KENNY MOSSMAN: SPORTS PR

Kenny Mossman is the voice behind all the voices of the OU Athletics Department. He is the current SID (Sports Information Director) for the University of Oklahoma.

At OU, he supervises all media relations for the sports programs, publications, the department website, graphic design, licensing and Sooner Vision, Sooner Tradition media.

In media relations, with his main responsibility pertaining to the football program, he and is staff focus on promoting and supporting OU’s student athletes in winning national awards and recognition. For examples, one could look at the Jim Thorpe award winners, Heisman Winners, The Butkus Award, and a large number of All-American athletes. The OU Football Tradition remains strong, due to these awards that are responsible for attracting some of the top student athletes across the nation.

Mossman has a string of accomplishments, including being a staff member for four NCAA football bowl games. He was on the media staff for nine men’s basketball regionals, two Men’s Final Fours, and the coordinator for four NCAA women’s basketball regionals.

He has received many award for his role as the SID, from his peers. The College Sports Information Directors of America, have given him awards on several of the publications, he and his staff have produced. For the years 2001-2007, he won consecutive awards for his “Sooner” bowl guides, which were judged the best in the nation.

OU’s SID is constantly adjusting to new technologies in the sports public relations industry. When asked about what were the biggest changes he has experienced in his field, Mossman stated, “It would have to be that we no longer have to rely on others to get our message out, and don’t have to be concerned if it would be communicated in a positive light. We still keep a close relationship with the media, but with Twitter, Facebook, our TV network and the internet, we are able to control our messages without the filtering, like never before.”

He explained that on the “downside,” the program’s student athletes also had equal access to close communication with the publics, that his staff had little control of. He feels that all organizations will deal with these issues on a daily basis.

Mossman had this advice for any future PR practitioner, “I would encourage them to have almost a ‘nerdish’ approach to emerging technology and social platforms, they need to be the person in the department or organization who understands that stuff more than anybody else, pay attention to the trade journals, watch those who have it figured it out. Management is more interested in people who do things better, different, edgier than other people are. Basically, stay technology savvy on the social network platforms."

The Life of a New Yorker

Interview with a Professional: Irma Damhuis

By: Ashleigh Woodall

While today New York City is a vibrant city known for its historic sites, in 1977 the city was in a severe financial crisis. Crime dramatically escalated as the city began experiencing blackouts. However, that same year the city made a 180, cleaning up the streets and increasing tourism. What caused this dramatic shift? The work of Irma Damhuis, the current director of external communications at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New
York City.

Career
Damhuis graduated college with a degree in English. Having always wanted to be a lawyer, Damhuis began looking for jobs that required similar skills – writing, research, planning and communications. She landed her first job at Wells, Rich, Greene, a revolutionary advertising agency headed by the pioneer Mary Wells. It was here she landed her first big account with the State of New York and created the 1977 “I Love New York” campaign. The campaign was designed to attract more businesses and thus alleviated the above mentioned financial crisis through increasing tourism. The campaign was a huge success, transforming the city and pulling it out of the crisis. The campaign remains popular today, with the I <3 New York shirts as one of the most popular selling items in the city.

Damhuis was then convinced to pioneer healthcare public relations on the east coast, a trend that was only popular on the west coast at the time. She worked at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, creating the “Mount Sinai. Take good care of yourself” campaign that was nationally recognized and put the medical center in a prominent position in the New York market. Finally, in 2001 Damhuis took a job as the Director of External Communications at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) in New York City, where she currently works.

Daily Life
CRF puts on several events throughout the year, including the Pulse of the City Gala, the Innovation Symposium, and the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Conference (TCT). While her day to day activities vary based on which event is occurring, she says the main components to her job are outreach phone/meetings/networking) to increase awareness of CRF and helping individual business units (Skirball, Clinical Trials Center, Meetings and Education Department) meet their business goals by garnering greater recognition for their programs, meetings and services.

Damhuis’ work is also continually changing with the advent of social media. She now helps manage CRF’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and is finding new innovative ways to use social media to CRf’s advantage. For example, during the 2011 TCT Conference she would “tweet” the key messages of various speakers and the schedule to encourage people to go to different symposiums.

