Cyrus Ching was the first director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Standing 6-foot, 7-inches tall, pipe-smoking Ching had been labor relations director at the U.S. Rubber Corporation. He had a reputation for telling stories and taking long silent breaks to attend to his pipe. Ching said in those breaks he learned things from the negotiators they probably had not intended to say.

Another distinguished and colorful FMCS director was Bill Usery.
He was appointed director in 1973 after having negotiated contracts with aerospace industries for the International Association of Machinists. Usery’s office at the FMCS had a shower stall, a refrigerator (to ice martinis), and a cigar humidor. His mediations are legendary: the first collective bargaining agreement among seven unions in the newly created, semi-autonomous U.S. Postal Service; the National Football League preseason strike; and the 13-month walkout of mine workers in Harlan County, Kentucky.

When an extended session between railroad workers and management deadlocked and the parties refused to continue to talk with each other, Usery left the room to get a cigar. He returned wearing a button from the car rental company Avis that read “We Try Harder.” The parties saw the humor, laughed, and did try harder and reached a settlement. His reputation, his commitment, the tension release from his unexpected humor—all those and many more factors were his style.

The personality and character of mediators can engender trust and at times be necessary to help parties achieve success with their mediation.

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Fred Jandt is the author of several books, including his latest, “How To Survive a Mediation.”

Mary Montague lived in the Catholic district of West Belfast.

She was able to gain trust with conflicting parties and became a go-between for armed groups and the police to reduce the use of violence and persuade conflicting parties to participate in inter-community peace talks. Her unassuming, quiet role contributed to ceasefires and the historic Good Friday Belfast Peace Agreement.

With that experience, Montague co-founded TIDES, a program to train others in Practical Mediation, Conflict Management, and Peacebuilding skills she applied in the Balkans, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan, as well as training women peace leaders in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.

Montague received recognition for her work, including the Mediator of the Year Award from Mediators Beyond Borders International in 2015. She strongly believed peace begins with each of us individually. She said "For the world to change, it starts with… respectful relationships with others… I sow seeds for change that restores right relationships, builds resilient relationships leading to reconciliation."

In 2026 the book “The Go-Between: Memoirs of a Wee Belfast Girl Who Became an International Peacemaker” was published. As stated in the book’s introduction, Mary Montague worked behind the scenes communicating equally with the privileged and powerless to help others achieve their quest for peace.

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Fred Jandt is the author of several books, including his latest, “How To Survive a Mediation.”