Raleigh Public Relations Society

The Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS) aims to advance the art and science of public relations and to strengthen communication, understanding and cooperation among the diverse individuals, groups, and institutions of the Society.

Member Spotlight

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How She Works: Sharing My Favorite Resources for Working Smarter, Not Harder

We could all use a little help from time-to-time, right? If you’re at an agency or an in-house marcom team, you’re probably cranking out multiple deliverables daily and when working at warp speed, it’s nice to have a few tools at your disposal to make sure those deliverables arrive polished and as error-free as possible.

I started this blog post by checking my capitalization (“For”? “for”?) at CapitalizeMyTitle.com. This free sanity check is a game-changer during a long day of varying styles and format requirements.

In real time, Grammarly (available free and with a pro/paid edition) checked my spelling, use, and general grammar. It puts any browser’s built-in spell check to shame and the best part is that it’s trainable and sends you weekly performance reports. I love seeing each week how many different words I used the past week! To really get the most coverage, be sure to download the desktop program as well as the Chrome browser extension to check as many of the pieces you produce for errors.

Speaking of the Chrome browser, have you used its built-in strong password generator? I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t have to sign up for something and concede to said site’s secure password demands. Chrome makes it easy to use something beyond your standard “pet name plus exclamation point” configuration and then, like magic, will remember it across all of your devices – if you’re logged in to Chrome.

Continuing the Team Google theme, our office utilizes several Google Home devices to sync up our playlist tunes across our workspaces. We switch up the playlist daily but ever since last week’s RPRS lunch where Membership Chair Olivia Easly asked us to share our favorite “pump up”/motivation song, we’re totally digging the compilation playlist that came out of that gathering.

Spotify Playlist: RPRS Motivation Mix

Lisa Jeffries Raleighwood Media GroupLisa Jeffries

Raleighwood Media Group + Raleighwood Event Group

2019 RPRS Vice President

 

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Member Spotlight: Cara McLeod

We are pleased to feature one of our active RPRS members Cara McLeod as our Member Spotlight this month. If you’ve attended any of our monthly lunch meetings, you’ll definitely recognize this friendly face!

Cara is a Marketing Communications Coordinator at City of Raleigh and specializes in the Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources department. Love the abundant and diverse outdoor offerings in our vibrant city of Raleigh? Tell Cara about it on Twitter – we know she’d love to hear from you!

Raleigh Public Relations Society board volunteer and membership chair Glenn Gillen (APR, Senior Account Manager – S&A Communications) offers the following Q&A with Cara:

What do you like about RPRS?

I love the opportunity to network with other members and learn from everyone.

What is your favorite book?

The Lorax.

What is your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of my job is social media. I love all things social.

How did you get into PR/communications?

I started my career in communications at the YWCA. It was a great experience. I got the opportunity to work with Raleigh Parks and have been with them for the past 10 years. Time flies when you are having fun.

What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Find a mentor and be a mentor.

What is something that others would be surprised to learn about you?

I love to run Disney half marathons. I have a coast to coast medal for running a race in Disneyland and Disneyworld in the same year.

What three dinner guests (current or historical) would you like to have dinner with?

Vivian Howard from the Chef and the Farmer because she knows so much about food. Anthony McLeod, my husband, because he is always entertaining. Neil Armstrong because he was the first person to walk on the moon.

Growing up, what profession did you think you’d go into?

That was so long ago, I can’t remember 🙂

What song pops into your head most often?

Steep Canyon Rangers, Stand and Deliver

What is your favorite place to travel?

Asheville. The city has a really great vibe and wonderful food.

Keep your eyes on your email, members… Glenn just might reach out to you for our next member spotlight!

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Member Spotlight: Caleb Fernandez

Learn more about our member Caleb Fernandez for the April Member Spotlight. Caleb is an Account Executive at FleishmanHillard.

Caleb FernandezQ. What is your favorite part of the job?
A. Seeing my work come to life is probably my favorite part of being a publicist. You craft a story and work with the media to tell that story, and to see that coverage come fruition is brilliant.

Q. How did you get into PR/communications?
A. I have to thank my alma mater, N.C. State for this one. I started doing community management for several fashion shows and events within N.C. State’s textiles school, which led to other local community management opportunities in the area. That allowed me to gain invaluable experience, ultimately setting me up for success after graduation.

Q. What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
A. The CEO of my former agency used to say at company meetings, “Always have a bottle of champagne in the fridge. You never know when you’ll need to celebrate.” I feel like in this industry, we can often get pulled down by day-to-day stresses. This taught me and my team to live in the moment and celebrate the wins, even if they are small successes.

Q. What song pops into your head most often?
A. Recently, Work from Home by Fifth Harmony. Not sorry about it.

Q. What is your favorite place to travel?
A. New York, NY. I got my first job in PR after graduation in the city. Always love going back to experience the city, see what’s changed, eat myself silly and catch up with friends.

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Member Spotlight: Ginny Talley

Our Raleigh Public Relations Society Member Spotlight for February is Ginny Talley. Ginny is an Account Executive at Largemouth Communications. Our Membership Chair Glenn Gillen asked Ginny a few questions to get to know her better.

Ginny TalleyQ. What is your favorite part of the job?
A. I love that every day is different, requiring me to apply my expertise in a wide variety of arenas. One day I may be uniting local news anchors for a charitable triathlon competition. On another day, I’ll be knee deep crafting engaging social media content and accompanying imagery.

Q. How did you get into PR/communications?
A. I enrolled in an introduction to PR course at UNC-Chapel Hill, and it immediately piqued my interest. To see if it was really something I was passionate about, I decided to join the UNC Student Government PR Team.

Q. What three dinner guests (current or historical) would you like to have dinner with?
A. King Arthur, Dean Smith and Beyoncé

Q. Growing up, what profession did you think you’d go into?
A. For Career Day in the third grade, I didn’t know what I should wear. My classmates were all dressing up as doctors, firefighters, athletes and nurses. I went to school wearing jeans and white shirt and nobody could figure out what my career was supposed to be. When it came time to present, I said something along the lines of, “I’m going to be a writer. And to do that, I don’t need a uniform, just my imagination.”

Q. What is your favorite place to travel?
A. I’m always itching to go to new places and experience new cultures. So far, a few of my favorite adventures have been studying abroad in Italy, road-tripping across Ireland, and stomping my boots in Nashville.