12 years later

                            

 

   To Be an American 12 years after the attacks that took place on our country brings many mixed emotions. I remember that day vividly. I remember that I was on my way to Ogeechee Technical College to attend a class and was listening to the radio when suddenly the radio had breaking news that a small two seat plane had flown into a building in New York. There was obviously more to the story than met the eye. It was immediately noticeable to me as I walked through the doors that something important was going on. All of the televisions were turned on to the news channels and the hallways were empty. As I made my way towards my classroom, I saw many people rushing towards the auditorium doors and entering the room. Curious to what was going on; I too went inside to see what the chaos was all about. And then it happened. In the auditorium they had a movie sized screen showing an event underway in New York with the first tower smoking and on fire. The newscasters were all confused and very alarmed about the event that was unfolding. I sat down to continue to view the reports and before my eyes, live on television, I saw with the world the second airliner plane hit the second tower. We were under attack. I remember thinking “Oh my god…my best friend lives near the towers!” I felt emotional- yet still in disbelief. I could hear sobbing and people expressing the same concerns as I was feeling-as was the feeling of the Nation. On what seemed like a beautiful morning to start, a nationwide anxiety attack had been created. A lot of people wanted to help as much as possible and the “feeling” that we were all Americans uniting to be patriotic was beginning. Men and woman were joining the Military to fight and protect their country. Race was no matter in our nations mind. Politicians joined hands just as our nation had joined hands to achieve the goal of unity and patriotism. As years passed, many innocent and not so innocent people have died. War is sad in that manner, but we stand behind our troops year after year with the utmost respect for what they do for us. As an American, I am so proud to call the United States my home, my country-one nation under God.  I think it is my patriotic duty to support our troops because they knowingly understand that it is possible that they may pay the ultimate price to protect their people and their nation. That is so admirable and brave of them to do and that is why it is important to celebrate them and celebrate their patriotic lifestyle.

A NEW DIRECTION AND BEGINNING

Outland Marsh

I recently read two articles that I thought would be of interest on my blog. “A NEW DIRECTION” by Casey Jones can be found on Georgia Southern’s online magazine. Jones writes about the new Athletic Director Tom Kleinlein and the direction he is taking with athletic program. After much debate, Georgia Southern University finally accepted the invitation to move up to the Sun Belt Conference on Wednesday, March 27. Tom Kleinlein, Georgia Southern Athletic Director, helped make it possible for the new opportunity to happen by campaigning for the FBS invitation. The move towards the FBS also means changes for the facilities-including more seating and a new Football Operations Center. As a fan of Georgia Southern, I personally feel great about the move to the FBS and the facility change. I believe the change will give us more exposure to be nationally recognized and exposed to more opportunities for our campus. If you are interested in reading the article-here’s the link. http://news.georgiasouthern.edu/sites/magazine/spring13/a-new-direction/

Photo courtesy of Georgia Southern

Another Article that I would like to mention is called “A NEW BEGINNING” by Sandra Bennet. Bennet tells of a graduate’s story about her journey to a better life. The graduate, Linda Kotut, is about 8,000 miles from her home in Western Kenya. Kotut realized that if she was going to make in the poverty stricken country where she was from that she was going to have to continue her education in the United States. Realizing that she needed it paid for, Kotut began training as a cross country runner that eventually got her a scholarship to a University and found herself on a flight to the states. Following her dreams of continuing her education, Kotut eventually graduated and is currently working for Georgia Southern’s Office of Marketing and Communications. This story is inspiring to me and reminds me of my own personal struggles with continuing my education and the hard journey it took for me to get here. As a non-traditional student, I have made a commitment to become a graduate of Georgia Southern University with a degree in Public Relations. Although the road has been tough, it will be the most rewarding gift I have ever given to myself. As for Georgia Southern University, thank you for MY new beginning. Here is a link to the article.

http://news.georgiasouthern.edu/sites/magazine/spring13/a-new-beginning/

A#3 PR Blog review

Outland Marsh

                                                                        

A#3 PR Blog review

If you’re looking for a few websites that may help you understand blogs- I have a few that may peak your interest. The first website that comes to mind is mashable.com. This website seems to be more focused on views of the younger more “hip” generation with topics ranging from performers, such as Miley Cyrus, to technology and business. They even have a lifestyle section (which I am fond of) which focuses on topics such as health and nutrition. If you want to visit a modern website that feels hip in translation-this is a MUST visit!

Another website that is a fun read is dannybrown.me. Danny is very upfront about what he wants to blog about. If he is contacted to promote a topic he is more than willing to give you the finger if he thinks the idea to is not suitable for his site. This blog site is about marketing, social media and digital/mobile trends with an honest opinion on the topics covered. If you want a “no holds barred read”-this is a fun site to explore!

