The Name of the Game is Networking

I got to be a part of something really cool this evening in Downtown Milwaukee.  As part of my Public Relations Planning class I got to meet with three Public Relations professionals at the Hudson Business Lounge , which is a really cool business place in the Third Ward of Downtown Milwaukee.  Not only was this even amazing, but it was also beneficial for my future.

This event was a series of mock interviews with Public Relations professionals from around the South Eastern part of Wisconsin.  The first professional I got a change to talk to was Cassandra, she is a Public Relations Specialist from Rush, located in Chicago, IL.  Cassandra conducted my first interview and I received a lot of really positive feedback from her.  There weren't a lot of surprise questions in this interview and I was very thankful for that! She was very kind and supportive and gave me a lot of positive feedback about how I was answering questions.  She said that she could tell I had some practice interviewing.

The second professional I got to speak with Sarah who works in the Public Relations department for the Wisconsin State Fair .  We got to chat just a little bit about her job and it sounded absolutely fascinating.  I hope to get together with her at a later date and talk with her more about her job.  She asked me how previous bosses/ co-workers would describe me, and I said patient and open.  She said she really liked the uniqueness of those answers, and told me she thought it was cliche when interviewees say they are, "responsible" or "timely", because they just should be that way.  It was very good to get positive feedback from her as well.  She liked my real life examples that I gave to the scenarios she presented me with.

The final professional I got to speak with was so fabulous.  For this interview the tables got to be turned a little bit, and I got to ask this professional questions.  Her name was Melissa and she works for GE Healthcare, in the Dose & Education Service sector as the Global Marketing Leader.  She gets to work with so many different people to educate the public on a new service.  Melissa answered all of my  questions and looked over my resume with me.  She was really interested in seeing more of my portfolio and I am really looking forward to setting up a meeting with her! Melissa and I got to talk about how I wanted to get into the Non-Profit sector of Public Relations and she has a contact at the Blood Center of Wisconsin, who she is going to put me into contact with.  She was so helpful and I am thankful I got to meet with her!

This event was so amazing, and it is an opportunity that I am so grateful to have had!

Honoring the Honorable

The last couple of weeks I have been extended an amazing opportunity.  In conjunction with a class I am taking at UW-Whitewater I have been able to do some work and research for Badger Honor Flight.  Badger Honor Flight is an amazing organization that is made up 100% of unpaid volunteers, that work day in and day out to make sure that veterans for World War II and most recently the Korean Ware are able to go to the memorials that have been erected in their honor, in Washington D.C..

The way that Badger Honor Flight executes this goal is really quite incredible.  They get all of the veterans to the airport very early in the morning, with all of their families.  There is some entertainment and send-off and then they jet off to Washington D.C. to see their memorials.  Upon arrival in D.C. the veterans are welcomed with a party.  They are thanked and loved on by local military personnel as well as civilians.  The veterans then, along with their sponsors spend the day in Washington D.C. seeing the memorials that have been built to honor their lives and service.  For many veterans this is a humbling and emotional experience, for several reasons.  One of the reasons is because they thought they would never be able to visit this memorial, due to the financial burdens as well as, for most of them, their failing health.  Another reason is because many of these veterans were really never thanked for their service, and this is their country thanking them for the years of their lives they gave to this country.

After the veterans have been given their whirlwind tour of D.C. and their memorials they are taken back to the airport. At the airport in D.C. they are greeted with more flair and fun.  They then board their plan where another surprise is awaiting them.  They get to again, experience mail call, which many veterans describe as one of the shining moments of being in the service.  This mail call is full of handmade cards and letters from their family and friends back home thanking them for everything they sacrificed during their time during the war.

When the veterans return home in Madison there is one final surprise waiting for them when they come down the elevator after their flight.  A big welcome home party, they may have never received before.  The entire lobby of the airport is flooded with people waiting to welcome their beloved veterans home. Many of the families have beautiful homemade signs thanking them for their service and welcoming them home.  Upon that trip down from the elevator they are welcomed by people dancing and a full swing band.  It is definitely a big welcome home for these veterans.

I got to go and be a part of a welcome home for the October 19th flight, in Madison.  It was certainly a sight to behold.  There were people making signs and holding signs, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their veteran.  When the veterans come down the elevator there is all sorts of cheering and yelping from the crowd.  People crowd the aisle wanting to thank the veterans and shake their hands.  Many of the veterans are overwhelmed with emotions and cannot hold back their tears, they are so thankful to be loved and thanked!

                                                          Families were able to make signs for their returning family members

                                                      Girls would run down the aisle sharing when the veterans wold be arriving 

                                                                    Beautiful welcome home sign a family had made 

                                                                                        Veteran homecoming 

                                                                                         Veteran homecoming 

Badger Honor Flight is doing amazing things for these veterans that have received little to no thanks for their service in World War II and The Korean War. Badger Honor Flight exists solely on donations and they never ask any of the veterans to pay any money for their trips, and only ask their sponsors to pay for their trip.  If you could like to donate to Badger honor flight you can click, here.

You can learn more about Badger Honor Flight also, on their Facebook page.

Welcome.

Welcome to my blog! I am so glad that you have decided to check it out.

My journey of Public Relations started a little over three years ago and I am so glad I was pushed in that direction.  I had absolutely not idea what I wanted to do, I just had a list of things I really liked to do.  I was originally a business major, a business major that didn't really like theories or math for that matter.  Let's be honest I was completely miserable.  I had a meeting with my advisor and I was telling him all of these things and I was also telling him that I loved to write, proof things and talk to people.  Oh, and did I mention that I really needed to declare a major? He suggested Public Relations, I took my first class and I never looked back.  I am so thrilled with my decision.

I hope someday to use my Public Relations degree in the non-profit field, specifically a church.  I hope someday to become a Communications Director for a church or a ministry coordinator that helps with the communication and organizations of specific ministries in a church.  Right now I help with a lot of communications aspects of the youth ministry at the church I am a part of.  I run all the social media for their high school ministry called, DRIVEN as well as running DRIVEN's website.

I look forward to journeying through the end of my Public Relations schooling and the beginning of my Public Relations (or communications) career in the big bad real world!


-- Ashlyn