Communications Manager needed in Nanaimo

Title:  Communications Manager needed in Nanaimo

Good words, written boldly on the back of my UBC Marketing Club t-shirt are

 "Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something.”

Professional Communications is essential to Nanaimo going forward, it is desperately needed. There are people with World Class training and experience involved with every aspect of our City. It is time to put an equally high quality face on it. We have the high priced professionals in Finance, IT, Engineering, Planning, Operations, Parks and Recreation. Nanaimo is walking the walk; it’s time to step up and "talk the talk.

It is like a recent Candidate for Mayor I know who started the campaign with hands folded and black & white photocopied flyers. I quickly realized it was tacky, unprofessional and way below the standard people expected. Investment in professional communications brought me into the game. It does matter; it simply is not good enough to be good, looking good is essential.

Negativity towards the City hiring a Communications Manager exposes a lack of appreciation for professionalism in general - for why we bother doing things right and not just "good enough"

I am a professional marketer and have been since my UBC Commerce Marketing degree and work with IBM. It was as a marketing professional in 1976 with Molson's that I was introduced to Nanaimo. That year we sponsored the Nanaimo Amateur Golf tournament and (along with Mickey Mantle and Bob Ueker) of the opening of Serauxman Stadium.

A big issue in the recent election was the lack of "Transparency." For people to see what is going on, someone has to get the information out - efficiently. Volume and accuracy demands skill with a variety of tools and procedures. Like a surgeon who has to get it right for the patient to live, we need someone that can connect with the community in a timely and accurate manner in order for Nanaimo to live and grow. It is a complex, sophisticated and at times just boring, hard work job. It has to be done and done right. It’s not about "PR", not about "spinning", it’s about moving information when and where it’s needed, quickly and accurately.

Nanaimo has issues - money, control, waste, land use, culture, parks etc, etc.  Like any marriage with issues - a mediator, consultant or "councilor" will first and foremost suggest steps to improve "communications".  Well, let’s take a lead from life, if nowhere else and give it try. The top three positions in the City are accountants; let’s have a little balance. I want a salesman to run the world too.