2 WACKO! Echoes From the Purple Palace (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781466386143)

Tom Ambrose is a public relations professional who spent 37 years (1973-2010) in the front office of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. He was born and raised in New Rochelle, New York, where he attended Iona Prep. Later, he matriculated at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in English. Following his 1970 graduation from Notre Dame, he moved to Arizona to begin his public relations career with Phoenix Newspapers, Inc. Two years later, he entered the world of sports management as public relations director for the Suns. During his first 16 years with the Suns franchise, he directed the team's media relations, communications programming and later, its advertising strategy. On a league level, Ambrose founded the NBA's Public Relations Directors Association (NBAPRDA), authored its code of ethical standards and served as the organization's first president. In 1996, the NBAPRDA honored Tom with its "Splaver-McHugh Tribute to Excellence Award" for his contributions to the profession. Throughout his career with the Suns, he managed the team's public relations, community relations and played a key leadership role with the team's non-profit, community foundation, Phoenix Suns Charities. Tom remains active in the Phoenix non-profit community. He lives in Phoenix with his wife, Alice. In 1992, Tom teamed up with Jim Brewer to co-author the book, "A Silver Anniversary Celebration of the Phoenix Suns." In 2011, Ambrose released the first book in this series, "Notes From the WACKO! File and Tales from the Madhouse on McDowell."