By Jaclyn Galvin and Meagan Lee, PRSSA Members, Spring 2019
Edward Williams, Director of Integrated Marketing Communications for NASCAR and Iowa Speedway spoke to the Sports Public Relations class last week. He shared his atypical journey to where he is in the sports industry today. In college he didn’t study public relations or communications, but biology. It didn’t take him long to realize that he would much rather pursue a career in the sports world, specifically in motorsports.
The main aspect that impressed us was the multitude of jobs that he performs on a day-to-day basis. It’s fair to call Williams a “one man band” because he has so many responsibilities he needs to take care of each week leading up to an event. On race days, you can find him in the media center running driver press conferences, doing stats and gathering highlight packages or acting as the liaison between the racing teams and race control. As the Track PR Lead, Williams deals with many aspects of the media, including interfacing with journalists or setting up appearances on shows like Good Morning America or The Today Show. One thing Williams told us was “sports are always changing, you never have the same two days.” Motorsports is especially fast-paced with the longest season in sports. It was inspiring to hear about how Williams is able to balance his responsibilities while still enjoying his work.
Overall, Edward Williams demonstrated the many aspects of communication that are done in a “non-traditional” sport like NASCAR. He fulfills multiple roles at multiple venues in order to make his company stronger. Although he loves motorsports, Williams reminded us that we need to “weigh your fandom versus what you want in a career.” He said that he has had to put his love for the sport aside because at the end of the day, he is there to work, and it’s important for all students who want to go into the sports world to know that business comes first.