Tag: summer

Making Our Own Summer Fun

Clairemont InternBlog, Inspirational, The Clairemont Team, , , , , ,

What has your favorite PR team been up to this summer, you ask? Here’s how we’ve been spending our warm days while working from home!

Tracy Lathan

The Lathans are moving! I’m not sure if moving during COVID is perfect timing or the worst idea ever, but nonetheless we are packing up! Much of our summer has been filled with house projects, sorting, packing and making a few more memories. While we are excited about this next chapter, we are also sad to say goodbye to the house where we raised our babies. Here’s to a new adventure! 

Dana Phelps

Photo scavenger hunts have helped me keep my sanity this summer! They get me out of my house, and instead of thinking about the alarming headlines while I’m walking, my brain is occupied with what I’m going to photograph. Sometimes I engage a group of friends via text and ask each person to name an item for the scavenger hunt. One day that meant that I took pictures of an ant, a bee and berries, and spent a lot of time trying to find a lily pad that was nowhere to be seen on my walk! However, my default is flowers. I love flowers. Thank goodness Raleigh offers months of different blooms so that when all else fails, I can always lace up my sneakers and head out to find flowers that I haven’t yet photographed. 

Anna Beth Adcock

This may not sound like too much fun, but I’ve spent almost every day this summer running! While the heat during a North Carolina summer is no joke, running has been a great way for me to clear my mind, listen to my favorite songs (Taylor Swift just came out with a new album), and catch up on the latest podcasts. Sometimes, I can even convince a friend or two to join me on a socially distanced jog! In addition to running, I have enjoyed one of my favorite foods (avocado toast) with one of my favorite people, my sister, several times over the course of the summer.

Cherith Andes

This summer, my sister and her family jaunted down to North Carolina to visit my parents. We scrapped our traditional vacation travel plans and instead concocted our own theme park in the suburbs of Raleigh. In addition to a gigantic inflatable water slide (12 hours of wet, splooshy adventures), we rented an at-home cotton candy machine for all-you-can-eat North Carolina State Fair goodness. 

Kelli Fletcher

This summer has been all about family for me. My sister, who is expecting her first baby, left NYC with her family to come to Emerald Isle and stay for three months. We visited them multiple times, and I got to watch her belly grow – something I thought was going to be impossible when the pandemic hit in March. She’s back in NYC now, and I don’t know when I’ll see them again/meet the baby. But the memories we made during this summer, which we all thought was surely canceled, will carry me through until that day.

Hungry for more? Eat up a few inspirational ideas from the Clairemont team.

By Clairemont intern, Anna Beth Adcock, a rising senior at NC State.

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Thanksgiving in July

Clairemont InternBlog, Inspirational, The Clairemont Team, , , ,

While we might be months away from the turkey, mashed potatoes and pecan pie of Thanksgiving, there’s no time like the present to acknowledge a few ways we’re grateful! Without further ado, welcome to the Clairemont team’s rendition of “Thanksgiving in July.”

Tracy Lathan

During all the craziness of the past few months, I have been so very thankful for the opportunity to spend extended time at our family home at Harkers Island. Everyone is happier there, and it feels like life is normal, even if only for a few days. This porch is the perfect place for morning coffee, afternoon reading, sunsets, family dinners and especially “God winks,” like this one:

Dana Phelps

During the pandemic, I have been so grateful for my front porch. It is a respite from being inside my home that gives me a safely distanced connection to my neighbors. I love seeing families walking together, kids riding bikes by my house and most of all, neighborhood doggies out for their evening strolls!

Anna Beth Adcock

Over the past few months, I have been especially grateful for my family and for any opportunity I can catch to spend time outdoors. When I’m lucky, family and outdoor adventures combine, like the backpacking trip I recently took with my brother along with a few sporadic trips with my sister to visit our aunt (and her dog) in Wilmington. Family, time at the beach and a precious pup makes for three really big reasons to be thankful!

Cherith Andes

When COVID quarantine hit, I needed a “something” — a hobby to channel my attention. And for the first time, I tried my hand at being a green thumb. These potted plants grew from tiny little sprigs into these lovely blooms, and they have brought me so much joy and a reminder to enjoy life, growth and vibrancy.

