Yvonne McGehee Sorge, APR

Throughout her career, Yvonne McGehee Sorge, APR, has always exemplified the highest standards of business ethics and professionalism. She has been instrumental in mentoring a generation of public relations and advertising professionals in Mississippi. Many young men and women were encouraged and assisted by her as they began their careers. She is considered one of the trailblazers for executive women, helping many women move out of secretarial pools and into leadership roles in business.

Yvonne Sorge

Sorge began her professional career at an advertising agency in Memphis, focusing on marketing and retail advertising. She later accepted a position with Kennington’s Department Store, which brought her to Jackson, Miss., to serve as Advertising Manager and Fashion Coordinator. After several years, Sorge went on to work at Jackson advertising agency Gordon Marks & Company, as account executive, senior vice president for advertising and public relations. One of the very few female executives in any corporation in Mississippi at that time, she handled a diverse clientele. In 1990, she opened her own firm, Yvonne Sorge Advertising and Public Relations, and retired in 2009.

An energetic supporter for Mississippi’s artistic community, Sorge led the initial public relations campaign in 1979 for the first International Ballet Competition held in the United States in Jackson, which still hosts the event every four years. Among the many honors garnered during her career, Sorge was recognized by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) with the Silver Anvil Award, presented for public relations counsel/activities for the International Ballet Competition. She was also honored by the American Advertising Federation of Mississippi as Woman of the Year, and a Silver Medalist, a tribute to her 25-year contribution to her community and the advertising industry. A breast cancer survivor herself, Sorge also helped establish the first Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation chapter in Mississippi in 1999.