A Day in the Life

20-Wow Factor

Story by Anne Georg

When Tom Thompson directed the marketing program for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the General Manager told him that if he wasn’t doing more than was expected, he was getting paid too much.  “That’s one of the best pieces of advice I got,” says Thompson, now President and CEO of Olds College.

ARMED WITH A DESIRE TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS, an unflinching belief in his work and an abundance of energy, Thompson folds his lanky, sixfoot- four-inch frame into his truck and hits the road to spread the word about Olds College, logging about 40,000 km a year.  “And that’s just road miles,” Thompson stresses.

Thompson is motivated by his sense of moral responsibility to make a difference in peoples’ lives.  He says there are two kinds of individuals: the seekers and the believers.  He describes himself as a believer. “I believe in what this college has done and what it can do to make a difference in the lives of students and industry.”

Thompson wears his belief in the 90-year-old college on his sleeve.  In fact, talking to him is like getting a profile of the college because he puts his people out front and centre.  And those people share his philosophy for creating WOWS (a “Wow, I didn’t know that” reaction to anything Olds College does).

Growth in Agriculture and Food Industry is Creating Demand

In spite of increased enrolment, the agriculture and food industry is posting more jobs than Olds College can supply graduates for.  “Just look at the career ads in any daily newspaper,” Thompson suggests.  “The agriculture and food industry is experiencing tremendous growth.  It is opportunity rich for young people.  And that’s reflected in our enrollment.” Indeed, courses like Fashion Production and Small Animal Health Technology are already full to capacity for the 2003/04 academic year.

It’s clear that Thompson’s role as President and CEO is more of a vocation than a job.  An indefatigable advocate with a keen sense of public relations, Thompson applies his considerable charm and influence as a respected leader and persuasive public speaker to promote the Olds College ‘brand’.  He points out the college is among the top-five post-secondary institutions in Alberta for brand recognition, no small feat amongst all of the colleges and technical institutes in the province.

“You do not have brand recognition without delivering on a promise. And we have.”  That promise is about what students learn and their ability to get jobs when they graduate.  It’s kept by building, nurturing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, like the agriculture and food industry.

Thompson excels at the behind-the-scenes lobbying that is required to build enrolment and garner industry support.  Today, he’s wearing a casual jacket, cowboy boots and blue jeans cinched with a belt, bearing an awesome “Bodacious” buckle.  That’s because he’s meeting with various Western-related organizations that are interested in the college’s programs.  But Thompson is equally comfortable going to meetings in Toronto office towers wearing a Hugo Boss suit and a tie.  Costume changes are part of his full-time role of building, nurturing and maintaining interpersonal relationships instrumental to the success of Olds College.

Advocay is a Marathon

“Advocacy is a marathon, not a 100-metre sprint.  There is not a day that goes by that I don’t advocate for the college and our students,” Thompson says, adding that everyone affiliated with the college, from the industry advisory committees and the board of governors to the instructors, support staff and alumni, have to act as advocates.  “We no longer have the funding mechanisms through the tax base, so we rely heavily on enterprise revenue.”

Thompson uses the metaphor of a ferris wheel to describe the job of keeping Olds College in the consciousness of stakeholders.  Unlike the small ferris wheels of old, with the two-seat benches, the Ferris wheel in today’s world of multi-faceted alliances and partnerships, needs to be big, with benches that hold as many six people.

Thompson cites as a measure of Olds College’s success at advocacy and of the health of the agriculture and food industry, the more than $370,000 in scholarships and bursaries the college gave to one-third of its student population in an awards ceremony in March.  The money came largely from supporters like alumni and industry.  As well, Thompson boasts that Olds College has “the finest faculty of its kind in North America,” and small class sizes.  He acknowledges that much of the work was done by those who came before him and takes seriously his role to continue to build that legacy.

Thompson’s colleagues acknowledge Thompson’s leadership as key to the college’s continuing success.

Kerry Moynihan, Executive Director of External Affairs at Olds College, has known Thompson since Kerry was hired as General Manager for the 1995 Canada Winter Games in Grande Prairie.  He’s unabashed in his respect for Thompson who was President of the Games and instrumental in bringing the prestigious national sporting event to Grande Prairie.  “Tom’s the most inspired person I’ve ever worked for,” Moynihan states.  That’s why, when the External Affairs position at Olds was vacant last year, Moynihan leapt at the opportunity to work with Thompson again.

Moynihan describes Thompson as well read, market driven, able to provide people with a clear sense of direction and motivation.  “I come in with ideas that I think are really innovative,” explains Moynihan.  “Then Tom takes them and ratchets them up to 40,000 feet.”

If Thompson’s energy inspires his colleagues, Thompson’s wife, Joyce, inspires him.  Last spring he and Joyce took horseback riding lessons so they could enhance the representation of Olds College in the Mountain View County Fair parade, and she often joins him to attend numerous professional functions.  “Joyce responds at the drop of a hat,” says Thompson.  “To have the kind of energy I need for my work requires this kind of partnership at home.”

Thompson’s energy, spirit of innovation and belief in the cause of Olds College are creating the “20-wow” factor that rallies people to the cause.  It’s clear that Thompson is the right person in the right place at the right time for Olds College.  With Thompson at the helm,with his fierce work ethic, an innate talent for marketing and his strength as a leader, Olds College is entrenching its position in the post-secondary pack.