(Ted Crail as I remember him)
I thought I’d publish the following, written in 1985 by Ted Crail, Public Relations Counsel for the Animal Protection Institute of America. I just ran across it again and was very touched by it. I hope it tells the tale of my abilities even better than the scores of shorter testimonials that you can find on the testimonials page…
AND THIS IS AS GOOD A PLACE AS ANY TO ANNOUNCE THAT I HAVE JUST COME OUT PUBLICLY AS TRANSGENDER BY WAY OF MY NEWEST BOOK WOMB MAN: HOW I SURVIVED GROWING UP IN A BOOBY-TRAPPED WORLD. This letter and all earlier written testimonials and reviews refer to me as she/her, so don’t let that throw you for a loop.
I’m still the same Kris I’ve always been;
I’m just claiming the gender my brain has always known me to be.
You can read more about my transgender journey at my author website YellowBalloonPublications.com.
Animal Protection Institute
PO Box 22505
Sacramento CA 95822
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Kris Smith is an unusually adept and skillful person—skillful in general—with a great and particular talent for writing, phrase-making, and taking part in many and varied aspects of public persuasion.
At the Animal Protection Institute, where I serve as public relations counsel and where the need was often felt for these particular qualities, she had an excellent career, which she gave up simply through a yearning to be back in the Pacific Northwest, her point of origin.
This was API’s loss. She took part in nearly all major campaigns of the Institute. She worked vigorously and well with fellow staff members but also with many other persons, friend and foe, who had business with the Institute, and she was a uniformly effective instructor, counselor, negotiator wherever and whenever these talents came into play.
She is outspoken but tactful; very amiable and cheerful in her day to day attitudes. She is vigorous and determined when the assignment requires it. She has a great devotion to accuracy and does not leave a trail of error. Her ability with language is very special and could be utilized far beyond the claims made upon her at the Institute, where counseling and research and negotiation—as well as frequent public appearances as a teacher-educator in the humane field—took much of her time.
She is entirely capable of planning and writing anything from a slogan to a book; has experience in publicity and advertising (and is proficient in both) and would prove an asset to any business or institute requiring all or any of these skills.
In addition to her many fine qualities as a co-worker, she is a well-rounded, well-read, highly-developed personality who can be affable and playful—and as utterly persistent and dedicated as may be needed.
I can recommend her without qualifications and wouldn’t hesitate to hire her for appropriate work in the business, humane, public relations or advertising fields where she has a lively feel for what needs to be done and how to do it. She is a self-starter and will never be idle for a moment.
Most sincerely,
Ted Crail
(Pulitzer Prize Nominee for APETALK AND WHALESPEAK)
Public Relations Counsel
The Animal Protection Institute
P.S. I can send an image of Mr. Crail’s actual letter in PDF format if need be)
Ted Crail as a young man…
To learn more about the life of this amazing man, here are several links to obituaries written about him when he passed away a few years ago…
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/obituaries/article2598167.html
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/archive/article-106b735e-d557-11e3-90cd-001a4bcf887a.html
