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Biography |
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Introduction Michael is an award-winning, accredited business communications and organizational professional with 15 plus years experience directing and managing all areas of business communications, including web, print, multimedia, CD, software implementation functions. He leads, trains, assesses, and motivates teams to produce at their highest potential. In addition to developing strategic approaches to standardizing and unifying all internal/external communications functions, Michael is especially adept at building proactive and enduring relations with community, public, and media stakeholders. As a dynamic problem solver and team player, Michael effectively identifies potential conflicts and collaboratively manages their solution. Michael's experience implementing successful internal/external communications, marketing and branding initiatives in high profile, high stakes environments has prepared him to make a valuable and continuing contribution to a smart, progressive organization. As emergent information and media communications technologies evolve to meet today's continuing challenges, Michael believes organizations that take full advantage of their scope and reach will stand the best chance of growing and thriving. He's ready to do all he can to present as many solutions for a prospective employer as possible. For a company or organization looking to grow, Michael proposes a list of his proven senior Business Communications insights:
Well-recognized journalist An award-winning journalist during his daily newspaper career in Idaho and Washington, Michael won First Place in the annual Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition (http://www.heavenr.com/writing/journalism/cowpokes.html), awarded annually by the prestigious international Society of Professional Journalists. He was honored with other significant regional journalism honors and awards as well. Michael combined his love of history with a passion for entertainment, scoring significant interviews with such celebrities as guitarist/composer Carl Perkins, television personality Dick Cavett, actor Ken Curtis, (Gunsmoke's Festus Haggen), singers Pat and Debbie Boone (the same day she hit the top of the charts with You Light Up My Life), True Life Adventure narrator Rex Allen, comedian Victor Borge, and country star Mel Tillis (every time wife Terri sees Pam Tillis on TV, she is reminded "that your father kissed me"). Michael wrote a regular entertainment column and critiqued performances of many national and international musicians and movies ("I saw the original Star Wars the night it was released," he says, "and got married a week later. Not sure which was more significant. They both had 'legs'"). Michael also worked hard-news beats at city hall, the Idaho state capital, and a number of federal agencies. It was this later work that convinced Michael journalists are part of the social problem ("they confuse the public's right to know with their own perception of the public's desire to know"), and he departed for a career in corporate communications. Professional recognition Michael earned his Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) designation in 2003. To receive this recognition of his professional abilities, Michael had to pass a rigorous written and oral examination by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), testing his communications, crisis management, and critical thinking skills (http://www.iabc.com/development/accredit/abc.htm). He maintains the website for the Seattle chapter of IABC. To further his career, Michael recently earned his Master of Arts degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix. He plans to use this business and personnel management knowledge to improve employee, internal, and external communications. While he enjoys doing hands-on technical tasks, Michael's desire is to become a communications department manager, setting strategies, planning actions and relationships, and leading others to successfully implement the many integrated communications and computer technologies. Combining a series of scholarly papers written for his graduate courses, Michael has written an authoritative (as yet unpublished) textbook on employee motivation, incentives, and compensation, including monetary and non-monetary rewards, leadership versus management, ethical behavior, and benefits planning. Undergraduate degrees After working for three years in the resource distribution center of the Washington State Senate, Michael earned his associate of arts degree from Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington—where he was on the dean's list for several quarters (demonstrating that flunking out of Highline Community College was a fluke inspired by youthful exuberance). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, near Spokane (now home to the Seattle Seahawks spring training camp). Michael majored in his chosen specialty of daily newspaper journalism, and by combining his course interests in music history and theory, political science, contemporary affairs, English and American history, also double-majored in … you guessed it … history. He still graduated three months ahead of his class, giving him a head start on the job market in the spring of 1976. Internet guru As the web manager for Tally Printer Corporation in Kent, Washington, Michael was highly regarded by his peers as a leader in marketing, communications, graphic design, and Internet management, Michael is sought out when others need practical or technical questions answered quickly. The company was recently purchased by a competitor. Under the pre-merger persona, Michael increased traffic to the corporate website by 770 percent. His last employer, TallyGenicom of Chantilly, Virginia, was created in the leveraged purchase of Tally Printer Corporation and merger with Genicom LP. As staff and jobs were transferred to Texas, Virginia, and Mexico, the Kent, Washington, facility's