Holy Cow—I’m A Fellow!

• Posted by: Joe Williams

I got a phone call a few weeks ago from Sheri Rosen informing me that I had been selected as one of two recipients of the 2009 IABC Fellow Award.

I never thought of myself in that league. So I was, quite naturally, at a loss for words. And I still am. The official ceremony is June 7 at the international conference in San Francisco.

If any Dialogue alums are there, let’s get together. I’m buying. At least the first round.

Here’s the blow-by-blow biographical details, from an IABC press release…

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has named Joe Williams and Pixie Malherbe Emslie, ABC, as this year’s IABC Fellows. The IABC Fellow Award is the highest honor the association can bestow on an individual and acknowledges outstanding leadership, professional accomplishment and service to IABC and the profession.

Fellow selection criteria includes contribution to the organizational communication field and profession; career achievement; authorship, speaking and lecturing; contributions to IABC; and other professional recognition such as community activities and other business-related activities.

“Both Joe and Pixie have had a substantial influence on the communication profession, though they’ve done so in different ways. Each one’s individual personality and circumstance shaped their career achievements and contribution to IABC, says Sheri Rosen, ABC, chair of the 2009 Fellow Awards committee. “Together, they make the point that IABC members have a variety of skills and successes that move the practice of organizational communication toward greater visibility and value to business. They are two of the best.”

Joe Williams
For 35 years, Joe Williams has developed innovative strategic thinking and planning processes, cutting-edge training and professional development programs, and advanced measurement methodologies that link communication to business performance.

During his tenure at TRW from 1975 to 1985, Joe pioneered research and strategic planning practices that were far ahead of their time and established employee communication as a strategic management function.

In 1985, he formed Joe Williams Communications, Inc., and today his company’s research database represents 500,000 employees worldwide. With John Williams, his son and president of the firm, they developed the first quantitative methodology to statistically link communication to bottom-line business results.

Joe’s popular “Dialogue in the Desert” workshop is the nation’s first and longest running strategic thinking, planning and leadership program. He also developed “Face2Face,” a highly rated, worldwide training program that has provided thousands of managers with essential communication tools.

Spanning across geography, industry and size, Joe’s clients include: General Dynamics; Susan G. Komen Foundation; MTS Allstream in Canada; Butterfield Bank in Bermuda; Chevron Corporation; the Government of South Africa; Northeast Utilities; Cirque du Soleil; Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia; and the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis.

As an active member at IABC, Williams has received several awards from the association. He has won 12 Gold Quill Awards—and an unprecedented four in one year and three in a row for communication planning. He has also received the Communicator of the Year award from IABC/ Tulsa. Williams has served on the Gold Quill Blue Ribbon panel of judges and has presented his work at several IABC conferences and chapter events.

He is a director for Arvest Bank, a regional bank group headed by Jim Walton.

Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s in mass communications from Oklahoma State University. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army (Armor) in the late 1960s, and in the early 70s he was on the editorial staff of the Daily American newspaper in Rome, Italy.

Joe and his wife, Barbara, have two married sons, six grandchildren and one big dog.

Pixie Malherbe Emslie, ABC
After graduating from Natal University, Pixie Malherbe Emslie started her career as a journalist for newspapers in South Africa and magazines in London. Pixie moved into corporation communications in 1976 when she joined the communications department at General Mining (now BHP Billiton). It was during this time in her career that Pixie became involved in the South African Association of Industrial Editors (SAAIE) and a member of IABC.

Pixie was actively involved in the SAAIE National Committee with a focus on training in the areas of employee communication and publications. She established a series of training courses for business communicators that came to be professionally recognized by corporations and academic institutions. In 1985, Pixie became national president of SAAIE and attended her first IABC conference in New York. A year later, she was made an honorary life fellow of SAAIE.

Shortly thereafter, SAAIE discontinued, its members joined IABC, and Pixie led the charge to establish a Southern Africa chapter. After a first-ever global referendum on the subject, the Southern Africa chapter was approved by majority vote in 1991. Pixie served as the first chapter president for two years.

In January 1990, Pixie started her own consultancy as Pixie Malherbe Business Communication, which she ran successfully for 15 years. Her clients included many of South Africa’s leading corporations, particularly in the mining industry, and her expertise was internal communication.

Pixie was among the first group of South Africans to achieve accreditation, and she has spoken at numerous IABC conferences, corporate seminars and various functions. Pixie has received the IABC Chairman’s Award, and she was the guest speaker at two consecutive World Women’s Day celebrations in Namibia.

Pixie has served as Chairman of the IABC Excel Award Committee and is currently a member of the IABC Accreditation Exam “E” committee.

Pixie raised a foster son during the past 21 years, and she lives in the Southern Cape where she writes for several publications and pursues her love of gardening and cooking.

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