In a 19-year career that has linked his enthusiasm for sports with a love of communication, Bruce Wawrzyniak ‘89 MC has immersed himself in a global field of competitive athletics as the Director of Communications for the International Softball Federation (ISF). 

 

Immediately after graduation from Medaille, Wawrzyniak took a job with the Buffalo Sabres hockey team. "My career has been - I’m happy to say - limited to a few key positions," says Wawrzyniak. "I was with the Sabres for 10 full seasons. For the last six seasons, I was also the first-ever Director of Public Relations for the Buffalo Bandits. We won three championships while I was there, and had record, sellout crowds and great media coverage. That’s something I’m still proud of today. I have a championship ring from each of those years." 

 

"I fell in love with it so much that it led me to my next job, which was Vice President of Public Relations for the National Lacrosse League," he continues. "I was the first person that they hired in the league office, and was only 29 years old." 

 

After three years with the lacrosse league, Wawrzyniak decided to move to Florida, where he did freelance work for agencies while concurrently serving on the television broadcast team of the Columbus (Ohio) Landsharks. When the opportunity with the ISF became available in 2002, Wawrzyniak made the move to the Tampa area, and he has been there ever since. 

 

In August 2008, Wawrzyniak travelled to China as the chief press officer representing International Softball Federation at the Summer Olympic Games. He had been at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, which gave him "a starting point in terms of having something to compare Beijing’s activities."

 

He continues, "I think what I experienced in Beijing - they showed such national pride. (The Chinese people) were buying tickets for events they probably didn’t want to see, just because they wanted to be a part of it." 

 

"Professionally speaking, I think it was as expected: an exceptionally busy time," Wawryzniak describes. "Fortunately, that’s what those early years are for. You put in those long hours and you wonder, what for? I can confess that there was a time or two in my professional career where I would sit in a press box at midnight and think, what am I doing here?" 

 

He answers, "You do that time for things like China. A friend of mine from the Sabres reminded me before I went to Beijing - the Olympics are the pinnacle of our business. There are few people who can say that they were the chief press officer for one of 28 Olympic sports, and I’m one of them." 

 

In his role, Wawrzyniak says, "A lot of people see the things I do and only interpret glamour. That’s not the case. I was down on the softball field after every game, every day. I was navigating that cordoned-off area that the athletes walk through so the press can grab some quotes. I was happy with the way things went, but by the end of three weeks I was ready to go home." 

 

After working with sports professionals from around the world at the national, international and Olympic levels, Wawrzyniak cites the importance of preparation. "I never hesitate to tell college students how important internships and writing are. It amazes me when people who I do run into nowadays don’t have those skills," he says. "Medaille was great at both - I got great internships there, and I still will point back to specific lessons that I was taught at Medaille. These are things that I’m sure are still being taught now." 

 

"I’m amazed at how far the College has come from when I was there. If you had asked me when I was a senior, ‘What do you think has to be changed?’ I probably would have said, ‘Nothing.’ The fact that it was already on fine footing, to go to where it is now is just staggering. To keep up with the competition in higher education, Medaille has to change to industry needs, just like other businesses. To see it, albeit from a distance, what Medaille has been doing is quite impressive. It’s now much more of a success story because of how much has been accomplished there," he explains. 

 

As for the future, Wawrzyniak explains, "We’re faced with a difficult Olympic program situation. In July 2005, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted softball out of the 2012 games, even though Beijing was only our fourth Olympics. My main focus now is on helping the ISF with what’s called our ‘Back Softball’ campaign to get softball back in the Olympics when the IOC votes in 2016."