Kelli Fletcher

As we wrap up month FIVE of this COVID craziness, it has gotten a bit harder for me to find those sparks of joy in each day. However, I remain so grateful for my family. We are lucky to see both sets of grandparents who live not too far from us in Raleigh. At their houses, the kids can explore new backyards, visit community lakes to feed the fish and get a whole new set of snacks! Through these actions, I’ve become MOST grateful for my kids’ simple – almost naive – outlook on the world. Seeing such a strong joy and wonder in their eyes makes it impossible to not feel the same and during this time, it’s a nice mental break. 

Curious about more of our quarantine chronicles and other team-related escapades? Check out the Clairemont Team section of the blog!

By Clairemont intern Anna Beth Adcock, a rising senior at NC State.

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Plum Crazy! Labor Day Stress?

Dana PhelpsBlog, Photo of the Week, Travel, , ,

I always dread the end of summer simply because it is my favorite season. This morning on a call with a colleague, she mentioned the sense of “now we’ve got to get back to work” because Labor Day has come and gone. We know that holiday stress rises in November and December, but it never occurred to me that Labor Day stress could be a thing.

Two years ago, Mars Drinks commissioned a study that confirms that this is a legit issue and offered the following tips on helping employees ease the anxiety and remain productive:

Get inspired.

  • Maintain the activities that energize you outside of your work. Find a way to keep attending that yoga class even though the summer is over. (This is why we have Well Wednesday at Clairemont!)
  • Savor your morning coffee while reading an inspirational article before diving into your email.

Manage your time.

  • Book time for short breaks throughout the day. Even taking time for a cup of coffee between meetings will help you to relax and refresh.
  • Keep a longer term calendar of your projects so that when new requests emerge, you can determine what’s possible and communicate.

Stay connected.

  • You still have a few days of sunshine – take meetings outdoors if possible.
  • Keep up the volunteering – it’s a great way to stay connected to the things you love the most outside of work.
I don’t like that summer is over, but I love these tips. What do you do to help maintain productivity during stressful times? Share your ideas on the Clairemont Facebook page.
Story behind the photo: This summer I had the opportunity to visit wine country for the first time. In addition to taking some amazing winery tours, I simply loved picking and eating fresh fruit. Plums don’t look like this in North Carolina! They were delicious.
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Clairemont Welcomes UNC Intern with Variety of Previous PR Internships

Josephine ButlerBlog, Professional Development, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency, The Clairemont Team, , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Clairemont Welcomes UNC Intern with Variety of Previous PR Internships

Meet Callie Henson, joining us from the beautiful campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is studying PR. While we’d really like to tell you more, we don’t want to steal her thunder! We hope you enjoy hearing about where she was before she started her internship here at a Raleigh PR agency.

Say hello to Callie Henson, our newest intern!

When I came to UNC, I knew I wanted to study in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The field has always interested me, and after my first public relations course, I knew this was the profession for me.

Now that I am a senior at UNC and a profession in the real world awaits, I’ve realized it is my different experiences in PR that will help me stand out in the crowd of recent graduates. From interning at local North Carolina agencies (including my internship right here at a Raleigh public relations agency!) to chairing the public relations and outreach committee of UNC’s student government, I feel like I am gaining a wide variety of experience while I am still in school. My past summer interning in New York City especially opened up my eyes to the possibilities in PR.

Every single day during my internship in NYC, I learned something new and usually witnessed a supervisor or two learning a new skill or concept, as well. From strategy for new business pitches to audience profile research, there is always something new to discover.

I love how in PR you can work for so many different kinds of clients. Every company needs good publicity, and the opportunities are endless. I love how when starting a new internship I get to not only learn more about different public relations practices, but I also get to learn more about different professions around the world.

I want to continue to learn as much as I can before I graduate and be ready to be thrown any assignment or into any situation, and thrive. I’m going to continue to ask questions, continue to network and make connections, continue to be curious and continue to volunteer for any and all tasks. What I have learned from my internships in PR is to never let an opportunity pass – you never know where it could take you!

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