The Associates

Bill Benedetto

Bill Benedetto has over thirty years experience in communications, issues management and governmental relations.  He began his career in radio and television broadcasting.  During that time, he worked for CBS News, covering the integration of the University of Mississippi and again at the University of Alabama.

In 1975, Bill joined Gulf States Utilities Company's communications department and was put in charge of all Louisiana communications, including the Nuclear Energy program.  As director of LA communications, he was responsible for all advertising and public relations as well as nuclear emergency communications and media and governmental relations.  In addition, he also served as the company’s spokesperson.

In the wake of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, Bill was asked to assist the Washington D.C. based Nuclear Energy Institute in developing pronuclear energy messages for the National Organization of the AFL/CIO Building and Trades.

He was responsible for the development of the nuclear energy emergency communication plan which was adopted by the entire nuclear industry and set the standard by which the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission measures all emergency communication plans nationally. 

He also was responsible for the development of energy conservation and nuclear energy education school programs and curricula which are still being used in classrooms today.

Bill has provided public speaking, spokesperson and media training to hundreds of people and from his considerable experience, has developed and implemented countless issues management plans. 

He has received numerous awards for his work and has been recognize by many organizations, such as the American Nuclear Society, Public Relations Association of America, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness of the state of Louisiana, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the NAACP, the Advertising Federation and the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters.

Michelle Shirley Babcock 

Michelle Shirley

Michelle Shirley earned a B.A. in Mass Communication specializing in journalism with minors in Political Science and History from Louisiana State University.  She has been in the political business since 1995.

Michelle's clients range from non-profits to Fortune 500 companies where she specializes in lobbying, issue management and economic development consulting.  Her clients have been concentrated in the areas of construction, building codes, motion pictures, technology, tax credits, Medicare/Medicaid funding and licensure issues in the health field.  

She has an extensive background in political consulting for elected officials ranging from statewide to local offices and has  consulted for dozens of campaigns across the state. 

Michelle is the lead lobbyist for Louisiana Homebuilders Association for the past 8 legislative sessions where she maintains an outstanding legislative record.  Her efforts there have resulted in the best legislative results in the association’s history. In addition, Michelle was the lead lobbyist in the passing of the 2005 Uniform Construction Code, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

She also is heavily involved in the Baton Rouge community serving on several non-profits boards of directors where she serves as spokesperson and assumes leadership positions.

 Sonny Cranch

Sonny Cranch was reared in New Orleans and is a 1967 graduate of LSU where he earned his B.S. degree in International Trade and Finance.  Following college, he served for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia.

He returned to Baton Rouge in 1970 where he began his career in advertising and marketing communications.  He has served a diverse range of local, regional, national and international clients, including retailers, chemical manufacturers, industrial suppliers, public utilities, political candidates, computer software developers, aviation companies, financial institutions and regional law firms and government agencies. 

Sonny is recognized by clients and peers alike for his overall knowledge of marketing, market research analysis, advertising, public relations, promotion, production and business management, as well as his creativity and script writing ability.  In addition to contributing to the success of his clients, his work has received over 200 awards in local, regional and national competition.

Aside from his commitment to work, Sonny also has been active in community affairs, volunteering his time, energy and knowledge of marketing to numerous non-profit organizations which promote the general well-being and quality of life in the area.

Zeke Wimert has over 30 years experience as a senior executive in
various high tech industries.

After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, he served in the US Army for almost seven years with two tours of duty in Vietnam in Project 404, Special Operations.  After the Army, he started his first company representing National Semiconductor in New York and also completed a degree in Economics at SUNY at Stony Brook.             

Sellling his share in the company, he moved to Brazil to act as the head of a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and National Semiconductor. This challenge led to other opportunities as Managing Director for Latin America for Motorola and later as a senior area vice president with Oracle Corporation in Brazil.  He then founded Unitools, a company dedicated to Internet Banking and established this company in Latin America, Korea, China, Indonesia and Japan.

In 1999, he sold this company to a major international bank and moved to California, where he was the COO of AboveNet Communications, the world’s third largest IP networking company.  In 2001, he founded OptiConnect, a company involved in undersea cable design, management and marketing. This company evolved into an M & A company, concentrating on buying, upgrading and selling distressed telecom assets. He was responsible for buying companies in California, Brazil, France, Turkey and Angola.

Zeke has long term international experience, best business practices knowledge for high tech ventures and a strong sales/marketing background with in-depth experience in operations.

He is multi-lingual, with fluency in Spanish and Portuguese as well as dual nationality (USA/Brazil).

Who We Are

 As you can see, our group has the experience and talent to provide you with a sound plan to address your issues and bring them to a successful conclusion.

We are ready to go to work for you and become a part of your organization. 

Contact us now for a free assessment and consultation.  

                  Bill Benedetto