Mark Williamson
Director of Communications,
City of Akron, Ohio
330-375-2538
After spending nearly 20 years reporting on local news, Mark Williamson joined the
staff of Mayor Don Plusquellic in April of 1996 as the Mayor's Press Secretary and the
City's Communications Director. Mark was the news director and anchor on WAKC TV for
nearly two decades. |
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| He is a 1994 inductee in the Broadcasters Hall
of Fame and a 1997 inductee into the leadership fraternity Omicron Delta Kappa at The
University of Akron. He currently serves on the boards of the American Cancer Society, and
Our Lady of the Elms School. He serves as an advisor to Akron's initiative on race, the
Coming Together Project and on the Steering Committee of Akron's Character Counts program
for children. Mark also assists numerous community organizations and in many
community-wide activities and events as a member of the Mayor's Cabinet. Mark graduated
from Firestone High School in 1975. He received his B.A. from the University of Akron in
1980. But, even before he graduated, he had already been working in broadcasting as a disc
jockey and news reporter at two Akron radio stations. In 1980, just after graduating
college, Mark began anchoring the 6 and 11 p.m. news on WAKC-TV 23, Akron's ABC affiliated
station at the time.
During his journalism career, Mark covered such stories as the plane crash that killed
New York Yankees star and former Canton native Thurman Munson, the murder of Bath
millionaire Constantine Dean Milo and the Congressional hearings in Washington D.C. during
the attempted hostile takeover of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. As a news
director, Mark was responsible for hiring and managing a staff of reporters, editors,
videographers and producers in putting together the nightly news on WAKC TV. Mark's
responsibilities encompassed editorial content, First Amendment issues, story selection,
community service and development and personnel matters involving his staff.
Mark's wife, Mary, is a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal. They have a daughter,
Grace. Mark's mother and father still live in the Akron area. He has a twin brother living
in Maine, and an older brother in San Francisco. |
