Longtime PR man for Chick-fil-A dies

Associated Press

ATLANTA

The longtime spokesman for fast-food chain Chick- fil-A died Friday. He was 60.

The Atlanta-based company said in a prepared statement that Donald A. Perry, vice president for corporate public relations, died suddenly Friday morning. The cause of death was not released by the company.

Perry worked at Chick- fil-A nearly 29 years.

“Don was an incredible friend, a consummate PR professional and was absolutely in love with Chick-fil-A. His passing leaves a great hole in my life as well as the lives of everyone who worked with him,” said Steve Robinson, executive vice president for marketing at Chick-fil-A.

The privately owned company known for putting faith ahead of profits by closing Sundays sparked a new skirmish in the culture wars when president Dan Cathy recently took a public position against same-sex marriage.

Cathy said the company is “guilty as charged” in support of what he called the biblical definition of the family unit.

Gay-rights groups called for a boycott, a Muppets toy was pulled from kids’ meals and politicians weighed in.

Christian conservatives, however, threw their support behind the company.