Rewards and Pitfalls
Damhuis says that her biggest reward comes from seeing the positive outcomes from campaigning. For example, the TCT conference was known as a “trade show” when she started working at CRF. Through campaigning, TCT is now one of the premiere cardiovascular symposiums and is being referred to as “TCT” in most cardiovascular publications. Damhuis states the downside to working in public relations is the amount of patience necessary. Campaigns do not take overnight – they require time and effort.

Words of Wisdom
Damhuis encourages students about to graduate to be sure to hone their writing skills. Written communications are essential in securing - and then keeping - a position. She recommends writing, “…as much as you can, whatever kind of writing you enjoy, whether it be poetry, short stories, press releases, letters, and so on. It's a skill that, sadly, is not in great supply. But it will continue to be valued, and will never go out of style - even in the age of "Tweets"!” Also, she reminds students to, “BE YOURSELF! Don't try to be something you are not - people can see through that. Come to a task with an open mind and willingness to learn. It will always serve
you well.”


Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/us/blackout-2003-past-blackouts-65-77-became-defining-moments-city-s-history.html
http://www.crf.org/
http://www.tctconference.com/
http://www.mountsinai.org/
http://www.iloveny.com/

Frisco ISD Director of Communications

I was extremely lucky to be able to interview a professional that is not only a family friend, but is also the person who sparked my first interest in Public Relations. Shana McKay-Wortham is the Director of Communications for the Frisco Independent School District.

She grew up in the Frisco area and went to Prosper High School. She then attended college at West Texas State for her first 2 years, and graduated from Texas A&M in 1986.

She started out as a newspaper reporter, and entered the Public Relations industry in1989. She has been doing school Public Relations for 22 years, the last 14 of which have been in Frisco.

When asked what brought her to Frisco, McKay-Wortham says “Having worked in a high growth area, I knew I wanted to be in on the ground floor of Frisco ISD’s boom, and to be a part of such a winning team. Working at Frisco also allows me to be closer to family.”

The people she works with are her favorite part of her job. “They are dynamic, genuine and they truly care about kids,” says McKay-Wortham.

She also said that her job is very hectic, but she wouldn’t enjoy it as much if she didn’t face challenges on a daily basis.

In addition to her position as the FISD Director of Communications, McKay-Wortham is a Leadership Frisco graduate, served on the Board for Texas School Public Relations Association, and the National School Public Relations Association.

Outside of her job, her hobbies are reading, cooking, traveling, being outdoors and spending time with family.

The advice she offered to new professionals was to pick something you are passionate about. When you find that work, be willing to put in the hours and be enthusiastic about it.

By: Dana Swann

Photos courtesy of friscoisd.org

The Many Hats of Alyssa Gardina

The Many Hats of Alyssa Gardina

By: Andrea Segura

Photo Courtesy of Alyssa Gardina

Alyssa Gardina describes herself as wearing many hats when she refers to her position in public relations. As a graphic designer, copywriter, media strategist and social media aficionado Gardina is on the new media side of the profession and represents where the field is heading in the future.

Gardina began with a brief background on herself. She is originally from New Jersey and still proudly describes herself as a ‘Jersey Girl’ She graduated from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York with a B.S. degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and a minor in American History. Gardina says she counts museums and London among her favorite things. “I love good wine, good food and good conversation, especially when I can find all 3 in one place.” Gardina also runs a successful blog on which she discusses current technology trends mixed with a refreshing bit of her quirky humor.

Gardina held two previous positions as Social Media Supervisor at Ansira and Social Media Specialist at Razor before moving to Dallas, Texas. Today Gardina is an Account Supervisor at Weber Shandwick in Dallas where She works on a variety of brands, developing their social media strategies and tactics in order to increase brand awareness and customer engagement. She is also the Vice President of Branding at Social Media Club - Dallas Chapter. She also counts co-founder of fiveoclockdallas.com, a review site and community for Dallas bars and happy hours, among the extensive list of her accomplishments. Her responsibilities with Five O’Clock Dallas included creating content for bar listings, happy hour listings, blog posts and video reviews.

Gardina says her goals are to use her well-rounded computer, creative, research and communication skills to seamlessly combine the fields of research, marketing and media production. She also is ready and willing to share her expertise and says thinking simple is key in the public relations industry.

