Category: Counselors Academy

How is Juggling like Managing a PR Agency?

Dana PhelpsBlog, Counselors Academy, ,

The better question is, “How is juggling NOT like managing a PR agency?”

When I was in Austin in January for a planning session for our upcoming PRSA’s Counselors Academy Conference, I took some time to walk around and enjoy the weirdness the city is known to embrace. As I watched this amazing juggler, I thought about what it takes for PR agency owners and leaders to keep all the balls in the air each day. It’s no cake walk!

Fortunately, there’s Counselors Academy to help you hone your juggling skills. First, let me say that it is the relationships I’ve made through this organization that are the biggest asset to me in running an agency. I depend on my Counselors Academy friends on a weekly (sometimes daily!) basis for support, advice and in-market support throughout the year. The fact that Counselors is part of my world year-round makes the annual conference so exciting!

It’s so wonderful to get to see my trusted colleagues in person AND to meet each new attendee who shows up as a newbie only to walk away as “one of the group” just a few days later. We gather to learn how to better our teams, our client work and our businesses through sessions like “Building the Best Place to Work” by Starr Baker and Kelly Womer, “Transforming Your Agency: How Change Inspires Creativity” by Indra Gardiner and “Managing Your PR Agency as a Business” by Darryl Salerno.

Anyone juggling the management of teams, clients, new business and other aspects of a PR agency should consider attending this year’s conference in Austin, June 9 – 11. If you have questions about the conference, feel free to leave them in the comments section or email me direct at d@clairemontcommunications.com or ring my mobile at 615-294-1886. Hope to see you there!

What caption would you write for this photo?
What caption would you write for this photo?
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PRSA’S COUNSELORS ACADEMY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Q&A WITH Dana Hughens

Margot HorganBlog, Counselors Academy, The Clairemont Team, , , , , , , , 3 Comments on PRSA’S COUNSELORS ACADEMY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Q&A WITH Dana Hughens

Clairemont Communications CEO, Dana Hughens, was featured in this month’s PRSA Counselors Academy newsletter. As the current Conference Chair of the organization, Dana has been working with a team of dedicated PR pros and fellow Counselors Academy members  from across North America to plan the 2013 Counselors Academy Conference, which will take place in Austin, Texas June 9-11. Keep reading below for the featured Q&A with Dana, and check out our previous blog posts to learn more about other Conference Planning Committee members and their experiences in Counselors Academy.  

Q: What is your role at Clairemont Communications?
A: As CEO, I lead the team in devising award-winning strategies for our clients and developing new business opportunities. I also water the plants and do whatever else needs to be done.

Q: First job in PR?
A: I started a student-run PR agency with one of my professors while I was still in college. My first post-college job was working as the marketing director for the Alabama Theatre, a nonprofit performance art center in Birmingham. It was built in 1927 as a Paramount movie palace. It is very ornate and has 2,300 seats — not your average movie theater. I loved working at such a beautiful place and had a ton of fun creating media kits out of popcorn boxes, and hosting 3-D movie parties for local reporters.

Q: What would you do if you weren’t in PR?
A: I’ve always wanted to be a radio D.J. Or an interior designer. Or a fashion designer. Or a dog-walker.

Q: Favorite newspaper/magazine/website/blog?
A: I don’t have just one favorite. I still subscribe to my local newspaper, and I love the magazines InStyle, Real Simple, Elle Decor, Lonny and Rue. As for my favorite professional blog, My Palette by Martin Waxman, last year’s Counselors Academy Conference Chair, takes the cake! It is really smart with great tips and thoughts for PR pros, and Martin’s sense of humor really comes through in the posts. For a really good laugh without the PR wisdom, I switch over to LeighBones.com.

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Dana and fellow Conference Planning Committee member, Ann Barks at the 2012 Counselors Academy Conference in New Orleans

Q: What are you most looking forward to at June’s Counselors Academy Conference?
A: I’m really excited about opening night. We’re bringing in this amazing group called Banding People Together that will lead us through a songwriting collaboration event, making our conference attendees the stars of the Austin music scene.

Q: Where are we going to find you at our free nights in Austin?
A: I didn’t know we had free nights! I’ll be wherever the crowd is. There are so many great places in Austin, but I don’t really care where we go. The best part of the conference is always hanging out with the other people who attend. I can’t wait to see everyone!

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It’s Time to Register for the PRSA Counselors Academy Conference in Austin

Dana PhelpsBlog, Counselors Academy, Professional Development, , 1 Comment on It’s Time to Register for the PRSA Counselors Academy Conference in Austin

clockIt’s time to register for the 2013 PRSA’s Counselors Academy Conference to be held June 9 – 11 in Austin. Register here by May 10 and save $100.

While in Austin, take a walk downtown and see how many cool, old clocks you can find like this one at the Littlefield Building.

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Boot Camp for PR Agency Leaders: PRSA Counselors Academy Conference

Dana PhelpsBlog, Counselors Academy, , , 3 Comments on Boot Camp for PR Agency Leaders: PRSA Counselors Academy Conference
My conference co-chair, Tom Garrity, excited about some new boots!
My conference co-chair, Tom Garrity, excited about some new boots!

