His Christmas Wish Granted

Below is the article that I read featuring Jose Casanova's story.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/spanish-speaking-poet-85-longs-for-visitors-cassette-player/1057551

Listening to Jose Casanova- An Inspiring Cuban Poet

Jose was sitting in his chair by the window as I opened the door to Room 111, which I found easily by the picture of Jesus that was hanging from it. Jose was dressed in a navy and red striped long sleeve shirt, suspenders and a scarf. He wore white zip up tennis shoes, but his left shoe was not zipped up all the way. He had the most sincere smile as I introduced myself in Spanish and sat down. After telling Jose a little about myself, I asked him if he had ever played any sports like soccer when he was younger. He replied that he had once but got hit in the eye and after that he decided that sports were not his thing.

Just a little while later, we were joined by Leah another visitor who was also inspired by Jose story and Jessica a volunteer Spanish translator. Leah had brought with her Jose’s favorite Spanish flan and I had brought Jose a personal cassette recorder.

We asked Jose many questions and learned about his past in Cuba. He had been a political prisoner for 15 years in Cuba and his wife happened to be pregnant with their second son when he was incarcerated. His family often visited him during those years.

At this point in our conversation, I began to cry. I never met my grandfather because he died very young. My grandmother has told me stories of how she raised my father, Samuel and his brother David while she was 8 months pregnant with her third son, William, when my grandfather unexpectedly died of heart failure just a few years after returning from WWII.

I felt this strong emotional connection as I was overwhelmed to be talking with a man who to most would be considered a stranger, but to me it was as if he in a way was encouraging me for those times I never got to sit and talk with my grandfather and listen to his stories.

Jose sang us a poetry piece that he wrote for his wife, but his throat hurt and he was unable to finish. However, he did use the recorder I brought him and he even told me that I better save him a seat at my wedding and that he will sing a song for me on that special day.

He also shared with us that he enjoyed painting. He said, “I used to be able to paint a sketch of you right here If I wanted”, but since he had been shot in the neck he had lost the use of his right hand and the cataracts on both of his eyes have worsened over the years.

Next, Jose rolled up his pant leg and showed us his knee that had been giving him pain. He then explained that his right shoe was not zipped up because his foot was swollen from his leg pain. He said that if the doctors did not take away the pain he was going to have to cut his leg off himself. When asked if he was nervous about having knee surgery, he replied, “Why should I be?” “The Lord is with me” His faith and belief in God was encouraging and his sense of humor at age 85 was delightful. He asked us to take a picture with him before we had to leave.

Leah, Me, Jessica and of course Mr. Casanova himself!

I wished Jose a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year thanking him for our time together. Leah and I stood in the parking lot chatting with each other when we looked up to see to our surprise Jose speeding by in his scooter wearing his red cap and grinning from ear to ear.

I was so thankful for this great opportunity to meet with Jose and I hope we will meet again!

As a public relations student, I have learned that spending quality time with your audience and knowing who they are is necessary to be of value to your customers, clients, colleagues, etc.

Listening is another key to being of value. Understanding Jose’s Cuban culture through listening to his stories actually helped me to learn some things about myself and the things that I value most in life including the ones I too often take for granted, God, family and friends.

Choosing Value Over Success

I had the great opportunity to participate in the NCAA Winning Careers in Athletics program in Tampa, Florida. The event was held at the St. Pete Times Forum in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships.

In our NCAA backpacks that each participant received, there was a card with a picture of white eggs and one golden egg in the middle of them. The bottom of the card displayed the message,

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” - Albert Einstein

Meeting professionals like Celia Slater, Ann Salerno, Karen Morrison and the entire Panel of women professionals who shared advice and experience for aspiring young women like myself was a great motivator for me.

From this experience, I am better prepared to apply my career values into my final college semester. One piece of advice that stood out to me was about taking the initiative to lead something, spoken by Amy Hayworth, Associate Athletics Director for University of South Florida.

GCSU teammates, Jessica Newland, Kelli McLane and I at DI V-ball games!

In an effort to lead something of value for our University, I have proposed to Wendell Stanton, our Athletic Director, about implementing a Women’s Leadership Symposium at GCSU addressing Gender Initiatives and Sports Career Development in March of 2010 for National Women’s History Month.

