Tracey Williams-Dillard guides MSR into the future

By Tony Kiene and Jerry Freeman

Tracey Williams-Dillard recalls her first job at her family’s newspaper when she was eight. After school, she ran the old addressograph machine under the supervision of her grandmother, Launa Q. Newman. She credits that experience as the formative encounter with the concept of a work ethic when she first learned the meaning of responsibility and the importance of working to earn a living. “I’ve come a long way since then,” she says, “but those values are still my guiding lights.”

Over the next 33 years, Williams-Dillard performed a wide range of duties at the paper, including receptionist, billing and advertising, and office manager. However, the path to her current role as president and CEO was not direct; several major detours broadened the range of her experience, beginning with an interest in chemical dependency counseling she acquired as a high school student. That led to an internship with the Institute on Black Chemical Abuse and enrollment at the Minnesota Community and Technical College with a counseling major.

When her career goal shifted toward business, Williams-Dillard moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where she worked for five years in accounting and human resources for Ardan, the corporate offices of a large retail firm. She returned to Minneapolis to perform office duties at Jay Kline Chevrolet. Then, in 1990, she accepted a full-time position at what was then the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St. Paul Recorder. (In 2000, the two newspapers merged into a single publication.) 

Among Williams-Dillard’s proudest achievements is the launch of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s annual “Graduation Celebration: A Family Affair,” which she established in 1995. This event celebrated the educational milestones of graduating Black seniors and their families, emphasizing the importance of education to the future of Black Americans.

In 2001, Williams-Dillard was named president and chief executive officer of the then-67-year-old weekly community newspaper. In 2007, she also became the paper’s owner. Under her leadership, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder has never missed a deadline, exemplifying her meticulous attention to detail and unwavering commitment to excellence.

Continuing the community service tradition of her grandfather, MSR founder Cecil E. Newman, Williams-Dillard has served on several local boards such as the Boys and Girls Club, the Minneapolis NAACP, Southside Community Collaborative, African American AIDS Project, Twin Cities African American Leadership Forum, Twin Cities Public Television (TPT), Global Women’s Network, the Minnesota Newspaper Association, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). She previously served as the vice president of the Minnesota Minority Media Coalition and is president of the Spokesman-Recorder 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

In her role as president and CEO of the newspaper, Williams-Dillard is building on the solid foundation erected by her forebears, a foundation that she describes as including “strong ties to the African American community, a recognized leadership voice, integrity and credibility with readers, and the respect of the business community.” Likewise, Tracey continues to increase the Spokesman-Recorder’s influence by building stronger relationships with the growing African American and African immigrant populations in both the metro area and greater Minnesota while also reaching out to other communities of color.

“I want the Spokesman-Recorder to be known as the preferred source of media information serving the needs of all minority communities,” she explains, “My goal is to serve the best of the traditional and the best of the modern without losing roots in the needs and aspirations of our community. It’s especially important to me that we maintain the highest standards of journalistic integrity and continue to earn and enjoy the trust of our readers, whatever other changes we may undertake.”

And, as Williams-Dillard has noted many times before, the Spokesman-Recorder is “so much more than just a newspaper.” In the spirit of the Graduation Celebration and other innovations that she’s brought forth, Tracey also established “Sister Spokesman,” which is closing in on its 20^th Anniversary. 

A celebrated monthly networking event that offers socializing and learning opportunities tailored specifically to Black female entrepreneurs and other small business owners, Sister Spokesman’s attendance averages approximately 100 participants at each gathering. Sister Spokesman is also where Williams-Dillard coined the popular call and response, “Hey Sista…Soul Sista!”, a tradition that enables those in attendance to bond and pay tribute to this important community event and its opportunities for growth and sisterhood.

In November of 2021, Williams-Dillard and the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder were featured in Season 6 of the Deluxe Corporation’s Emmy-nominated television series, “Small Business Revolution.” 

“I’m excited about seeing it and sharing the experience of running a historical newspaper with viewers,” she noted in advance of the Season 6 debut. “I hope people learn to appreciate the Black Press and the blood, sweat and tears that go into putting out timely and engaging news that our readers can use.”

Earlier this year, she launched her brand-new podcast, “Tracey’s Keepin’ it Real.” This podcast is part of the paper’s expansive multi-media strategy and a vital platform that enables her to engage business and community leaders, public officials, and other influential members of the community by posing tough questions that others may hesitate to ask. 

“We just received a prestigious NNPA Messenger Award. More and more, our original work is quoted, cited, and sourced by other media outlets. And I only expect our credibility and influence to continue increasing.” Tracey Williams-Dillard

This has put Williams-Dillard in very high demand as she continues to receive recognition and requests to speak from other media outlets, educational institutions, small businesses, nonprofit agencies, and public-sector organizations.

In addition to several other recent honors, Williams-Dillard has been named one of the “Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal”’s ten “Most Admired CEOs” of 2024. 

The Spokesman-Recorder’s latest project under Williams-Dillard’s leadership is a traveling photo exhibit that will document the paper’s extraordinary history. In August 2024, the Spokesman-Recorder will celebrate 90 years with two unforgettable events: the annual Legacy Yacht Cruise on the St. Croix River and its 90^th Anniversary Gala at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, the Depot.

During the past few years, Williams-Dillard has lost two of the most important people in her life: her husband, Robert Dillard, in 2021 and then her mother, Norma Jean Williams, in 2023. Still, in spite of the pain left by their passing, Williams-Dillard finds solace and inspiration in their love and respective legacies, along with those left by her grandfather and grandmother, which help keep her going.

“I still have the energy to help make this newspaper grow, and I want to share that enthusiasm with our staff and the larger community. “I want this newspaper to continue towards national prominence.

“We just received a prestigious NNPA Messenger Award. More and more, our original work is quoted, cited, and sourced by other media outlets. And I only expect our credibility and influence to continue increasing.”