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.

Advice from a PR Professional

Influences from the Past

Four years ago as I considered what my ideal career path would be, I remember looking back to my conversations with our family friend Julie, a Public Relations professional at CBS San Francisco. These conversations have impacted my life and helped with my decision to enter the world of Public Relations. I recently got in contact with Julie to fill her in on my time at the University of Oklahoma and learn more about her life in San Francisco.

History of Success

Julie Pearson graduated at the University of Texas and has now been a public relations professional for 35 years. Pearson and her family of four moved to California after her husband found a job, and for the last 22 years she has worked at CBS Broadcasting in San Francisco. What she loves most about her job is the large number of people she gets to meet and the opportunities it provides her.

“Working at CBS, or rather in the Public Relations field in general, has introduced me to so many interesting people,” Pearson said. “Not only do I come in contact with so many people, but I actually form relationships with them that will last a lifetime.”

Advice

Pearson was enthusiastic to give me advice for my career as I told her I would be graduating shortly. She emphasized my need for networking and keeping in contact with everyone I meet, and explained the many opportunities made available to her through networking.

“You never know what the smallest conversations with new people can do for you,” Pearson said. “It’s extremely important to keep in touch with someone after you first meet. A simple e-mail can make all the difference.”

Additional links:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/

http://www.cbscorporation.com/corp_careers.php?id=268

http://www.blogger.com/PRBlog

http://publicrelationsblogger.com/

http://www.pr-squared.com/

Photo: Courtesy of Julie Pearson

Public Relations: Follow Your Dreams

Choosing a Career Path

Megan Hundahl knew what she wanted to do with her life in grade school. She looked on with teachers and peers as the space shuttle Challenger exploded over the Atlantic Ocean. From then on, Hundahl became infatuated with national television news.

Achieving Goals

After graduating from Baylor University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Hundahl moved to New York. During her junior year in college Hundahl interned with Good Morning America and kept in touch with her boss; as a result, after graduation she began work in the booking department of Good Morning America. For 10 years, Hundahl was responsible for booking all the live guests for the show.

Currently, Hundahl is working in Uvalde, Texas as the head of public relations for Uvalde Memorial Hospital.

Everyday Challenges

In her public relations career, Hundahl finds the most difficult part of her job to be keeping ideas fresh. In order to do that she says, “You have to do a lot of reading and research.”

Advice for a Young Professional

Hundahl offered some valuable advice for those thinking of entering the public relations profession, “You have to work your way up. You have to learn every level because every level is important to your overall strategy—which is to do the best work for your organization.”

Lastly, Hundahl added, “Don’t get frustrated because you’ll learn more from failure than from success.”

Additional links:

http://www.umhtx.org/

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/topics/show/good-morning-america/

http://youngie.prblogs.org/

http://www.pr-media-blog.co.uk/

http://propr.ca/

Molly Myers

A Career Path Worth Following

The Path I Wish to Take

Having interned at the Oklahoma City Thunder for two semesters and currently working part-time there, my dream job and ultimate goal through my Public Relations degree at The University of Oklahoma is to work full-time for the Thunder after graduation. Kaylee Losinger, a Guest Relations Specialist for the Oklahoma City Thunder, took the exact career path I wish to take.

How to Get the Job

Ms. Losinger, like myself, interned with the Oklahoma City Thunder the semester before she graduated. Although she graduated with one class left to take, she started working with the Thunder while finishing up her degree. Now, she works full time in the Guest Relations department.

“The first part of my job mainly revolves around communicating with the fans,” Losinger said.

Every day the Guest Relations department gets hundreds of emails from fans for variety of different reasons. Ms. Losinger’s job requires he to hold up the standards placed by the Thunder of responding to each email or request within one business day. This can include anything from sending Thunder memorabilia to fans, to responding to a question or problem.

The second part of her job is acting as a liaison between the arena staff and the staff at the Oklahoma City Thunder. During games, these groups of people constantly interact. Ms. Losinger helps them stay in contact through internal newsletters, conferences and other forms of communication.

Advice for an Aspiring Professional

When asked what her advice would be for someone wanting to go into her field of work, she simply responded, “stick with it and make all the connections you can.”

Her advice has directly affected me. While interning at the Thunder I have taken every opportunity to meet anyone I can. I get advice from anyone willing to give it and do not take for granted a single day. Hopefully, my future will lead me right where Kaylee’s led her.

Brenna Kent

November 10, 2011

Photo: Courtesy of Okeicentric

The Path to Public Relations Success

Working 12-hour days from the road or pouring over donor contact lists, Ashley Hahn does it all. Hahn is a public relations professional who specializes in politics. She received a degree in political science from the University of Central Oklahoma <http://www.uco.edu/> began as an intern on a local political race and never looked back. Hahn served as the Grass Roots Coordinator for Governor Mary Fallin’s gubernatorial race <http://www.maryfallin.org/>. Her work on the campaign led to a position running the Oklahoma governor’s non-profit, Friends of the Mansion: <http://www.ok.gov/governor/Mansion.html>. Most recently, Hahn has worked at the Oklahoma Department of Education’s Communications Department. She specializes in scheduling and planning events for the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Janet Barresi: <http://www.janetbarresi.com/>.

I worked with Hahn on the Oklahoma public school superintendent’s conference, Innovation, over the summer of 2011: <http://sde.state.ok.us/services/conference/Innovation/default.html>. The conference required a large amount of fundraising and organization. The event took place at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City and featured over 2,000 attendees. The window for planning the conference was very short, and Hahn (with a few staffers including myself) did an excellent job putting it together (often working in excess of 12 hours per day).