The author, Awista Ayub, of However Tall the Mountain is interested in speaking at our University along with some of the speakers I networked with this program.

Awista Ayub in the media-However Tall the Mountain Interview with CNN International Tues December 1, 2009: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/wor
ld/2009/12/01/sot.afghan.ayub.int.cnn

In addition, I have contacted our University President, Dorothy Leland, about supporting this effort as well as our Women’s Resource Center Coordinator, Jennifer Graham.

I am passionate about this as I look to inspire the next generation of women leaders. I would defiantly recommend this NCAA Winning Careers in Athletics program to those interested.

I also hope to be able to attend the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar in late January of 2010 or the NCAA Women's Leadership Symposium in May 2010.

PR In Action

As a public relations student the ability to write well is so important. In order to write a story successfully whether that be a press release, a feature story or even for this public relations blog there is usually an interviewing process that is involved. Having great interviewing skills is just one way to becoming a better writer. I included in my video blog 3 tips to remember when conducting an interview. Here are the tips again in case you missed them.

1. Be Relaxed

2. Prepare questions before the Interview

3. Ask for 3 sources and contact information

From PR Fantasy Football Draft to Team PR

It all started with our Fantasy Football team draft, which in the end resulted in one amazing team, Team PR.

Our Relay For Life Kickoff was a “perfectly pitched” event.

I was amazed at the flexibility of our team in seeing that everything was accomplished even if that meant doing something that was not an assigned task. Our team had the ability to recognize the need of the group and meet it as quickly and efficiently as possible. I think one of the greatest parts about being on a team is recognizing the strengths of individuals and then using those strengths to get the best results for the team. I can honestly say that this event could not have been implemented successfully without our entire team working together as one unified team.

It has been said that the team is as strong as its weakest link. While the lack of cupcakes may have been the missing link the morning of our event, I would argue that our event did not have a weakest link. Our team faced challenges, but we never let them interfere with our game plan- to make the event a success.

I would like to extend some quick shout outs to our team because I am so proud of all the work we accomplished for this event.

Cara- way to see things through even when you got sick, the decorations were fantastic

Courtney- kudos on the banner

Andrea and Keri- wonderful job making those final pieces come together with the slideshow

Beth and Tori -great job toughing it out there to get all those burgers and hotdogs cooked

Marianna- well done to you and the cupcake crew they were all so beautiful and delicious

Cassie- way to get the coleslaw and clean those dishes with cheer

Anna- making our candy list and bringing in the mother-load

Brooke- our MVP way to get Grits to hand it all over

Corinne- getting the insane amount of icing

Jennifer- making those birthday cards with a smile

Rachel - your gift wrapping (a skill I obviously don’t have)

Lyric -your composure as team captain and ability to keep the big picture in mind was valuable to our teams’ success.

Finally, to the woman who coached our team from the beginning when we were just draft picks to preparing us for the big game day event and making sure that we had enough cupcakes and even some gluten-free ones before the kickoff. Thank you Dr. Miller.

Whoever said woman can't play football, they were wrong.

Way to Go TEAM PR!

Its Movember

In respect to my last post, I'm dedicating this post to Dr. Palmer and anyone who has been affected by prostate cancer.

Men all around the world suffer from prostate cancer and Movember is an annual celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia. The guys behind it joked about 80s fashion and decided it was time to bring the moustache back. In order to justify their Mos (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research never dreaming that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about their health.

This Movember, the money raised in the U.S. will be split between the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The Prostate Cancer Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. The Lance Armstrong Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance program, which has the goal of improving survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40.

To date, Movember has raised $47 million globally making it the world’s largest charity event for men. Help to change the face of men's health and spread awareness.

Please visit their website at www. Movember.com

Professor’s positive outlook on

Dr. Eustace Palmer, professor in the Department of English and Rhetoric at Georgia College & State University, and a native of Sierra Leone is known by colleagues and students as a man of gentle words and one whose life has been mostly kept private.

When Palmer was asked to share his most private experiences surviving prostate cancer, he gently responded, “Well, of course.” His positive outlook can be defined in those three words, and his genuine character speaks volumes to students and colleagues alike.

In the summer of 1998, five years after taking his job at GCSU, Palmer was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was having his yearly checkup with his primary physician when he was referred to an urologist. The urologist examined Palmer, but found nothing. However, sixth months later, Palmer returned to the urologist for a more in-depth examination. The biopsy results came back positive in the early stages of prostate cancer.

