Twain said, "I am not an American. I am the American."
Well, the communication manager retired last Friday.
Laurie Meyer worked in communications at Walgreens for three decades, and finally retired as vice president.
Editor, mom, politician, friend-to-everybody from the CEOs to the mailroom Joes.
Her colleagues asked me to contribute to a tribute, an I wrote that Laurie:
… has always been as close as I’ve ever known to a model of perfection in a field, communication management, that defies perfection. But who is a better model than Laurie of demanding but loving and protective mentorship to her direct reports, of confident and sincere and empathetic relationship-building with senior executives, of emotional engagement in the work and in the fortunes of the institution balanced with intellectual independence. These traits in Laurie—always scarce and and getting more so every decade in this business—caused Walgreens’ corporate communications to be better expressed, more cleanly delivered, more courageous and candid and flat-out more interesting than anything Walgreens’ competitors ever produced, over a span of three decades. She will be missed at Walgreens, she will be missed by Walgreens. I hope she uses her retirement to continue to become an even stronger voice in the communication profession. It needs her.*
Laurie, may your retirement be happy—and productive.
* Laurie's first effort as mentor-to-the profession will be a March 19 audio conference titled, "How to Become a Much Better Communication Manager in 60 Minutes." It's hosted by the editors, of which I am one, of the wonderful, free publication ContentWise.