Advertising & Public Relations

Biography

A long time veteran of the highly competitive advertising and public relations arena, Frank Knapp Jr. is a success story.

In 1991 he started The Knapp Agency with one small client and two month's rent. Today the agency is housed in its own office building with a solid base of long-term satisfied clients. The Knapp Agency maintains its successful formula as a small, maneuverable powerhouse with full service capabilities.

Prior to forming The Knapp Agency, he was Associate Director of Public Information for South Carolina Educational Television and later a partner in a political consulting group. He has held planning positions in the public and private sectors and provided governmental relations services to statewide advocacy organizations.

Knapp is a tireless advocate for small businesses. In 2000 he co-founded The SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce, an organization dedicated to promoting the general interests of small businesses at the state and local government levels. He serves as that organization's president providing management and governmental relations. He has also served as Chairman of the Palmetto State Registered Apprenticeship Council and the City of Columbia's Small Business Regulatory Review Committee.

In 2005, Knapp founded the Greater Columbia Civil War Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the Civil War history of the Greater Columbia, SC, area for the purpose of education, preservation, identification and tourism. He chairs this organization, which is composed of the area's historic preservation agencies and groups. Knapp's interest and expertise in this subject is featured in Sherman's March: Final Revenge, a website he produced and launched in 2003 that documents the story of General Sherman's march to Columbia and the burning of the city.

Knapp's experience also includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania ('73) and a Masters of Arts degree in Social Psychology from the University of South Carolina, ('76). His research and work has been published in academic and professional journals. He is a frequent contributor of opinion editorials for newspapers. He has produced public affairs television programming and written\produced a syndicated radio commentary. Knapp is the creator and host of a 3-hour talk-radio show called “U Need 2 Know” which airs weekdays in Columbia. He is the recipient of a 1988 PBS Advertising and Promotion Award and a 1985 graduate of Leadership South Carolina.

He and his wife (Wendy) have a daughter (Jennifer), son-in-law (Shawn) and three grandchildren (Skyler, Riley and Camden).