Having been educated about his prostate cancer diagnosis and given options for treatment, which included surgery and radiation, Palmer opted for surgery, which consisted of complete removal of the prostate gland. Beginning in September of 1998, Palmer started the eight-month preparation for surgery by taking medications and undergoing chemotherapy. His surgery was scheduled to take place in May of 1999.

During his eight-month preparation for surgery, Palmer had still not been granted his citizenship in the United States due to an outbreak of civil war conflicts in Sierra Leone. In February of 1999, Palmer was hit with the horrifying news of his older brother’s death in the civil war conflict in Sierra Leone.

“I grieved the loss of my elder brother, I am now the oldest surviving child in our family of eight children.”

Palmer kept busy before he underwent surgery that summer.

“It helped to be busy. I did not need to spend time focusing on my circumstances,” Palmer said.

During this time, he continued volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, singing in his church choir, and conducting research at the University.

He approached his circumstances with pure optimism.

“I did not view it as life threatening or frightening, it was just an interesting unusual experience. I had actually never been admitted to the hospital before,” Palmer said.

For three consecutive weeks prior to his surgery, he gave a pint of blood. The three pints of blood were then given back to him during his surgery. The surgery was conducted at the Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville, Georgia. Everything went well with the surgery, and three weeks later he had the stitches removed. Directly after the surgery he had to learn to walk properly with the help of a nursing assistant.

Staying out of the classroom was not the case for Palmer. He returned to teach a summer session class in June following his surgery. Palmer continued to see his doctor every six months after his surgery and was glad to report that the prostate cancer was completely gone.

In Sierra Leone, his father, Frederick, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the latest stages. “People in my father’s village said it was the ‘old man’s disease,’ ” said Palmer. “This disease is certainly not a question of age; you can be diagnosed as a young man. If your father does not have it, it does not mean that you can’t have it. Mine was linked to being hereditary, but many cases are not”.

Palmer’s father, Frederick, died from prostate cancer in 1983 at the age of 74. His father had worked as a civil servant for ministry of works, which is compared to a Federal Government worker in United States.

Palmer suggests that young men should not be afraid to get regular check ups at the doctor and PSA tests.

“I am grateful to my urologist and doctor for being there throughout the entire process. I have confidence in the great health system here, and this is something that my father did not have access to in Sierra Leone”.

As a man who has been personally affected by war, death and cancer, his positive outlook remains an inspiration to many and his story gives hope to men everywhere.

bluetree concert Nov. 1 in Macon

Fellow Bloggers,

There will be a Christian concert this Sunday, Nov. 1, at Christ Chapel on Bass Rd. in north Macon. You can get $5 tickets by emailing Brian @wordtested@bellsouth.net and telling him your group name and how many tickets you want. They will hold them at Will Call for you at the front doors of the church. Christ Chapel is in the old Sports Town building and it's a great place to have a concert.

The group is called bluetree. They are from Ireland and have toured all over the world with their hit song, God of this city.

If you go on your own without reservations and pay at the door, the cost is $10.

I am trying out the use of social media to promote this concert that I am interested in attending. I have used e-mail, Facebook, this blog and twitter to get out the message. As a public relations student, I am learning how valuable social media is in spreading the word around quickly and gaining support for an event like this!

Experiencing the Tipping Point

Gladwell mentions in his book that the tipping point is “the one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once.” This one dramatic moment is what I like to call a momentum builder or catalyst for change. It is in this moment where everything changes and the fire is fueled to keep on burning. Gladwell means just what he states on the front cover of his book, “How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference,” and I would argue how good things can become great things. I think Gladwell’s definition of the tipping point is a variation of many things that I have heard before, but yet I am still compelled by Gladwell’s commitment to seeing the tipping point “grow richer with each new reading” and his ability to inspire readers like myself to use the Tipping Point as a way to come up with new ideas using the word of mouth phenomenon and finding those types of people in society: Mavens, Connectors and Salesman.