A Life Dedicated to Music

Andy Nunez is the founder, owner, and operator of Opolis Productions, LLC, a music promotions company and venue, which he manages with his wife and bandmate Marian Nunez. Nunez has a passionate history with music, starting in the 6^th grade when he formed his first band right here in Norman. As time and his skill set progressed, so did his involvement in the Oklahoma music scene. “Most people interested in music, their interest sparks at a young age, grabs them, and never lets go,” said Nunez. Such a statement holds true for Nunez, as his progression from middle school bands to former Barsuk Records band the Starlight Mints finally lead him to his current gig as a music promoter.

Nunez attended college at Rose State University and the University of Oklahoma after an early graduation from Norman High School. He did not obtain a degree, because he dropped out to pursue his music career in Oregon after a short two years. As Nunez joked, “My wife got a degree in Art Media. We’re still paying for it.”

Nunez relayed information about the status of the music industry today, and remarked that the most challenging aspect of his job was keeping up with the constant fluctuation of trends, much like music and cultural icon Bob Dylan.

When asked which advice he would give to new professionals, Nunez quickly replied, “Change with the times. Be aware of trends; this business changes at a faster pace, so you have to adapt quicker in the music industry.”

photo: courtesy of Andy Nunez

My Mentor

Summer 2011 was a time in my journey to becoming a Public Relation practitioner that I would never forget. Even though I am still on my journey, I can say that my time at Devon Energy this past summer was filled with lots of knowledge and learning experiences and a time I will never experience again

My mentor during this internship was Alesha M. Leemaster, MBA, APR. Leemaster is a Senior Communications Specialist at Devon Energy. She was always quick to help me understand the different ways to deal with the media and the right way to do things in the industry. I learned so much from her and she has become someone I can go to for advise and anything I need.

Leemaster studied Public Relations at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2003. She said she always loved and understood the process of public relations and knew exactly what she wanted to do when she got into college.

“A lot of people in PR say the want to join the profession because they are good with people or they are outgoing,” Leemaster said. “Those attributes are great but this profession needs people who understand the process of successful PR and have the passion needed to be successful.”

Leemaster began her career at the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, where she was a communications specialist. She stayed there for two years and then became a communications specialist for the Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OGE). Leemaster said that even though she wanted to work for a big company, she knew she had to start somewhere.

“I started off working with small companies where I was the only communications specialist,” Leemaster said. “I was responsible for every aspect of PR and that helped me acquire so many skills instead of limiting myself.”

Leemaster’s experience and her ability to handle all aspects of public relations and communications put her above her peers. In 2006, she was offered a position at Devon Energy as a Senior Communications Specialist, a position she had always dreamed of. She has been with the company ever since.

Leemaster has had a big impact in my life and she has taught me skills that I will need in my future. She also taught me to spread my wings and to make myself valuable. To be a woman in such a high position at Devon Energy shows how much talent she has and shows her passion and understanding of the process of public relations.

Media Relations in the Public Relations Profession

Jill Harrison is the manager of Public Relations and Image Development at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber in downtown Oklahoma City. At a young age she has accomplished a successful career in the field of Public Relations. She is APR certified and she has received many awards in her field.

Jill Harrison, Manager of Public Relations and Image Development

Photo e-mailed to me by Jill Harrison

She received her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Spanish from the University of Kansas. In April of her senior year she began to look for a job for after graduation. She sent out her resume and other information to potential employees looking for a job. She also sent information to her advisor. One day her advisor received an e-mail about a job and recommended Jill for it, and that is how she found her first job.

I asked Jill what they hardest part about her job is and she laughed and said it depends on the day.

“For the most part working in media relations I have had difficulty because reporters have become so busy with covering so many different stories,” said Harrison. “Even when you send them newsworthy stories they do not always have time to cover it. I know they are very busy with so many stories, but they tend to be very short with you and are difficult to work with.”

I asked Jill what she would recommend to future Public Relations professionals such as myself and she was very passionate about her answer. She strongly recommended the following things:

1. Show up
2. Be on time
3. Have a good attitude
4. Never say something isn't your job
5. Try
6. Ask Questions

Find tips on being a successful intern

“There are some things they are not able to teach you in school,” said Harrison. “These tips are all things you should know before going in to a job interview. Some things come from learning and experience, but there is nothing more important that good work ethic.”

Meeting with such a successful Public Relations professional such as Jill was such an amazing opportunity. I enjoyed getting to know her and she is definitely someone I would love to be my mentor as I enter the professional world.