The last site that I would suggest for anyone to explore is thedailylark.com. Andy Lark is the blogger that wants to move and shake your way of thinking. He talks about day to day articles and breaking news as well as heartfelt advice on how to live life. One of the articles that captured me to want to follow his blogs is a talk about life and how to really live it. He explains that while having the life of luxury is a good goal, the more meaningful things in life are important too. Lark’s view on life is basically to live life successfully-but live it in a meaningful way as well. If down to earth opinions are what you are looking for-this is your site to visit!

Public Relations for non-majors

  

I beleive it is beneficial for a non-public relations major to complete an introductory level public relations course because the knowledge of public relations ,in any field of work, is important because it helps the change of behaviors of the public interest which is important in all aspects of today’s business- in any area of work. Being able to know what the public “want” is important especially if you’re in business. If you’re a politician, you want the peoples vote. Public relations in politics is a huge part of finding out what people want and how to let them know that there is a candidate out there that can provide them those wants. They would use social medias such as Twitter and Facebook to help get their campaigns recognized in the public. http://ezinearticles.com/Polls can be taken to see where weaknesses are and how to work on those weaknesses. Social media in a campaign can reach a variety of cultures, religions as well as sex and race-that may not have been reached otherwise. Taking classes ,like public relations, can possibly make business majors or marketing majors more aware of how to reach the goals that they are trying to reach in their own particular situation.  http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/BusinessCase/IndustryThoughtLeaders

Blogs of 6 others and my comments

stefsmalls8.wordpress.com

ONE THOUGHT ON “TOPIC 3 SP’ 13”

I can relate to your topic which includes events with diversity and social media.You used a mucis concert as your example. This past weekened I attended the Final Four NCAA music festival. The diversity of music (that included Flo Rida, Ludichris, Muse, Sting and Dave Matthews) created an enviroment full of different cultures, sex and genders. Because of the NCAA it also included a regional mix that made the event more interesting and fun to be apart of.

michelee206.wordpress.com

Blog Post #3

I think that you being exposed to a church with such open arms is fantastic! The fact they they are promoting love for god with people of any age,sex,gender or ethnic backgroung shows that,even in the south, tolerence and open-mindedness is becoming more accepted in our society. I personally think that the church is showing promising descisions for the future of many cultures that can be included in their local church. Im sure it was a great expierence to go with your boyfriend and his family to expierence that kind of message in their church. I think it shows alot about your boyfriends family ethics as well. Good Luck!

 

zanyforpr.wordpress.com

One thought on “Public Relations Can Do “I Do’s””

Finding the right piece to the puzzle,like you said, is very important. A friend of mine just hosted a wedding that included a television cast from TLC filming the event. The couple actually had to find a venue that they both had to agree on and was perfect for them and their lifestyle. Luckily for the parents, I think TLC paid for the event as well as the dress. Planning a wedding takes alot of thought,money and even compromise, but with the help and love from family-it is sure to be the memory to share with many for a lifetime.

travisnicole734.wordpress.com

One Response to Diverse Country

The National Archives in Atlanta sounds like a great thing to be a part of-or work for. To be able to work a goverment job that educates and informs our local public is really cool. I do know that they do many different social medias that also include their own facebook page. How great would it be to look up your personal family archive to see how and where you came from. That would be exciting!

lm02155.wordpress.com

One thought on “PR Professionals as Guest Speakers”

I remember that incident with the female teacher and the male student and how it was a “big deal” here in Bulloch county. The unfortunate thing is this. The teacher never did jail time. She was arrested, but once released, she only got probation. How unfair is that? Had it been a male teacher,the book would have been thrown at him with multpile yeas to serve. Anyway, her job sounds really interesting and especially enjoyable during the summer with little to do-everyone always needs some kind of break.

nykkic.wordpress.com

No Music, No Life…

I agree with you. Music is life. It is what bonds countries, genders and race all over the world. The way that social media has exposed great talent all over the world with ease is extaordinary. Social media allow us to share music with friends that may have not even heard of the genre or style that they are being exposed to. It allows music to be heard for fun-raisers for special events-perhaps for good causes, and as long as music is being made-social media will be there to expose the many talents of artists in many ways.

Statesboro Music

The Annual Statesboro Music Festival at the Statesboro Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds was a three-day event with a host of different bands scheduled to celebrate all genres of music, local merchants, and activities for all ages. It was available on March 8^th from 5-11pm, on Saturday, March 9th from 11am-11pm and lastly on Sunday, March 10^th from 11am-5pm. Ticket were available online or in-person. A one day pass could be bought for $10 or a three-day pass for $25.  http://statesboromusicfestival.com/ was the place that advertised the event as well as other social Medias as Facebook and Tweeter- https://www.facebook.com/statesboromusicfestival.