I believe I am a Salesman at heart and a Connector as a result. Gladwell’s story with Tom Gau was a great example of a natural salesman and I found many common characteristics that we shared. Gau said, “If you don’t try, you’ll never succeed,” and I think there is so much truth in his statement. Many of the calculated risks I take daily are simply in a good effort to succeed using my best performance. In addition, I believe that I have a high level of connectedness given that I am naturally optimistic and persuasive as a Salesman. I have a great versatility to my work as a student and like Gladwell states, “ In the case of Connectors, their ability to span many different worlds is a function of something intrinsic to their personality, some combination of curiosity, self confidence, sociability and energy.”

For our Relay For Life event to “TIP” this semester, we must use our entire class made up of Mavens, Salesmen, and Connectors to work together and use our individual skills to better the group. I think our groups focus on the little things will make a big difference like Gladwell’s Power of Context example with the NYC Police and cutting down on crime. It’s those small out of context actions that get great results. My creative suggestion comes from my recent trip to the Atlanta Falcons game where the players were wearing pink sneakers, tape, gloves and the cheerleaders were also dressed in pink. The Falcons colors are red, white and black so this seemed out of context. However, they were doing this to promote breast cancer awareness. Implementing wearing purple at local community events, etc to promote Relay For Life seems to me would be highly effective. I think finding a similar niche place to promote Relay For Life would also be effective like the hair salon example in Gladwell’s book. I believe that our understanding in answering the question, Why Relay For Life? will help us to tip. This event is about these cancer survivors and their stories and helping to let others know through celebrating their memory. Like Gladwell’s smoking example, you can’t start to help people until you understand why people smoke.

Lastly, applying the use of social media is evident, the essence of the tipping point was using word of mouth phenomenon, but today there are so many ways through using the Internet to spread the word around. Viral marketing is a term to describe the way the Internet is used to spread a virus simultaneously and instantly through the Internet. One example is when Burger King launched a viral marketing campaign with its Subservient Chicken website. This was a hit and many people were prompted to go online and check it out. I believe that I have experienced the tipping point this semester through blogging and microblogging. The Kanye West performance that most of us blogged about in class is an example of how microblogging such as Twitter was used to spread information about Kanye West instantly. Also, participating in Blog Action Day was another great way to experience the tipping point and see how one little thing like writing a blog can make a big difference when you have many people joining in to do the same.

2010 South Africa World Cup & Climate Change

As a college soccer player, I am passionate about the game of soccer and the cultural and environmental role soccer plays across the globe. For the first time ever the FIFA World Cup will be hosted by a nation in Africa. The tournament will be staged at 10 venues across nine South African cities. Johannesburg will be home to two World Cup stadiums Soccer City and Ellis Park. According to Climate Neutral Network, South Africa is committed to integrating environmental principles into the planning and organization of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Their aim is to enhance environmental sustainability for South Africa and its citizens, and to reinforce the significance of environmentally responsible lifestyles within the context of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and the country’s economic and social development programs.

In a recent article, Wendell Roelf commented that South Africa has often been commended for being most active among developing countries in fighting climate change. However, environmentalists say while South Africa Government has set ambitious targets, it has been slow in executing them.

While environmentalists may have a point here, it is evident that the 2010 South Africa World Cup presents an opportunity for South Africa’s Government to execute these targets. The South African Government is working with the UN Development Programme on an initiative involving carbon offsets for the World Cup. The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup offers South Africa a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the world its commitment to responsible environmental management, while improving the living environment and livelihoods of South Africans. This event offers important opportunities to showcase how South Africa can respond to the challenges facing its region, the planet and most importantly what they can do differently today and for the future.

As a passionate public relations student, I believe my journey in finding a future job in public relations will include awareness on social responsibility issues for the given company or organization to which I will be working. As a college student, I hope to make the world a better place through using social media such as blogging on important social and environmental issues, and also through completing an internship hopefully with the 2010 South Africa World Cup. If chosen for this internship, I will be actively participating in the South African community while being apart of the sporting world and its commitment to environmental management. I believe that using social media like blogging and completing an internship will help me as I seek a future job in public relations.

I have included the information below for any students who happen to read my blog and are interested in a summer internship focused on climate change or global events. Future 500, a non-profit organization that works on corporate social responsibility issues is looking for 2-3 research interns.

Climate change - The intern will undertake in depth research on public and private policy in relation to the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December. The research will become the basis of presentations to corporate partners and may be distributed to other stakeholders.

