Our firm, Thornley Fallis Communications, which is one of Ottawa’s leading public relations firms, is recruiting Senior Public Relations & Communications Professionals for our growing Ottawa office.

Candidates should have a consulting, agency or journalism background and/or significant experience in conceptualizing, planning and executing public relations programs and activities for government organizations, private sector companies and/or national associations.

Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to:

• Build and lead teams, allocate resources, and manage multiple projects and budgets simultaneously.
• Deploy a broad range of leading-edge communications methodologies and tactics.
• Manage relationships and provide clients with effective strategic advice.
• Integrate new media, web and social media tools into communications programs.
• Develop and close new business opportunities, including proposal development and presenting to clients/prospects.

Candidates must be highly-motivated and thrive in a fast-paced team environment, possess superior communications and exceptional writing skills, and deliver outstanding client service.  Bilingualism is a definite asset.

The Thornley Fallis team prides itself on working collaboratively, and we are looking for consultants interested in joining a group of fun, dynamic professionals who are committed to providing clients with the best possible counsel, service and results.

CVs can be submitted to me:

Keelan Green
Vice-President & General Manager
Thornley Fallis Communications
55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 730
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L5
green@thornleyfallis.com

I was struck recently by the lack of coverage given the 2006 census when it was released July 17th.  What struck me, in particular, was the fact that:

1. During the slowest news period of the year, the story about the aging of Canada’s population (across the board) received one day of coverage, with very little follow-on coverage anywhere, and
2. There was little national discussion about the various regional stories associated with the census and the ongoing impact that will have from coast to coast to coast in this country.

I confess, I’m a bit of a demographic buff — have been since I helped out a bit on New Brunswick at the Dawn of a New Century in 1996 and read Boom, Bust and Echo by David Foot the same year.

So, while I’ve been waiting, let’s reflect on some of the larger things the census tells us:

1. Newfoundland may shrink its way into have-province status, as young people are an ever-rarer sight in that province;
2. All of Atlantic Canada faces significant population challenges, as does Saskatchewan and Quebec outside of Montreal;
3. Alberta, BC and Ontario remain the bright lights, demographically, meaning their economies will continue to shine as well.

My fear is that the census, and indeed demographics, is becoming a story that is too big to cover, much like the challenges we face from an energy perspective or the challenges faced in reforming and reshaping government operations.

But much as the lack of coverage makes me a little crazy, what really irks me is the challenge I have talking with people who refuse to consider the impacts demographics will have on them personally. 

For example, where are pension funds investing their money, and what impact is the flight of head offices from Canada going to have on their investments?

There are literally thousands of questions that could be asked of government, of citizens, and of the corporate sector out of the census.  I guess that means I better go back to the source document itself and get reading — waiting for a national discussion on it seems like it might be too much to ask.

I remain skeptical about my ability to cheer for the Indianapolis Colts, but if ever there was a coach who lived the very core of the word, it’s Tony Dungy.

Rick Reilly’s piece from Sports Illustrated is a marvel of efficient writing, but most important is the notion of community it represents.

To quote:

“And this is only one stranger whom Tony Dungy has befriended. There’s the former high school coach in Wisconsin whose son committed suicide. There’s the young kid in Indianapolis who lost his mother and brother in a car wreck. Heartbroken people all over are suddenly getting a hand up from a man who himself should be a puddle but is instead a river of strength.

Yet Dungy refuses to talk to the media about these good deeds, which only makes them better.”

“Tony Dungy stands as a reminder to every parent who’s grieving right now that there is a way through the pain. And that way is through each other.”

Dundy lost his own son in 2005, just before Christmas, and he has been reaching out to others ever since.  I can only hope I would be one-tenth as strong, in similar circumstances, but I can promise two boys will get a big hug tonight from their dad. 

After a great year and a half, the Ottawa office of Thornley Fallis and 76design is losing our Administrative Coordinator, Lauren Saliba.

We will miss Lauren and wish she wasn’t leaving, but at the same time we are very happy for her and wish her luck in her new position with the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

So that means we are looking for someone to take on the difficult task of filling Lauren’s shoes.  If you or someone you know is interested, send your CV to me at green@thornleyfallis.com.

Here’s the job poster:

Thornley Fallis and 76design are looking for an Administrative Coordinator for their Ottawa office.  The person will support the consulting and design teams, assist the accounting department and provide reception/administration duties.

Duties:

• Office reception and a variety of administrative tasks, including: office supply inventory; travel arrangements; event planning; liaison with service providers, suppliers and building management; new employee orientation; soft and hard copy filing; drafting correspondence; printing, photocopying and collating; computer/telephone set-up; and couriers/shipping. 
• Support for staff, including: proposal preparation; research; website updates and maintenance.
• Support for accounting department, including: accounts receivable/payable; client/project files; government security clearance; monthly invoice preparation and follow-up.

Requirements:

• Self-motivated, personable, energetic
• Highly organized and efficient
• Experience in a similar role
• Ability to speak comfortably in both English and French, with fluent bilingualism in reading and writing an asset
• High-competency with a range of MS Office programs and applications, with knowledge of QuickBooks an asset

If you are interested in joining one of Ottawa’s leading public relations, communications and creative services firms, send your CV to green@thornleyfallis.com.

In my volunteer life, I’m the chair of the Gloucester Dragons Recreational Soccer Association — so I clearly don’t agree with Chuck Klosterman about soccer.

Having said that, I do recognize that soccer is a relatively new sport in this country, and that there are not a lot of people with experience to coach the 3,400 or so young players we have in the association.

I am still surprised, however, that of our 200 or so teams, we probably had to recruit some 15 to 25 per cent of our coaches under duress (i.e. we need a coach or there’s no team).

