Public Relations Pioneer Passes Away
Lou Cahill known as Canada's "Dean of Public Relations"
(St. Catharines, ON) November 13 --- Louis Joseph Cahill, a Canadian public relations pioneer and legend, passed away yesterday (Nov. 12). He was 94.
Mr. Cahill spearheaded many of the public relations practices that guide the profession today. In 1946, he founded Ontario Editorial Bureau, one of Canada’s first public relations firms, in St. Catharines. Today, the firm is known as OEB Enterprise with offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Niagara and a national reputation for public relations, government relations and public affairs.
Mr. Cahill was one of the founding members of the Worldcom Group, the largest and most successful network of independent public relations companies in the world with 114 member firms operating in 94 cities on five continents.
“Lou’s dedication and devotion to the profession of public relations is unparalleled,” said Barbara Fox, President & CEO of OEB Enterprise. “From major events and commemorations to organizing the first television broadcast in Canada in 1948 – you name it, Lou was part of it. His contributions to the public relations profession in Canada are unmatched.”
Mr. Cahill worked with a wide variety of clients in the shipping, forestry, government and education sectors as well as handling public relations for the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Way and the 1939 Royal Visit of King George and Queen Elizabeth. He handled the Victory Loan Campaign (WWII) in Niagara for the Bank of Canada, and provided communications services to the Ontario Paper Company between 1946 and 1996, one of the longest client relationships in North America. He was also responsible for the creation of the “P.Eng.” designation for professional engineers in Canada, a designation that was later adopted by other engineering groups around the world.
Among his many achievements, Mr. Cahill played a key role in the founding of Brock University in St. Catharines.
“Lou had a hand in almost every aspect of Niagara’s public life,” John Armstrong, Vice President of OEB Enterprise, said.
“It was an honour to work with Lou for so many years. His professional and volunteer work over the years has arguably done more to foster the profession of public relations in Canada than any other practitioner. He guided hundreds of professionals through their careers in public relations,” Armstrong said.
Mr. Cahill was recognized with an Honorary Doctorate from Brock University and the Canadian Public Relations Society’s prestigious Philip Novikoff Award for lifetime achievement. He also became the final recipient of the Canadian Public Relations Society’s Distinguished Service Award in 2004. The award is now called the Lou Cahill Award.
“In a career that spanned more than 75 years, Lou was fully active and working in the OEB Enterprise Niagara office five days a week until he was 91. He truly was the Dean of Public Relations in Canada and he will be sadly missed,” Armstrong said.
The family has requested that donations be made to the Lou Cahill Scholarship in Communications. The scholarship was established in 2006 by OEB Enterprise through the Communications and Public Relations Foundation, which is the charitable foundation of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). It is awarded annually to a student graduating from Brock University's Communications program who has demonstrated commitment to academic excellence, community involvement and charitable activities - qualities that were so important to Mr. Cahill throughout his life.
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For more information contact:
Chris Dabrowski (905) 682-7203
cdabrowski@oebenterprise.com
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