prior to joining the firm, Scott had worked in the California Legislature as an aide to then-Assemblyman Rusty Arias. Likewise, before Chris' arrival, he worked for then-U.S. Senator and later, then-California Governor Pete Wilson. Previously, Paul was co-owner of Sacramento's Glass McClure advertising agency.
Jean, who had been RS&E's president since its inception and became chair of the board of RS&E in 2007, passed away October 24, 2009 at the age of 82. Her philanthropic spirit and her countless personal and company contributions to individuals and the Sacramento community as a whole will never be forgotten.