Olon Reeder ’76 remembers hearing about La Salle Academy as a youngster growing up in an Irish-Italian family in Providence’s North End and wondering what it would be like to go to school there.

“I had heard that La Salle was a very special place but that it was very hard to get accepted into the school,” said Olon on a sunny fall morning while visiting his alma mater.  “It was extremely competitive.  I applied and was place on a waiting list.  Then one day in late summer we received a note from Brother Timothy Rapa telling us that there was an opening and that I got in.”

Olan who since 1988 has owned and operated Reeder Associates, a communications and public relations consulting firm, said that “La Salle is much more than a place where one simply receives an excellent education, it is a place where one learns life lessons and experiences and makes connections that last a lifetime.”

“I was always interested in public service and was fortunate to get a job at age 16 as a legislative aide in the Rhode Island General Assembly after school from January through May thanks to some La Salle grads,” said Olon during a walking tour of the La Salle campus, much of which was new to him.  “Growing up in a working family, it was very important that I got that job as I needed the money I earned to help pay the La Salle tuition.”

Olon spoke about three La Salle legends in particular who were influences in his years at the school – Lou Cimini, Carl Toti and Brother Tim.   “The three of them taught me about giving back and provided me with opportunities to be part of this wonderful institution.  I remember very vividly our first orientation when Brother Tim said that the doors at La Salle swing both ways – do your best and come in and be part of a life experience, become lazy and not work hard and the door out will be your path.”

“La Salle taught me that we all need help from others and that has stayed with me throughout my life,” said Olon.  “My favorite courses were Social Studies and Religion.  I remember political candidates and officer holders coming to speak to our social studies class – people such as Jerry Brown and Senator John O. Pastore and Mr. Chafee before he became a senator.  Religion courses were interesting as they opened my mine to a wider view of the world.  Learning at La Salle forced me to break through my own tunnel vision.  I was proud to be on the Student Council and Model Legislature.”

After La Salle Olon attended Rhode Island College and earned a B.A. in political science in 1980 and returned there and earned a M.A. in communications all while working either in the Rhode Island or Federal governments.  During those years he worked in the Rhode Island General Assembly, the Rhode Island Department of Municipal Affairs and the Office of Public Higher Education.

In 1987, armed with his advanced degree in communications, Olon began working in the Public Affairs Office for the U.S. Treasury in Connecticut, a position he held until mid-1988 when he created Reeder Associates.  Since then he has served a multitude of clients in a variety of industries. 

Olon defines public relations as a business function that identifies policies, plans and procedures and analyzes public opinions and attitudes.  Then using that information, helps clients put together action plans to earn public understand and support.

“Public relations can help businesses demonstrate their uniqueness – what separates their business from others that offer the same product or service,” said Olon.  It can also help demonstrate the importance of the product or service.  Many small businesses fail in the first five years because they have no strategy to demonstrate how their product or service positively impacts the potential end user.”

At the end of the campus tour and discussion, Olon says that everything about his business goes back to what he learned at La Salle. “It is all about helping people and it is about adopting an attitude of ‘yes, can, will rather than no, can’t, won’t.’”