By Natalie Martinez
There is only one man who can sport a Winnie the Pooh coffee mug, spar with coworkers armed with Seinfeld quotes, defend former Cardinals baseball player Jim Edmonds and is the voice behind the @websteru Twitter account. That man is Patrick Powers, the former director of Digital Marketing and Communications at Webster University.
Powers resigned from the position and will work for mStoner — a web communications firm based in St. Louis. mStoner worked side by side with Webster on the newly designed website that was launched this past fall.
“While I’m sad about leaving Webster, I’m excited about the opportunities in front of me,” Powers said. “I will miss the people the most, but personally, I was ready for another opportunity and the next challenge of my life.”
The Riverfront Times recently ranked Webster as one of three finalists for the title of “Best Overall Digital Campaign/Strategy.” Powers and his team are responsible for the creation of the university’s digital marketing strategy and the launch of Webster’s new website.
“He was an essential part of making sure we moved forward,” said Peter McEwen, Global Marketing and Communications web manager for Webster. McEwen was one of the members who worked on the project to launch the new site.
“There were thousands of speed bumps along the way. That is what made Patrick so impulsive,” McEwen said. “He just drove over those speed bumps without slowing down. That’s why we got the project pretty much done.”
McEwen said Powers boosted his team’s morale when he had them draw on a dry erase board. He had a student rank images drawn on the board for fun. McEwen said the exercise helped relieve tension within the team when it came time to meet the website’s deadline.
Powers is a husband and a father of two. His wife is a Webster alumna.
Powers first started work for Webster University in August 2005 as a writer/editor.
“I am proud to say I’m the one who fished his resume out (of) all the ones (resumes) that came in at the time when we were looking for a writer/editor,” said Jennifer Gammage, current writer/editor and assistant to Associate Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Barbara O’Malley. “I recognized his name when he worked at the Bellville Democrat.”
Powers was known for his humor around the office.
“We’d do Seinfeld one-offs,” said Gammage. “We can like, one on one take each other on with Seinfeld quotes.”
Although Webster has launched its new website, there are still some aspects of the site that need to be finished. The digital marketing and communications department will hire new staff to carry out the team’s project.
“I like to think of it as the opportunity for the next guy who can step in and take Webster even further then I could see,” Powers said. “And whoever that is, I wish them the best of luck. They’re working for a great organization. There are some really great people here.”
O’Malley said Craig Carmichael will be Power’s replacement. Carmichael was formerly a marketing strategist at C2 Marketing.
“Craig has a track record of website management and developing digital marketing programs to drive business results,” said O’Malley.
While Powers worked for Webster, he also earned his Master of Business Administration.
“Not only will I be a former employee, but I will forever be an alum,” Powers said. “I feel confident that I’m leaving Webster in good hands. The digital team is top notch. I only expect bigger and better things.”
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