work force declined from almost 250 people in 2003 to approximately 50 in mid-2004. The company depended on Michael develop structures and processes that integrated the company's two websites and focus them toward the widest audience possible, for critical generation of sales leads, technical support for customers, and program support for the company's more than 500 value-added resellers and field service technicians. Michael thrives on the challenges of the Internet—multiple simultaneous projects, often all with tight deadlines. He has been called "the 15-minute wonder" for his ability to change hats and tasks on short notice. He looks forward to applying all his hands-on skills to leading teams of like-minded professionals as a communications or information manager. Worldwide magazine publisher During his 16 years as publisher, managing editor, and production manager for the full-color worldwide motivational magazine of Rena Ware International, Michael lowered the magazine's budget by 48 percent, from $865,000 to $415,000 without compromising the excellence and value of the magazine and still increased readership by 25 percent worldwide (http://www.tinyurl.com/28wbt/). The company sells kitchenware and durable consumer goods. He developed methodology and techniques to reduce costs and improve quality, and negotiated extra value services from commercial printing vendors and design firms. He earned praise from the company's managers around the world. He developed return-on-investment (ROI) proposals for adding staff, and was able to hire, train, and supervise an associate editor and a graphic designer ("They taught me more about being a manager than any class or text," he says. "They trained me.") For the cookware company, Michael wrote an ROI proposal to launch desktop publishing (computer-aided design), and has long been an active proponent of computers in communications. He developed a prototype network with high-powered workstations and servers well before the company (or the industry) entered that arena. When Rena Ware did finally become fully networked, the company duplicated his existing model. As Michael developed the magazine, and other marketing communications tools and programs, he convinced the company that it was time to add to his staff. He hired and trained an assistant editor, graphic designer, and production assistant, while still controlling costs. Michael successfully negotiated reduced prices and improved technologies with printing, production, and bindery vendors. He computerized the communications department at Rena Ware, learning PageMaker by the seat-of-his-pants, and trained six other staff to use PageMaker, Office, Windows, and many other computer-based tools. Content is king Michael successfully managed a new product launch of an air ionization unit being test marketed in the Far East, directing the work of a public relations agency in Sydney, Australia. He was responsible for front-of-section articles in nine of the 14 English-language daily newspapers in the Orient, as well as nine more follow up articles. He used a two-day press conference he managed in Hong Kong as an opportunity not only to meet and educate the journalists but also to train local Rena Ware managers in developing their own press relations programs. The most fun Michael had was developing a series of travelogues and teaser articles about exotic distant resort locations, Istanbul, Madrid, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Athens, Walt Disney World, Singapore, Monaco, etc.) to motivate the independent dealer contractor sales force to earn attendance at the company's year-end sales conventions. He used his love of history, culture, color, contemporary affairs, words, pictures, and music to develop ongoing stories about the destination locations. Michael and his entire department were downsized in a corporate restructuring during his 16th year of employment. He has spent the subsequent years rediscovering the joys and pains of job hunting and seeking the ideal position. Michael can now answer the inevitable question "why are you looking for work?" with an honest "I'm not looking for work. I'm looking for the perfect fit between your needs and my skills and experience." Communications and software During a brief stay as director of marketing communications at the small software company, Seattle Lab, Michael boosted the company's product recognition and branding to all-time highs. He successfully positioned more press releases in three months than the company had during all of the previous year, a success rate of 950 percent. He revitalized corporate sales literature with new design and more inviting writing, and started a monthly newsletter to enhance the company's value-added reseller initiative. Michael also successfully positioned company products in test labs at the major computer magazines, and developed product launches in the United States. Seattle Lab sold its identity and product assets to BVRPsoftwareUSA, which subsequently merged with Waterford Technologies Group of Waterford, Ireland. All that remain are product names and the URL. Hired as a short-term operations contractor by Design Intelligence, Michael successfully averted disaster when marketing executives insisted on implementing a complete packaging redesign only three weeks before shipping their first software product. The product shipped on time with a great-looking box. The job gave Michael an opportunity to learn fulfillment and resource procurement processes, including estimating, bidding, and costing. Michael started learning the basic structure of the Internet and HTML (hypertext markup language) while at DI. The company was later dissolved after being unable to find a willing acquisition partner. Bringing his expertise in web, print, and typography to a contract with the Server Applications group at Microsoft, Michael embraced the opportunity to learn new technologies, including JavaScript, macro languages, style sheets, and active server pages (ASP), while still applying the solid