John F. (Jack) Gordon

Who was John F. (Jack) Gordon?

Jack Gordon was a Seattle civic promoter, official greeter, publicist, journalist, and association executive. Gordon was born in Portland, Oregon, and died in Seattle, Washington.

Gordon headed up arrangements for visits to Washington State by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan as well as presidential candidates Adlai Stevenson, Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Carter, and Walter Mondale. He welcomed governors from all 50 states as coordinator of State Honor Day programs during Seattle's Century 21 and Spokane's Expo '74.

Gordon staged visits by Mercury astronaut John Glenn in 1962 and Gemini astronaut Richard Gordon in 1966. He later brought astronauts from Gemini X, Apollo XII, XVI, and XVII missions to Seattle. Dr. George Nelson, a mission specialist on the space shuttle program was a special guest at the Restaurant Association's 1986 Pacific Int'l Hospitality Show.