IABC Volunteers: Their Expertise is Endless
When you volunteer for IABC, you just never know what impressive communicators you’ll meet.
You might just end up working on a project with Dean Williams, a seasoned communicator who fell into the field when former Ontario Premier Bob Rae hand picked him to become his press secretary in 1990 less than a year before the NDP took office.
Dean now is happily operating his own strategic communications business called Williams Savvy & Associates and has been volunteering his time since 1999, most recently in the professional standards portfolio. But back in the mid-1980s he was working for the Globe and Mail in the Queen’s Park bureau while completing his studies in international relations at the University of Toronto.
“I was more interested in looking at things from an international perspective because of my studies. Provincial politics seems like child’s play to me. I couldn't have been more wrong.
“Bob Rae used to say that he wanted to be premier in the worst way. It turned out that he ended up being premier in one of the worst times – struggling through a recession, with high interest rates and a strong dollar, things the public didn’t understand were not completely manufactured by Bob Rae.”
For Dean, working with Bob Rae to manage the demands from the media for timely information on such a diverse range of issues turned out to be the biggest challenges of his career.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful when I say that I don’t think any agency environment can compare to working in an environment like that. When you’re working in politics, you’re not punching a time clock. Your job just doesn’t seem to ever end. The scope of knowledge that you require is mind-boggling. You need to become an instant expert on everything immediately. It’s essential that you be on top of every issue because the media demands it and you’re out there as the front person.”
Before leaving government, Dean helped on a number of high profile communications projects such as establishing the Toronto Raptors NBA franchise in Toronto, public-private sector partnerships and the $200 million expansion of Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
In his own practice he continues to work with the government at all levels but he’s also developed a niche in areas such as strategic alliance development and corporate ethics.
In his role as volunteer, Dean is committed to bringing his expertise to the table, whether he’s preparing an annual report for members or sharing his knowledge on ethics and social responsibility in a series of articles that appeared here in the Communicator. He also sits on the board of the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy, working with organizations to foster a stronger commitment to ethics and social responsibility.
Dean is anxious to pass on his views to other members, senior and junior, who may be facing ethical challenges when developing communications policy and strategy -- especially in light of the developments at corporations such as Nortel and Enron.
“I think as a senior member I have a responsibility to mentor and share my insights. We are a community of communicators. I enjoy helping out members in any way I can.”
If you like to explore how you can help IABC/Toronto, please contact Alix Edmiston at toronto-volunteers@iabc.com
Alix is currently IABC/Toronto’s VP-Volunteer Leadership Development & Services and a independent practitioner specializing in media relations, strategic marketing and publication management.
