About Charlie McAtee Communications
Charlie McAtee Communications is a strategic agency that partners with organizations, companies and teams of all sizes to tell their stories and grow their business with effective internal and external communications and public relations.
I’ve worked with a lot of different companies in my 25 years as a senior communications counselor. From Pharma to technology, and manufacturing to non-profits, I’ve experienced just about everything you can imagine when it comes to communication strategy and execution.
From working at a global Fortune 500 company to partnering with a local charity, I have the experience, skills and knowledge to help your organization achieve its communication objectives.
ABOUT CHARLIE
I believe in author Michael O’Connor’s philosophy, “God and baseball – everything else is just sports and religion.”
Growing up in the country, I spent most summers organizing and playing baseball, basektball and football games with the neighborhood kids. From my earliest memories of playing tee-ball, to pitching a no-hitter in little league, my dream was to play professional baseball.
Although the tryout with the Kansas City Royals didn’t go as expected, it was still something I’ll never forget (no one told me I needed to be 6’ 3” and 225 lbs. to make the Majors!).
With baseball beyond my reach, I traded in my Dave Cash infielder’s glove for world travel and adventure before college. I joined the U.S. Navy and spent three years on an aircraft carrier in Jacksonville, Fla. During this time, I became an Atlanta Braves fan (there was no Florida baseball at this time), in addition to being a lifelong Reds fan. And yes, Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame!
After taking nearly every 8 a.m. Journalism and Political Science class at Indiana University, coupled with large amounts of coffee, I graduated from IU. I then entered the world of newspapers.
The Spencer Evening World was my first stop where I learned about county politics in a small Indiana town. This experience might have been more valuable than the IU degree. A brief stop at the Shelbyville News followed, and soon thereafter I joined the world of public relations.
For eight years I served as a vice president of an Indy-based PR agency with nationwide reach. During this time I was exposed to numerous types of businesses, each with different communications and business objectives. The one constant, regardless of the client, was storytelling. If you have a good story to tell, the audience will find it compelling.
I then made the switch and joined the corporate world. Working for global leaders such as Eli Lilly, ExactTarget and Allegion gave me an opportunity to expand my communication skills at a global level. Whether it was leading a news briefing in Barcelona, defending a brand during an FDA hearing, or launching a new intranet in Shanghai, each of these roles required a team approach, strong relationships, and hard work that delivered business results.
While baseball is a great love, I’m more in love with my family (wife Dawn and sons Cory, Matthew, Andrew, and daughter Audrey). In my spare time I still play adult baseball (yes, it’s a thing), I umpire youth baseball, and I enjoy watching my kids no matter the activity.
So, if anyone wants to go to the batting cage for lunch or catch a doubleheader, I’m game.
