Phyllis Apple | A Miami Legacy

“She led by example, she rolled up her sleeves and did the work.”

Apple left a legacy as large as the skyline she’d point toward on drives around South Beach and Brickell.


Phyllis Apple was a force behind the growing Miami skyline. She has died at age 100

When Phyllis Apple finally retired and shut the Miami area public relations firm that bore her name — for almost as long as that other Apple business — she did so with her customary brio. Apple, who died Dec. 27 at age 100 at her home in Princeton, New Jersey, led her retirement press release with: “Yes, ladies and gentleman, the sky just might be falling.”

To this day, I often find myself mentioning Phyllis to my staff during a meeting, applying what she taught me with a story pitch or marketing idea. She had such an impact on me as a mentor, in terms of how to lead and manage people, how to have fun, how to connect on a personal level, how to counsel clients and how to work hard. I talk about her often. As do most of the people that worked for her or hired her over the years.

– Tadd Schwartz, Miami Herald

Longtime Miami public relations executive Phyllis Apple dies at 100

Phyllis Apple, who was instrumental in promoting the luxury condo market in Miami in its early days, died at 100. She was the founder and CEO of the Apple Organization, which represented Miami’s biggest developers for 30 years. Her clients included both Ugo Colombo and Jorge Pérez of the Related Group when they were first starting out here, Manny Medina, Alicia Cervera, Craig Studnicky, Dora Puig, and Jose Milton.

We are all living and working today in the wake she created, back when Miami was a blank canvas and it took vision to see the potential for this young city. The Miami we live in today is her legacy.

– Tadd Schwartz, South Florida Business Journal