TAUW LEGENDS: Steve Malcolm
The TAUW Legends video series preserves the voices and stories of those who shaped our first century of service. As part of our Centennial celebration, Jesse Boudiette, president of Propeller Consulting and Centennial Committee member, sat down with Steve Malcolm, who chaired the 2003 annual fundraiser.
Join us in continuing Steve’s legacy of compassion and community impact. Your gift today in honor of Steve helps write the next chapter of our story, ensuring that future generations will have access to the same life-changing services that have touched so many lives over the past century.
interview highlights
Jesse Boudiette: How does running a United Way campaign influence your culture as a company? What does that do for you beyond just giving back?
Steve Malcolm: When you’re an employee at Williams for one year, one cycle, you come to realize that, “Oh, United Way is important. Giving back is important.” We’re going to do a lot of crazy and wild stuff, but you know what? We’re going to raise a lot of money, and that’s going to be a wonderful thing. That’s great. It seems like the primary purpose for doing this is to help people who need a little extra help. But there are all these other benefits—from culture, retaining employees who want to be at a place that does these things, maybe training them up with some additional skills that they’re not going to get in-house. It’s this sort of cocktail of good that happens.
Jesse: Let’s talk a little bit about your personal volunteering outside of the money. You mentioned being kind of an emotional guy—I hear you, I’m an empath. When it’s all said and done, and you see that benefit happening and lives changing, what is your inner voice saying to you in those moments?
Steve: Well, isn’t the saying, “This is what it’s all about?” I mean, it’s, “I can work at Williams, make a good living, and I can help people in the City of Tulsa or in the region who don’t have a lot of the advantages that I have and don’t have a salary like I can earn at Williams.” So I think it just gives you a warm feeling about working at Williams, it gives you a warm feeling about the City of Tulsa, that we’re fortunate enough to have an organization like United Way that can help us improve the lives of people in the city.