principles of readability. He was responsible for production and delivery of English and all foreign language documentation for Exchange Server versions 5.0 and 5.5, and did his job so well, he was loaned out to other Microsoft groups during their deadline crunches. He developed online documentation and help systems for Exchange Server, Outlook Web Access (used by the University of Phoenix for online courses), Back Office Resource Kit, and Site Server. Michael also learned and applied the technologies of content and asset management, a skill he still utilizes. While at Microsoft, Michael was featured in a front-page article in the employee newsletter of his contracting agency. Creativity in words and pictures In his spare time, Michael has written a number of as-yet unpublished childrens' stories about topics that were issues for his own children. After completing his degree, Michael intends to polish them and become a published childrens' author. He also has in his head a theatrical musical based on one of his children's stories—potentially set to the music of Modeste Mussourgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Following a pleasure/business trip to New York City and subsequent train trip across America to Seattle, Michael found that he has a rather unique collection of photographs that he is combining into visual collages using Photoshop. He intends to sell his works as wall art and publish as a coffee-table book. He plans more trips to collect similar images from other regions. Michael has been a facilitator and topic leader for business and technical communications forums sponsored by IABC in the greater Seattle area. He also served for five years as a facilitator and group leader for the Redmond Community Forum, a grass roots information-gathering and community-involvement program run by the Mayor's office in his home city of Redmond, Washington. Family of four (plus two) Married more than a quarter century to Terri Jean Bye, formerly of Newport, Washington, Michael fondly says he never misses his anniversary ("We were married on the 101st anniversary of the U.S. Army's debacle at the Little Big Horn River. Who could forget that?") Michael and Terri have two children. Troy, the oldest, was born two days after Mt. St. Helens erupted, and is starting his second year studying video production and filmmaking at the Art Institute of Seattle. Hannah recently finished her first year of college—studying photography and loving her time in the darkroom—and starts at the Art Institute in October. Both of these young adults share Michael's creativity, interest in photography, and love of the technological resources the PC brings to artistic inspiration. Terri and Hannah sing on the fellowship worship team at the early Sunday service, and Troy plays guitar. The family shares their home in Redmond, Washington, with two cats, nine-year-old Diamond, a solid black female shorthair, and two-year-old Rocket J. Cat (or "J Ro" for short), a black male with a white face and a "Y"-shaped white wishbone on his chest. J Ro joined the family shortly after the unexpectedly passing of the patriarch, Master Houdini, from complications of feline diabetes (see http://www.heavenr.com/family/houdini.html). The box containing Houdini's ashes still adorns the family mantle, topped with a pencil sketch drawn by Troy. As with T.S. Eliot's Old Deuteronomy, Houdini was well admired by neighborhood cats and humans. His final act was to catch one last mouse and lay it in offering on the doormat. Church and community involvement A long-standing member of the Redmond United Methodist Church, Michael is recognized for his unselfish willingness to help with any project and cause. He served as chairman of the church's long-range planning commission, as well serving for three years as the local church's lay delegate to the region's annual policy-making conference. Michael is currently between positions in the church but provides expertise and arm power to a variety of ministries in the Pacific Northwest region. He dreams of applying his Master's degree and skills to the communications needs of church and non-profit organizations across the nation. Michael has been a certified lay speaker, accredited to preach and do lay ministry in any United Methodist congregation. For his spiritual insights and public speaking abilities, he has been praised by members of the many churches at which he has volunteered to preach during planned absences by their own pastors. Michael always gives back preaching honorariums to be applied to each church's special ministries and needs. A number of his sermons are online at http://www.heavenr.com/faith/startchu.html. Michael has been a volunteer in the Kairos prison ministry program on a number of occasions, bringing the word of God to inmates incarcerated at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe, Washington. Michael has been a table leader in this "inside the walls" ministry (staying with forty inmates in a room for three days) and was selected to prepare and deliver one of 15 vital talks of the Kairos inside program. During one weekend retreat, a youth at Michael's table gave up his anger at society and accepted Jesus Christ into his heart to start afresh. Needless to say, Michael and the young man spent the rest of the weekend in profound conversation and often, tears. Michael recently completed his fourth two-year term on the board of the Puget Sound Chrysalis interdenominational youth spiritual retreat movement. The movement brings the message of Christ's redeeming love to youth from 15 to 20 years old during three-day retreats. Michael has prepared and delivered many of the vital talks, and he has served on—and led—background and logistics teams to make sure the retreats flow smoothly and are able to meet critical timing points. Though no longer serving in an official capacity, Michael remains active with the organization, taking group photographs (he recently purchased a 4.5 megapixel digital camera to expedite the tight schedule) and attending to often-unspoken