Global Events - The intern will undertake research on key social issues and risks for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, and the Shanghai World Exposition May-October 2010. 


Please visit this website for more information on these internships.

http://www.ypfp.org/jobs/summer-research-internships

Relay For Life Pitch

Our PR administration class recently pitched different themes to the Relay For Life committee in Milledgveille. The group I was a part of was selected as the pitch winner. Our black and white Polaroid picture theme "Celebrate a Memory" will be used for this years event. I am excited to now begin the details for planning this event where over a hundred participants are expected to attend including this years Relay For Life team captains and cancer survivors. The one thing that I've learned from my first pitch experience is that it is all about the way you position your pitch, you must distinguish yourself a part from the rest by highlighting the benefits and connecting with your audience. I think building an image that involves the participant is so important. I am currently focused on working to get the community business owners involved by donating items for this event as I am in charge of our committee to budget cost of food, refreshments and table settings. The best part of having this unique opportunity is to get to work with my peers and together collaborate to put together an event that means so much to our community!

Life after college with Chris Carmichael

Chris Carmichael is the President of Surfperch Communications, a web and pr firm located in Portland, Oregon. http://www.surfperch.com/

I had the opportunity to do a career review on Chris Carmichael in March of 2008. Chris Carmichael shared many life lessons he experienced after college that have inspired me as a senior pr student. As future pr professionals we all seem to be asking ourselves the same question, What is next, you know, life after college? I hope you enjoy reading about Chris Carmichael’s experiences, and are encouraged about a future in public relations after college!

“I started as a technical writer for Intel, and then three years later I started my own web and pr company, but I traveled first. I landed one good client, saved all the money from the 3 week job, then drove around America for 6 months, I even drove through Milledgeville. Then I came home and did another web job, and went to Europe for 6 weeks after that. All in all, I traveled for 9 months of 1999 when I was 25 years old. I knew that I could always find a job, but travel experience was something I needed. More than anything I did not want to have regrets about, ‘I never went there or did that,’ especially if I had to get a job and support a family. I didn’t want to resent anyone in my life for trapping me into father/husband obligations. I wanted to get the entire travel itch out before I started a career.

Why do I tell you that? Because those trips have meant more to my professional career than any class I ever took. I recommend building up great life experiences that you can use later in life to connect to your clients, your audience, your friends, and so on. It doesn’t have to be traveling either. If your angling for a successful career, you need to use true-life experiences in order to connect emotionally with the people on which your career depends. It could be clients, viewers, readers, colleagues, etc. My own work involves being a chameleon for my clients. Sometimes its just simple web design, sometimes it’s pr such as writing press releases or handling an interview with the NY Times or designing a participation campaign, sometimes its search engine placement, doing e-commerce, setting up a blog/vlog or handling a domain name emergency, ghostwriting an article, speaking at a conference or setting up a press conference or whatever.
My best experience on the job has been working with different industries in the same week. I’m backstage with Billy Joel and his staff, and one day later I’m speaking at a conference in Hawaii on another clients dime. One week later, I’m helping a client through an Oprah appearance and using that to springboard a charity I work with into the national spotlight, watching their online donations explode. It’s totally, completely awesome. It’s the best job in the world and I don’t even know what to call it.

I also worked in Sicily (Dec 2003-June 2004). Hard to do when you can’t always get Internet access and the country shuts down from Noon-4 every day. I was a newlywed then, and my wife and I just hung out, learned how to cook, learned to appreciate great wine, stayed up late learning Italian with our new friends, and talked about how we wanted our lives to go. It was marriage boot camp, and we really dug it. It’s made our marriage really strong, because we took ourselves out of our comfort zone and made it work. I wholeheartedly recommend Sicily. Wow, what a place it will change your whole outlook on life. No matter when you go, or with whom, you wont ever regret it. Ever. http://www.thinksicily.com/

I know it’s not always easy, but it is best to pray about a choice, and then make one with absolute passion and gusto. Don’t bury the coins. Remember Moses standing at the shore of the Red Sea when the Egyptians were closing in: he said, ‘Wait, God will save us…just watch!’ God immediately smacked him upside the head and said, ‘What are you waiting for? I gave you a really cool staff…now move the ocean!’ (Paraphrasing of course) I try my best to listen to His direction and not plan too much ahead, for He is the ultimate source of peace and relevance to our lives. And in the end, the websites, and pr campaigns are all gone, but the charities we work with make real impacts on peoples lives.