Hahn is part of a reorganized communications department that operates much like an independent public relations firm. In addition to traditional public relations work, the group attempts to create its own media for distribution. According to Hahn, however, planning events is now small task: “The most challenging part of my job is definitely pulling everything together in organizing events. You have a lot of moving parts, and it’s very stressful attempting to lock them all down to execute the actual event.” However, Hahn encourages involvement early for eager public relations professionals, “The best advice I can give is to get involved early. Seek out internships and build up your experience. The more you can competently do, the less stressful your life will be when you get a great public relations job!”

Evan Handy

Public Relations Professionals

Professional Blog 
Denise Hawkins graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Marketing. She has been happily married to her husband Tom Hawkins for over 25 years. She has two stepchildren. Before coming to Buy For Le$$ and taking the position of Marketing Director, Denise worked at the Daily Oklahoman and Mathis Brothers in their Marketing departments.
 
Day-to-day
Denise has been at Buy For Le$$ for the past 5 years, and has enjoyed every day she has been there. She coordinates and oversees all marketing functions for the entire company on a daily basis. This includes all media, ads, social media, web and video. As a director, she manages a team of eight people in marketing, graphic design and web. She insists that good communication skills, the ability to manage a team of professionals and a positive attitude are all important skills to have when in a leadership position involving marketing.

Challenges and Rewards
“Not all days are easy ones,” said Hawkins. “Sometimes the work is tedious and stressful. However, I find so much reward in knowing that I am helping out the company and spreading our name in the community. My favorite part of the job is helping in the community. Those are my favorite tasks to coordinate.”

Advice
Hawkins had a few pieces of advice for those hoping to enter the field of marketing and climb the ladder to management. “The key to success is experience, knowledge and surrounding yourself with other skilled professionals in order to create a team that generates success,” said Hawkins. “Be persistent and always work hard. People will notice hard work and determination.”



Additional Links Used:
http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/
http://prblog.typepad.com
http://www.prnewsonline.com/prnewsblog/
http://www.buyforlessok.com
http://buddingpublicrelations.blogspot.com

Public Relations Professionals

PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL BLOG
Monnie Romney graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in communications. She married young and had 4 kids, not leaving much time for a long career path. She spent the majority of her time carting children to ballet, soccer practice and other school activities, not focusing on work at all. When her children were all old enough, she began looking into the Public Relations field, something she always found interesting during her college career. A family friend of hers worked at Louridge, an events and retreats organization, and encouraged her to pursue a job there in event coordination.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY
11 years later, and Monnie is the head Event Coordinator at the organization, and she’s loving every minute of it. She deals with clients wanting to host banquets, brides planning their big day, employers wanting an event for their staff, and many other organizations wishing to promote their business through events. Although this organization has the largest amount of weddings, Monnie still deals with clients on a daily basis. She stresses that calmness and communication are key. One must be able to effectively communicate with clients, and then be able to relay that information to the correct people.

CHALLENGES OF EVENTS
Not all events are just fun and games, however. “It gets extremely stressful at times,” Monnie said. “Some clients have a lot of unrealistic expectations, or they don’t have a clear message they want to get across through their event. It’s sometimes a challenge coming up with that information and figuring out what exactly they want to accomplish for their organization.” With experience, you learn to ask for those things up front.

ADVICE FOR NEW PROFESSIONALS
When asked what advice she would offer to new professionals, Monnie said the list could be endless. “There are so many things I wish a professional already in the field would have told me.” The biggest one? Network whenever you have the opportunity. “Getting your name out there before graduation is so beneficial,” Monnie said. “Even if you already have a job, network. You never know when you are going to need a favor from someone and it’s a lot easier to ask for things when you know a lot of people in the field. You become much more credible to your clients as well when you have a lot of contacts.”

ADDITIONAL LINKS VISITED
http://buddingpublicrelations.blogspot.com
http://www.brillianteventplanning.com/blog.html
http://prblog.typepad.com
http://online-pr.blogspot.com/
http://www.prnewsonline.com/prnewsblog/

Public Relations Pros and Their Cons

            Public relations is not just a people profession, or an exercise in deceit for politicians and big corporations-- It is hard work, and quite a bit of it. Few people see the intense work environment in movies and television programs, and fewer people see the intense competition for opening positions. You are different. Not only do you get to see what the profession is like and how to become a professional, but you also get to learn a few tips from a real professional.

            I interviewed Kristy, a professional who works for Cox Communications. She, like many other professionals, received an education unrelated to public relations. She began her education at Wichita State University, with a Bachelors degree in journalism. After graduation, she began her career as a reporter at the KNSS radio station in Wichita. If you are from a different field like journalism, take heart. Writing experience and communication skills matter greatly in public relations, not just a public relations major.

            Kristy's job required her to cover city hall, which also meant she developed close relationships with the people there. When a public information position opened up at city hall, her relationships helped her take it. In short, a few well-placed relationships can help as much as talent and drive.

            The most interesting and potentially most challenging aspect of public relations, she says, is the need to learn new information constantly. There is "something you always have to get up to speed on," she says, and she loves it. The field moves quickly and can leave practitioners behind if they do not prepare themselves. In short, if you like a dynamic work environment, public relations is for you.

            Her advice to aspiring public relation practitioners: find an internship early and network. First, a good internship is the best way to learn about the job, and provides you with the best training. Second, as a public relations practitioner, you need to know the right people in an organization you want to work for. Success can be tough to find, but with the right skills and attitude, never impossible.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wichita-ks.jpg  - Source for image at top

bls.gov/oco/ocos086.htm

knssradio.com

comprehension.prsa.org

ww2.cox.com/aboutus/our-story.cox