Hello AHPR!

I want to be the first to extend my congratulations to the 2010-2011 Allen Hall Public Relations management team.

Year after year I’m impressed by the caliber of students that step up to the often difficult, but nearly always rewarding, challenge of managing and leading their peers throughout the year. This year is no different.

When you see these folks in the hall, tell them congrats! If you have ideas for next year, I’m sure they’re interested in hearing them, too.

Karly Bolton, Firm Director (twitter, LinkedIn)

Firm Director: Responsible for the overall direction of the agency. The firm director provides the public face of the agency and is responsible for its operations. S/he is the first point of contact for all clients, runs weekly meetings, serves as a resource and enforces policies.

I’ve been consistently impressed with Karly’s energy and enthusiasm and her uncanny ability to remember that I have a thing for adorable owl motifs. As a student in both my social media classes, she’s also proven savvy on the interwebz. As an account supervisor, she’s already had the joy of tackling difficult client relationships with grace and diplomacy (and always with a smile). She’ll build on the high standards set by Kristina (and me) and ensure that AHPR’s work continues to be excellent.

Samantha Luthra, Assistant Firm Director for Internal Relations (twitter)

Assistant Firm Director of Internal Relations: This position is the primary liaison to each of the account supervisors. S/he help to manage deadlines, track projects, assist with personnel issues and spearheads the hiring process in Fall and Winter terms. The assistant and firm director work very closely together to ensure smooth firm operations.

Samantha has remarkable poise and confidence, but also the patience and empathy to keep teams on track, on deadline and co-existing functionally. Samantha has been in three of my classes and somehow she always brings a sense of calm with her (a great characteristic to help minimize inevitable drama). Lynn has been a terrific internal relations director and I know Samantha will build on that foundation, bringing her own style – both in leadership and fashion sense. 🙂

Cassi Gritzmacher, Business Development Director (twitter)
Business Development Director: The BDD is a new position. This person will serve as the Web editor and events coordinator, planning weekly meetings, coordinating with guest speakers, etc. S/he may also provide external relations (the PR person for AHPR), helping to raise awareness about AHPRs work among faculty/staff and the community and also plan the end-of-the-year banquet

Cassi’s a natural leader and connector. Her willingness to take on a new role and shape it for the future speaks to this. Cassi will bring a new focus on networking, guest speakers, maintenance of the AHPR website and more (I hear she even has agency tours in mind). Cassi’s energy is contagious and she will bring a great deal of value for AHPR members in the next year.

Mason Hughes, Business Services Director (twitter, LinkedIn)

Business Services Director: BSD is responsible for managing contracts, scope of work agreements and following up with client regarding billing and payments. This position may also serve as an account supervisor or account executive on a team.

I’m not very detail oriented and Mason’s ability to track the minutiae of the end-of-the-year banquet has boggled my mind. He’s also impressed faculty and staff with his follow-through, poise and professionalism. We have some ideas about how to change contracts, scope of work agreements and reporting that Mason will no doubt shepherd us through in a way that will create an even stronger foundation for future years.

Congrats to the new team!

Kelli