This adventure was so fulfilling in many ways. The food, the music and the diversity of age and people that attended the event made it a worthwhile experience. After purchasing my tickets, I was able to visit many venues that exposed different aspects of life and tradition. One of these venues had a young couple from Virginia selling art and jewelry that had an original artistic cultural touch of “hippiness” to it. They did face painting (which was very popular to all ages) as well as a showing of how to make accessories out of nature, such as wood and sea shells, from scratch.

Another thing that intrigued me was the diversity in an event called “Mountain climbing.” The point of the mountain climbing was to attach your body to a belt and climb the erect plastic version of a mountain. What caught my eye was the diversity of age that decided to defeat the event. At first, there were many young children trying to conquer the task, but the longer I watched…the more difference in age became included. The oldest person that attempted and defeated the course was a 72 year old man, named Sam Best, who beat it vigorously with pride.

All in all, the food and music was a bonding experience. With good music, good food and great events-the diversity was non-existent with the multitude of crowds exploring. Why you may ask? Because at heart…and soul…we are all kids still seeking fun and entertainment, while-at the same time, not noticing our difference in ages what so ever.

Current Campaign Blog

The most recent campaign that sticks out in my head is the campaign that I worked on this summer. It was for a professor that was running for the local school district. Tom Caiazzo, the candidate running for the district, asked if I would be interested in helping out in the PR department of his campaign. My first thought was to get Tom’s name out there fast and easy,because he was not well known in the community,so I set up a Facebook account for the campaign and started inviting all of Tom’s friends from his own Facebook list. As time passed, Tom’s friends could see the events that were to come. Another thing was a “meet and greet” that I set up at the Historic Statesboro Inn. People were asked to come  join us for wine and food and listen to why Tom felt he was the right candidate to represent their district. We tried to focus on different demographs so each “meet and greet” varied. We wanted to meet the children,so we had cupcakes and coke at local downtown bakery, we did wrestling for those interested in sports and we did many pizza parties in different areas to peek interest in what Tom and I were doing. Another strategy was a thing called “botting”. This is when you get the names and numbers of the voters in the district (that were going to be the available voters) and you pay a fee to a company to call these people and talk to them about Tom. We also set up signs on every available piece of property that we were allowed to. Another thing that was a crucial part of getting Tom’s name in the minds of his voters was to set up a tent at the local July 4th fireworks show. The people could pass by get pizza and a shirt and talk with Tom in the process. I feel that this is representative to public relations because that is exactly what we were doing. We were in the public trying to get Tom’s name known to those who didn’t know him. The meetings, the signs, the calling of potential voters all helped us achieve getting his name known. The website http://www.pr-hamster.com/blog/2011/elements-of-a-pr-campaign/ claims that 4 elements are needed in such campaigns. They are as followed:

• Issue (“product category”) e.g.  the consumer recognizes an event or newspaper article concerning environmental awareness
• Strategy and Measures (“ad execution”) How and through what medium do you deliver your message?  Do you organize an event? Do you try to get into the newspapers through a press release or is consistent communications through your website and social media the fitting choice?
• Brand or Organisation e.g., the consumer sees the article/event/website is tied to FoodCompanyInc.
• Message e.g. the consumer notices that FoodCompanyInc. uses environmentally friendly methods to grow or produce its products

Which are needed to be executed in Public relations which is defined by http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/creating-a-successful-public-relations-campaign-0141. Public  Relations is simply accurate, consistent and timely communications that  convey the right message to the right audience. This is true across-the-board  for businesses of any size. OR “any activity that creates a positive image,  fosters good will, or increase sales.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/creating-a-successful-public-relations-campaign-0141#86ZseQVttR1uotyX.99

 

 

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to work on a local campaign as the Public Relations person for a running candidate. At first, I was a little reluctant. It was the beginning of the summer and classes had just finished from what I thought was the semester of hell… I was ready for a break. Yet, the more I thought of the offer, the more I thought about the rare opportunity. Eventually I agreed and began immediately working on the campaign. The first thing I had to do was to get the candidates name in the public so I created a few accounts for him including a Facebook account. Another thing that we did was to gather a group of people holding supporting signs as they walked downtown with the candidate to officially submit his name in the race. This attention was the first step of many things to begin the process of recognition. Among other things, we did a variety of meet and greets including wrestling matches at local businesses, cupcakes and drinks at one of the local bakeries, wine and cheese at the local Historic Statesboro Inn as well as local public debates with the other candidates. It was a blast! Months later on voting day, we lost by 32 votes to a local “well known” woman. Though we lost, it really was a win for us. We were able to compete and almost win against someone that was a local favorite. The experience was so wonderful that it confirmed to me what I wanted to do with my degree in PR.