Ernie has spent more than 35 years in the public relations, communications and governmental affairs field, including 30 years with United States Steel Corporation in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Alabama. He also served for three years as Vice President of Communications and External Affairs for Manufacture Alabama, the state’s manufacturing trade association in Montgomery. Ernie earned a degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh and did graduate studies at Temple University. Following two years in the military, he began his career as a reporter and editor for a daily newspaper in the Pittsburgh region before joining U. S. Steel.
As a U. S. Steel public affairs manager, Ernie handled diverse responsibilities including media relations; special events planning; executive speechwriting; writing and editing annual reports, news releases, white papers and newsletters, and representing the company as a corporate lobbyist. In Alabama, before retiring from U. S. Steel, he headed up the company’s statewide media, community and governmental relations functions. He served on numerous committees at the Business Council of Alabama, Manufacture Alabama and the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. He also was appointed to serve on the Alabama Governor’s Commission on Mining and he oversaw and managed the activities of two special legislative commissions created by the Alabama General Assembly: A Commission on Manufacturing and a Commission on Infrastructure.
In his affiliation with The Bellwether Group, Ernie serves as Administrative Executive for the Alabama Iron & Steel Council, a public-private partnership created by Governor Bob Riley in 2008 to promote the interests of the state’s iron and steel industry.
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