Oregon Wine Board names Charles Humble Director of Marketing and Communications

Jeanette Morgan, executive director of The Oregon Wine Board (OWB), today announced that Charles Humble has been named director of marketing and communications of the semi-independent state agency which manages industry marketing, research and education.

OWB, which is headquartered in Portland, represent the state’s 419 wineries and 849 vineyards. In 2010, the state’s wineries sold 1.9 million cases of wine representing revenues of $253.7 million, an increase of 25 percent over 2009.

“We are pleased to have attracted an experienced communications and marketing professional who also has a strong knowledge of the state’s wine industry,” said Ms. Morgan. “The communications and marketing skills and experience that Charles brings to this position are critical to OWB in raising awareness of Oregon wine in Oregon, nationally and internationally.”

Humble’s responsibilities include overseeing all OWB internal and external marketing and communications activities. A native Oregonian, he previously was a senior vice president at Waggener Edstrom, a Bellevue, Washington-based public relations consultancy. Prior to that, he was president of Insync Communications, a Portland-based communications consultancy. He began his career as a journalist as a business reporter and editor at The Oregon Journal and The Oregonian prior to shifting careers to public relations. He is a graduate of Linfield College in McMinnville.

About OWB:
The Oregon Wine Board (OWB) is a semi-independent Oregon state agency managing marketing, research and education initiatives that support and advance the Oregon wine and wine grape industry. The Board works on behalf of all Oregon wineries and independent growers throughout the state’s diverse winegrowing regions. The Oregon wine grape and wine industry contributes more than $1.4 billion of economic activity to the state economy each year, including over 8,500 wine-related jobs and $200 million in wages.