Surfperch is one more way to bring the Icthus/Christian symbol…it’s also a popular Pacific Coast fish that lives only in the crashing waves steps from the shore. Its representative of our work, always ebbing, flowing and crashing around us, yet, the turmoil is what makes the excitement possible.

Opportunities are endless. Really. Every company and organization needs a website and pr, a marketing plan, technical assistance, and general advice. The idea here is to be indispensable to the client, no matter what their needs are. Best of luck to you in your career!”

Sincerely,

Chris Carmichael

PR Lessons from Kanye West

The social networking website, Twitter was flooded with tweets about the Kanye West incident from Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards. There were over 5, 000 hits in the Twitter feed under Trending Topics: Kanye West. In our pr class we have talked about the effect of social media, and how it can explode to reach so many people in a short amount of time, and this is exactly what happened since this incident occurred. Kanye’s first apology after the incident was posted on his blog. This was the first of a total of four apologies, but the Jay Leno apology was the most public. The incident has been considered by some to be a PR stunt to help promote Jay Leno’s new prime time talk show on NBC. It is true that Kanye West’s appearance on the show helped Leno get a smashing start in television ratings, as the talk show pulled in over 15 million viewers. Even Obama had a say on the incident calling Kanye West a “jackass” in an off-the- record piece of a political interview on television. The remark was widely circulated by an ABC journalist who posted it on Twitter. This is not the first time Kanye West has been in the negative media spotlight, but the issue at hand is how we as pr professionals can learn from this pr incident. First, we must recognize the strong role and immediate effect that social media plays. Second, we must evaluate what is the best advice to be given as a pr counsel to Kanye West. As a pr professional you must try to understand how to handle a client who is in the public eye, and behaves in a negative manner. Does a public apology do the job or does more effort need to be done to counteract all the negative pr? There was plenty of negative pr being spread through micro blogging which included the following: Kanye being described as a racist, a troubled guy according to Bill O’Reilly, having a drinking habit that led to the specific incident, and most of all an outcry of disappointment and frustration from fans and other celebrities. We must address these questions and all the negative pr in the media in order to make a positive impact on the pr issue at hand. Whether or not Kanye West has learned from this incident, I can not say, but I can say that as a growing pr professional I am more aware of my immediate role and also the role that social media plays.

PR Profile

According to the traditional skills of a pr professional, I would consider myself proficient in writing press releases, news stories, features and a variety of other written skills including my most recent being blogging.

I certainly have the skill for communicating well with others, which can comprise of an array of communication processes some of which include delegating tasks efficiently, confidence in public speaking and group presentations and most importantly listening to others whether that is my teammates, co-workers or a future employer.

My attention to detail and media relations has greatly increased over the years. I have gained a lot of experience in different work settings such as a marketing agency, a nonprofit organization and in advertising for our student newspaper. I have compiled media lists, met aggressive deadlines, and worked on building good relationships with clients.

Work ethic and proactiveness are a part of my character, for example, tonight after soccer practice I met with two advertising clients, but this was only after visiting each client two times prior over this past week. The extra effort and time devoted to what I am doing pays off, and this applies to everything in my life.

One area where I find myself in need of more practice is in taking more calculated risks and not fearing failure. Many successful people failed many times or took several risks before they achieved anything. Yesterday, our soccer coach played an inspirational online video showcasing these successful people who took risks and failed, some of which included Michael Jordon, Walt Disney and Abraham Lincoln. They all had to “fail forward” as my coach put it in order to achieve something great.

Check out this link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hz_s2XIAU

I am excited to learn more skills as I begin to get familiar with current technology and using the many social networking tools. I am a beginner blogger and microblogger, and I do not understand anything about blogger relations, but that is what this assignment is all about. In our classes, I look forward to discussing social media ethics, how to effectively promote an organization and implement an event and the pitching best practices.

PR Blog Comment

Everyone, 

I have successfully created a blog!  I am looking forward to being a blogger, and learning more about blogs! My blog question for the day is do bloggers end their blog with a sign off phrase like you see in a letter or e-mail?   I have a lot to learn about blogs, so lets get started!

Thanks, 

Kara