Have you ever been part of a boot camp fitness program? I know lots of people who have (myself included), and the purpose is typically to learn how to be fit or get back to being fit in a short period of time. Wouldn’t it be great if there was something like that for leaders of PR agencies? A way to learn how to run a fiscally fit, successful agency or to get your firm back in shape after tough times?

Guess what! There is! It is called PRSA’s Counselors Academy conference, and this year it will be held in Austin, June 9 – 11. As the 2013 conference chair, I visited Austin earlier this year with some other Counselors Academy members for a conference planning retreat. In addition to meeting with one of our conference keynote speakers, Richard Binhammer, touring Four Seasons, the conference hotel and meeting with local PRSA members, I tagged along with my conference co-chair, Tom Garrity, for some boot shopping! (Notice the not so smooth transition from boot camp to just plain ole boots?)

When I agreed to go to a boot store, I had no idea we’d have an experience with a business owner who has so much in common with many of our Counselors Academy members. Jerry Ryan at Heritage Boots might not be a PR guy, but he is passionate about offering a quality product, struck out on his own because he had an idea of a “better way to do it” and is successful because of his commitment to his vision. He’s also quite the media darling, receiving news coverage locally, regionally and nationally in outlets such as The New York Times.

Boot store trio
Counselors Academy members Mike Neumeier (l) and Tom Garrity (r) with Jerry of Heritage Boots.

So grab yer hat and git yer boots and mosey on over to the Counselors Academy Conference registration page and sign up for our PR agency “boot camp” today. And if you need some new boots to wear to the conference, make sure and see Jerry at Heritage. You might also learn a thing or two about running your business while you are there.

Jerry Ryan, Heritage Boots.
Jerry Ryan, Heritage Boots.
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PRSA’S COUNSELORS ACADEMY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Q&A WITH Dennis Winkler

Margot HorganBlog, Counselors Academy, Professional Development, Public Relations, , , , , , , , , 2 Comments on PRSA’S COUNSELORS ACADEMY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Q&A WITH Dennis Winkler

Our very own Dana Hughens is the PRSA’s Counselors Academy Conference Chair for the 2013 conference June 9-11 in Austin, Texas. As conference chair, she has the privilege to work with other members of the conference planning committee, which consists of senior-level PR counselors and agency owners from across the United States and Canada. We caught up with these PR pros to find out their secret to success and what they love most about Counselors Academy.

Introducing Dennis Winkler, Co-owner of Winkler Public Relations in Houston, Texas. Dennis  has been achieving great things in PR for 35 years and will assist with planning the dine-arounds for the 2013 Counselors Academy Conference. Keep reading to find out a little more about this Texan:

Getting to know you…
Name: Dennis Winkler

Agency: Winkler Public Relations

Position: COO and co-owner

First job in PR: Director of PR and Assistant Director of Development and Alumni (I also taught English),  Brother Martin High School, an all boys Catholic high school in New Orleans – a great first job!

Your insights…

Most loved thing about being in PR: There are so many great things to love about PR – the most stimulating is working with clients on media or crisis communications issues and watching their immediate feedback of accomplishment when interviews and crisis situations go well! It is the next greatest sense of pride and fulfillment to that a parent feels when your own child succeeds.

Best source for breaking PR news: As a news junkie, I tune in constantly to news radio and have a television playing in the office – but now that is “old school”. Today Twitter is a constant source of breaking news. Does anyone else panic when Twitter is over-loaded, such as during Super Bowl XLVII media day?

Number one recommendation to new PR professionals: Remain eager to learn and adapt! The Public Relations business is changing, and we must be the ones leading change for our clients. At the same time, find a mentor who will share successful PR principles because the core principles remain.

About Counselors Academy…

Most valuable aspect of being a Counselors Academy member: I continue to be in awe of the successful members of Counselors Academy and that they so openly share and assist each other with knowledge and issues. It is such an honor just to be around these successful PR pros. Every year during Spring Conference I feel like I am in my favorite college class soaking in every bit of knowledge I can from the best professors!

Role on the planning committee: The past two years, Spring Conference has been scheduled in cities where my wife and business partner, Kathy, and I spend considerable time. Thus, we offered to assist with planning events. This year we hope to have a role in the “dine-around” program to introduce our colleagues to some of the uniquely Austin culture. Our son Adam, who is the CBS affiliate (KEYE TV) weekend sports anchor in Austin, is providing great “ATX” insight!

Houston-20130302-00488
Dennis and his wife, Kathy

Best thing about the Counselors Academy conference: As great as the speakers and content are during every conference, the one-on-one discussions and the relationships established are the most valuable and lasting benefits of each conference.

Most fun memory of a Counselors Academy conference: I do not know how we could ever top the overall setting in Cabo San Lucas (my first conference, which certainly adds to the allure of Cabo). My favorite individual moment was at the New Orleans conference watching all the PR professionals do the “second-line,” the New Orleans traditional funeral parade to the sounds of a marching jazz band.

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