ABOUT US
Mark has over 25 years of experience as a senior communications strategist, practitioner, and leader of PR teams large and small. His roles have included vice president marketing communications of a leading Canadian IT company, directing public relations for a large health region with 12 hospitals, stick handling public affairs for one of Canada's 'big cities', and managing communications for six different provincial government departments.
As a strategist, Mark works with clients to define organization goals, to identify issues and opportunities and to develop sound communications strategies, action plans and budgets. He is highly skilled at the art and science of building strong brands, forging innovative relationships, and protecting and rebuilding an organizations' public image.
Mark has mastered communications tools including media relations, research and report writing, government relations, crisis communications, community engagement and consultation, corporate social responsibility and sponsorship programs, and marketing communications collaterals, planning and project managing organization websites and more. Count on him for flawless execution.
A noted commentator on talent, innovation and productivity, his writing has appeared in dailies such as the Hamilton Spectator and trade publications such as Canadian Pharmaceutical Marketing and BIOBusiness magazines. His speechwriting as appeared in such prestigious journals as Great Speeches of the Day, and Canadian Public Policy.
Respected in the business community, Mark is Chair of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation, a Board-member with Tourism Burlington, and on the prestigious faculty of McMaster University's new PR Program.
Mark's clients have included Burlington Hydro, McMaster and Charles Sturt Universities, Customized Global Logistics, Waterloo and Halton Regions, the City of Burlington, the Hamilton Jobs Prosperity Collaborative and the Immigrant Women's Centre.[TOP]
Tim Dobbie was the City Manager for the City of Burlington for 11 years, overseeing 700 employees and an annual budget of $100,000,000. In June of 2007, he retired after 33 years of service. His expertise draws upon experience in management, leadership, land use development and government relations.
Tim is presently the Director of the Jobs Prosperity Collaborative of Hamilton which is a partnership of concerned individuals: leaders in industry, commerce, health care, education, social services, the arts and the labour movement with a shared vision and simple, but ambitious goals: to make Hamilton a great city in which to grow, learn, work, innovate and invest. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Burlington Community Foundation.
A graduate of Civil Engineering from McMaster University, he joined the City of Burlington in 1974 as a Transportation Engineer and rose through the ranks to occupy a number of senior positions, including Executive Director of Community Services, responsible for Fire Protection, Parks and Recreation and Special Projects. Prior to his appointment as City Manager, he was the General Manager of Development and Infrastructure in charge of the Planning, Building and Engineering Departments.
Tim has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Burlington-Hamilton United Way, where he served as President in 2002-2003 and the Hamilton-Burlington YMCA. He also served as a Board member for the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC), is the immediate Past President of the Ontario Municipal Administrators' Association (OMAA), as well as a former Board member of Burlington Hydro. In October 2006, Tim received the Engineer of the Year award from the Hamilton-Halton Professional Engineers Chapter of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and the Hamilton Engineering Institute. Recently, Tim became a member of the Board of Directors for the Burlington Community Foundation.[TOP]
Ginny Jones is an accredited PR practitioner with close to 30 years of experience in public relations, branding and change management. Ginny has been called a "communications innovator" and a "communicator's communicator" for her creativity, insights and strategic approach to client work that has resulted in solid results and countless peer industry awards and speaking and publishing opportunities for clients. Ginny is delighted to join partners Mark Gregory and Tim Dobbie in Locomotion Communications & Public Relations, Ltd.
Ginny launched her career with an 18 year adventure at Rogers Cablesystems where she was directly involved in the launch of three corporate functions -- Creative Services, Marketing, and Corporate Communications for Rogers Communications Inc. Ginny also served as Editor of Rapport magazine and earlier, as Assistant Editor, Front Row Centre magazine. In her final role at Rogers, Ginny introduced company-wide internal surveying that lead to new people-friendly change management practices for all companies under the Rogers brand.
As President of Acuity Options since 1997, Ginny has worked with hi-tech, hospitality, government, health care, academia and non-profits on multi-level engagement and strategic communications projects that were cited for "best practice" and led to transformational change within organizations and across sectors.
Ginny is committed to young professionals. She is Mentorship Chair, CPRS Hamilton. In 2007, Ginny received the first ever Mentorship Award for CPRS Hamilton along with esteemed colleague Jeff Martin, APR, Fellow CPRS. Along with Co-Chair Colleen Carroll, APR, Ginny serves on the National Awards Committee for Canadian Public Relations Society which has lead to an invigorated awards program that saw a 26% increase in enrolment in 2007 - 2008. Ginny is a member of CPRS Hamilton and IABC.
An avid community-builder, Ginny provides pro bono services to her favourite non-profits -- United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton, Ancaster Community Services and Temple Anshe Sholom. [TOP]