needs. Michael's strategic plan will focus on this organization, which has a mission statement and calling but hasn't really developed its vision or undertaken any internal/external analysis. Through his work in his local church, Michael has been involved with ministry to the elderly, and he has prepared worship services and ministerial care programs at care centers in the Eastside community. Until recently, he maintained the websites for his local church and for Puget Sound Chrysalis, but he felt it was time to train new talent to carry these communication ministries into the future. Eagle Scout Michael earned his Eagle Scout award, accepting honor for his leadership in first aid training, strong environmental focus, and building strong troops and explorer posts in the Seattle, Washington, area. Michael is proud to be a third-generation Eagle—his father Quinton, and grandfather earned the award together in the 1930s when it was structured as a father-son effort. Michael has served as a merit badge counselor and troop leader. Michael's Eagle Scout project was to lead a team of boys planting more than 200 seedling Douglas fir trees to stabilize an erosion-damaged slope at Seahurst County Park. He recently returned to the site, noting that three-quarters of "his" trees are still growing—and are now huge. Michael also holds the God and Country medal, Boy Scouting's highest religious award, presented before the entire congregation by his pastor during the worship service. As a camp staff counselor, Michael worked for three years at Camp Brinkley, including the camp's inaugural year of operation, and for a year at Camp Parsons. Michael's 1967 article on Camp Brinkley's history, still available on the Internet at http://www.seanet.com/~rsayah/cbhistory.htm, shows that he understood writing and communications theory even at an early age. He taught merit badge classes in citizenship, nature study, pioneering, orienteering, water safety, archery, and handicrafts (woodcarving, leatherwork, silk screening, etc.). Michael served on the staff at the 1969 Boy Scout National Jamboree on Lake Pend d'Oreille at Farragut, Idaho, building stage sets for the major events under the direction of the technical director for the Lawrence Welk television show. Michael watched Astronaut Neil Armstrong's history-making first step onto the moon sitting behind the video-projection screen (every time he sees it again on television, it is backward to how he remembers it). Websites and life Michael's personal website "Gallery of Life" (http://www.heavenr.com) is widely regarded as an authoritative source of information on graphics and communications. His article about finding more diesel locomotives than mountain goats in Glacier National Park (http://www.heavenr.com/railroad/goats.html) was published by TRAINS Magazine. The website is also the repository of facts and history on railroading—especially Colorado narrow gauge railroads (http://www.heavenr.com/railroad/riogrande.html) and vintage aircraft—he recently earned praise from the head curator of the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, for an article about the Boeing B-17 (http://www.heavenr.com/interest/b_17g.html) and its effect on shortening World War II. An avid student of Russian romantic classical music, Michael is author of well-researched articles on Modeste Mussorgsky (http://www.heavenr.com/interest/moussorgsky.html) and the Moguchaya Kuchka (http://www.heavenr.com/interest/kuchka.html)—earning him listings in dozens of citations across the Internet. Michael routinely fields email and telephone requests for contact information from customers of former employer, Rena Ware International (some from as far away as France, Japan, Singapore, and eastern Europe), because of the depth of material and information on his website—and he responds graciously with the needed information and advice on how to deal with the company's customer service representatives. In addition, Michael has written articles and contributed to newsletters for the Mid-Continent Railroad Museum in Austin, Texas, and the Arizona Chorale in Phoenix and Sedona, Arizona. Michael has contributed through his website to music education programs in Walla Walla, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; and Perth, Australia. Train nut extraordinaire Michael's personal website contains over 200 pages of information on standard and narrow gauge railroads in the Western United States. In fact, there is enough information on his website that Michael intends to consolidate it into a book illustrated with his own extensive collection of photographs. Of primary interest to Michael is the former Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad narrow gauge rail lines spreading north, south, and east of Durango, Colorado. He has spent hours crawling around, over, and under the equipment and riding the trains relishing the smoke and steam (and sometimes the rain that came with the open-platform passenger cars). He spent time as a reporter writing stories on the Union Pacific Railroad (and walking the tracks/riding the trains from Glenns Ferry, Idaho, to LaGrande, Oregon.) At railroad events, Michael met such political luminaries as Senator Frank Church, Idaho Governor (and later U.S. Secretary of the Interior) Cecil Andress, U.S. Secretaries of Transportation Neil Goldschmidt and Brock Adams, and Amtrak President W. Graham Claytor (now memorialized with a bronze statue at the Washington, D.C., Union Station). He remembers fondly the day the Union Pacific "honored" him by allowing him to stay onboard No. 844 as it maneuvered under its own steam around the Boise, Idaho, rail yard, something any real train nut would gladly forego Power Ball millions to experience. Vision and mission = Future To create his personal vision and mission, Michael tapped his motivational appraisal of personal potential (MAPP, http://www.assessment.com/) and his grad school results. Michael's vision statement:
Michael's mission statement:
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