I’m also surprised at the number of familiar faces I see in the larger group of eager volunteers — hockey coaches coaching again in soccer season, scout leaders coaching, etc. And when we put out the call for coaches in our panic, the people who stepped up were the ones who usually do that other stuff.

In fact, one woman we called gave me a list of activities she and her husband were involved in that was so complete they had one night a week they could devote to coaching soccer, but they would do it if we really needed them.  We told them that, thanks, we’ll make sure we find someone else who isn’t giving quite so much.

So, my pitch is this: if you’re not volunteering right now for something, please think about doing so.  You don’t need to become a coach for the Dragons — although, if you’re interested, we could use the help.

What I’d really like to see is a group of people getting together to figure out how they can help each other help out.

This is the kind of story that drives me crazy about Canadian health care.

Take a self-serving report (this one by the Canadian Nurses Association, but there are others published every year), then oversimplify its findings and report them to the public, highlighting another crisis in Canadian health care.

To quote the story, available here:

“The report, by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), says 8,000 nurses will graduate but 15 per cent of them won’t be able to find secure employment.

The CNA says the problem is resulting in 10 per cent of new graduates moving to the United States every year.

The unemployment figure is determined by looking at health-care policy studies, past trends and reports from young nursing students across the country.”

Except it isn’t entirely accurate — the key word in the report is “secure.”  A lot of professionals, when they first graduate, aren’t hired into permanent, full-time jobs. Instead, they are hired on probation, given the worst shifts, etc.  Nurses, unfortunately, are no different.

The report goes on:

“According to the CNA, Canadian governments spend an average of $60,000 over four years to train a nurse. If 1,200 of them are unable to find work ever year, that amounts to a waste of $72 million in tax dollars.”

“Smadu said that employed registered nurses are working the equivalent of 10,000 full-time jobs in overtime.

“We know that 8,000 isn’t even meeting that gap and that’s why to us it’s really very shocking that we have new graduates who still don’t have full-time employment when they graduate,” she said.

“We predict at the association that we need about 12,000 graduates a year to deal with the impending retirement of registered nurses.”

There’s that word again — full-time employment.  Does the fact that a new nurse, fresh out of university, isn’t being offered a permanent, full-time shift at a hospital or other health care facility mean that he or she doesn’t have a job?  Not necessarily, but this report is being reported as though that is the case.

The Canadian health care system is a complicated mix of public and private sector management and involvement already.  Doctors, far from being employees of the government, are self-employed business people, by and large.

There are things to be done in health care — moving new doctors to salaried positions, for example, and buying the practices of current physicians.  There are things to be done in medical education — eliminating tuition fees for doctors who agree to remain in Canada, charging the true tuition (about $100,000 per year) to those who don’t agree, and finding a mechanism to enforce that agreement, for starters.

And, yes, we’re facing a demographic challenge — but reporting the results of a study without ensuring the real questions are asked isn’t going to do it. 

So what questions would I ask?

• Are you saying, Canadian Nurses Association, that there are trained nurses in Canada who are unemployed (not underemployed, but out of work completely)?
• Are you saying these nurses, professionally trained and certified and willing to relocate, can’t find any work anywhere?  Or are you saying they can’t find guaranteed, full-time employment in the area they want, with the hours they want — because that’s different.

I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I would want those answers before I reported that “1 in 7 new nurses can’t find work.”

I think the Canadian health care system, by and large, works pretty well, and I think the proof is obvious to anyone who’s watched GM, Ford and Crysler struggle with their health care costs south of the border.  “System needs improvement,” however, isn’t the same headline as ”system in crisis.” 

This week, I had the pleasure of promoting my colleague and friend, Aimee Deziel of 76design. 

Now I am not what anyone, particularly those who know me, would call a sensitive, emotional or coddling guy.

However, in promoting Aimee to the position of Vice-President of 76design, I really shared her excitement.

Three years ago, Aimee was the first person I hired in my now five year career at Thornley Fallis & 76design.  So (and not to sound condescending) I take pride in her success and the contribution she has made to our firm since joining us in 2004.

Her leadership has really been a driving force in 76design’s growth, particularly over the past 18 months and she will be a key element of the continued success of Thornley Fallis & 76design going forward.

Below is the email message that I sent out to staff earlier today announcing her well-deserved promotion.

On behalf of Joe and Alex, I would like to announce the appointment of Aimee Deziel to Vice-President of 76design.

 

Aimee has been with us for close to 3 years and was the first hire I made with the firm, so of course I am particularly excited for Aimee and very proud of her success.

 

We have a great team that is consistently delivering better and better work, and except for the odd March Meltdown, has fun along the way.  This is resulting in more work from existing clients and regularly winning new assignments from new clients in new sectors.

 

Aimee Deziel has been a very big and very important part of our success and growth.  She is a very smart, talented, passionate, creative and dedicated individual that brings a lot of enthusiasm to both the work we do and our office environment.

 

Originally hired on the TF side, Aimee’s advertising background eventually led her to start getting involved in more and more of 76design’s creative projects. 

 

Last year, we formally transitioned her fully to 76design.  Since then, she has been leading the design and creative team, and has been integral to 76design’s continuously growing reputation as a firm that does really creative and smart work, provides excellent service, and is great to work with.

 

Today’s announcement of Aimee’s appointment to Vice-President of 76design not only recognizes the role she is already playing, but is an indication from Joe, Alex and I, as well as Brett and Steve, that we believe her and her leadership are key to the ongoing and future success of not only 76design, but the entire firm.

 

Congratulations Aimee, you have worked hard, you have been successful and you definitely deserve this!