Forty Under 40: Steve Voyak

In 1996, after three years of talk-news radio and nine years of newspaper reporting, Steve Voyak switched journalistic gears.

Rather than report news to the public, Voyak became the director of public relations for St. Mary’s Hospital in Rogers.

“I enjoy being on the other side of the media,” he said. Voyak said he still pursues his passion of writing, but his duties as a hospital spokesman also include public speaking, creative layout, advertisement design and marketing.

After five years with the hospital, Voyak said the job’s variety has yet to taper.

He added that he sees himself still working at St. Mary’s in five years, because new challenges renew his interest.

Voyak had a piece of advice to share with budding PR people.

“As communicators, we want to talk,” he said, “but the better listeners we are, the better communicators we become.”

Voyak attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., and earned a master’s degree in communication from the University of Arkansas.

In his free time, Voyak coaches youth sports, including baseball, basketball and soccer at the Rogers Youth Center and the Boys and Girls Club.