NEWS RELEASE
STORYTELLING ORILLIA
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Chief Ted Williams has lots of stories.
“Each of them has a reason,” he says.
He tells the story of hitting stones off the road into the bush for hours a day as a boy, becoming a good ball player, then and an excellent golfer now.
He tells the story of how he always got a parking spot, and shares his formula for success in business. He tells about crossing the ice on a snowmobile and listening to “the little voice inside” that told him he and a friend were headed the wrong way in the dark. He has always followed that voice.
Chief Williams says his chosen path has always been to work for his community. He was elected a councillor of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation for the first time when he was 25, and became the youngest chief of Rama when he was 29. After that term, he was successful in real estate, chaired the development of Casino Rama, rose to an executive level there, and then developed “a consulting, speaking practice, a history as an artist, and a partner in a retail business,” as he writes. Now it’s back to serving his community as chief since 2020.
Through all of this, Chief Williams has been collecting stories. And he knows how to tell them.
Comfortable leading Indigenous and non-Indigenous development, Chief Williams has agreed to be Storytelling Orillia’s guest for Storytelling Orillia’s monthly story circle on Feb. 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Creative Nomad Studios, 23 Mississaga St. W., Orillia.
His theme will be, “What wisdom do you give, freely and openly, without expectation of return?” He asks us to think about what we can pass on “that becomes a call to action in people’s lives.”
There will be time for people to tell their own short stories, as the stories pass around the circle.
All are welcome to tell or listen.
For more information, please email [email protected].
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