Among the team of volunteers who regularly write stories for the American Red Cross Northwest Region, one, in particular, stands out for both longevity and pedigree.

Distinguished author and business reporter Gordon Williams serves as a writer for the local Red Cross Communications Team, a position he has held since 2017. Prior to that, he spent over a decade as a dispatcher for the Red Cross in Greater New York.

Williams (now 92 years old) knew he wanted to be a writer from the age of seven. After serving in the army and earning a degree from the University of Illinois, he began his journalism career working for the Chicago Sun-Times, later earning the role of Assistant City Editor. 

He then went on to work for Business Week Magazine. “I wrote for Business Week for twenty years and became the magazine’s Assistant Managing Editor,” Williams said. 

While there, he won nine awards for magazine journalism, including the Overseas Press Club Award for Best Interpretation of Foreign Events in a Magazine.

But Gordon Williams couldn't be contained to words on a page. In the next phase of his professional career, he tackled the world of broadcasting, both TV and radio.

“I was on a TV show called Business World. It aired Sunday mornings on the ABC Television Network from 1986 into the early 1990s. I was one of the three network correspondents assigned to the show,” he recalled. His radio program, the Gordon Williams Business Report, ran for thirteen years and was carried on hundreds of stations, including Classical KING-FM in Seattle.

The notoriety he gained from national syndication led to freelance writing opportunities for a variety of national publications and consulting firms, proving his ability to adapt and conquer any topic they threw his way.

“I wrote an article for Vogue about a philosophy of finances. For Smart Money, I wrote about college 529 savings accounts. For whatever topic they proposed, I became an expert,” Williams said.

Williams began his volunteer work with the American Red Cross as a disaster responder for the Greater New York Region. “Being able to help people as one of the first people on the scene of a fire is exciting and fulfilling,” he explained. “I must have been on the scene of hundreds of fires.”

In 2011, he began working as a Red Cross radio dispatcher (dispatcher 238) in the wake of Hurricane Irene.  It was the first hurricane to hit New York City directly since 1821, and caused horrendous flooding north of the city. He has been dispatching for other Red Cross disaster response teams in New York ever since.

These days, Williams is focused on writing about Red Cross people, programs, and services in the Pacific Northwest. “We have wonderful volunteers on our local editorial team, but Gordon is my MVP,” said Betsy Robertson, Red Cross communications program manager for the Northwest. “He has a voracious appetite for new assignments and does an exceptional job telling our story. Gordon is not just a volunteer and partner; he has become a very dear friend.”

Take a moment to scan through the local stories published in this Northwest Region. His byline will be a frequent sight. Williams' stories, especially those with seasonal, common-sense safety tips, are among the most read stories on our site each month and year. 

We simply wouldn't have the same impact in our local region without him.  Thank you, Gordon!