I have loved being able to get involved with local North Carolina business like Bailey’s Fine Jewelry, Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, Southern Ideal Home Show and RelyMD. Though I grew up in North Carolina, I feel so much more connected to my community and to the people who work so hard to bring us the food, products and services that we love. It was truly a pleasure to promote their hard work and to celebrate with them their outstanding achievements.

Overall, I have had such an incredible experience working with Rick and Lindsay and the skills and wisdom they shared have helped me grow not only in my knowledge of PR but also in my development as a young professional preparing to enter the job market. As I begin researching grad schools and job openings over the course of my senior year at UNC, I know that I will move forward confidently with a deeper understanding of and solid skill set in this incredible industry. To Rick and Lindsay – thank you for your patient guidance and everything that you have done for me along my voyage into the world of PR. You have truly given me the best possible intern experience with an amazing company!

Lindsay and I attended another Raleigh Public Relations Society Meeting at Midtown Grill on Tuesday, where we had the pleasure of hearing Lisa Jeffries speak on the PR activities surrounding the recent Raleigh Food & Wine Festival. The luncheon provided a great chance to really explore the inner workings of event planning and promotion. It is easy to view events like the Food & Wine festival as the product of business and vendors that work together to create a shared experience.  We tend to take the communication around the events for granted. We tend to forget that there are equally hard-working people behind the promotion, creating messages that reach out to us and invite us to attend.

I was also able to participate in two webinars this week, including Building Your Brand with Instagram and Crisis Management. Both webinars were incredibly informative and explored the ways in which technology has become such an essential tool in many facets of PR. From creating a “personality” for your company to creating a system for quick, mass communication in a time of crisis, social media platforms have truly become a hub of human communication. After engaging with the webinars, it became very clear that the clever and efficient use of technology is becoming more and more essential to success in the ever-evolving world that is PR.

I’ll be back next week for my final blog post!

I have also really enjoyed being able to do some work for the upcoming Southern Ideal Home Show coming to the NC State fairgrounds in September 25-27. As a college student, this is an awesome event that I probably would not have heard about had I not gotten the chance to work with them as a client. This year Hilary Farr, co-host of HGTV’s Love It or List It, will be presenting two Question and Answer sessions at the show! I’ll be sure to check it out this year to get some ideas for my post-graduation living space!

I do a lot of work with media lists – tweaking old ones and creating new ones. One of my favorite parts has been exploring all of the interesting blogs that are based out of North Carolina. Delicious foods, chic and unique fashion, travel and nifty DIY projects – these are just a few of the things that these creative N.C. bloggers have to offer. I’ve already bookmarked a few recipes and DIY home décor ideas that I plan to try out ASAP!

One of the best parts of PR is that it is an incredibly engaging profession – it connects people with their communities, culture and the individuals that make these things so meaningful. From Raleigh restaurants to local events to dynamic blogs, RRC has provided me a wonderful opportunity to engage not only with myself as a professional but also with my community as a whole. It’s been a great experience, and I’m excited for what my last couple of weeks have in store!

I’ve worked on creating several media lists for Lindsay and have become familiar with many of the publications, bloggers and media contacts throughout North Carolina. It has really given me a great appreciation for the vast network with which PR companies interact and has helped me grasp that the heart of PR is about relationships with people. I’m also building a great network that will undoubtedly prove valuable in my future at Rountree Communications and beyond.

Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending another Raleigh Public Relations Society meeting with Lindsay at Midtown Grille. The speaker, Sharon Dawson from Thee Design, gave an excellent presentation on the most effective social media platforms to use in reaching today’s markets. Even as an avid social media user, it was interesting to consider that platforms I had always thought of as purely social, such as Instagram and Snapchat, can be incredibly effective tools in communicating with markets. I really enjoyed the luncheon – and the delicious food didn’t hurt, either.

The past few weeks have become progressively busier here at RRC and I cannot wait to see what the rest of my internship has in store!

One thing I love about RRC is that the small size allows me to get a wide range of hands-on experience. Every week I learn something new and the skills I am acquiring are valuable, relevant and adaptable. I am proud to say that my repertoire of PR competencies is growing steadily! Having had only business experience in the past, I’m very excited to be taking on new skills like pitching stories, drafting copy and managing media clips. I am already much more confident and comfortable with the language and culture of PR than when I started and I hope to continue to grow throughout the summer.

As for the highlight of the week, Lindsay and I embarked on a little adventure to a blogger event we planned with one of our clients, a gymnastics studio. A group of local moms brought their energetic children who were absolutely adorable – watch for them on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team – and we got to step in as official event photographers. I loved being able to channel my inner child on the bouncy floor and it was great to see our outreach involve actual people in the community. I think the only people who had more fun than us were the kids – maybe!

I’ve also gotten a beside-the-scenes look into the media world. Earlier in the week, Lindsay took me to a Raleigh Public Relations Society Meeting (she’s a board member for the group) and we took a tour of our local CBS affiliate, WRAL’s newsroom. It was so neat to see the people we work with on stories in action and to learn some tricks for working with journalists.

Lindsay and Rick are keeping me very busy these days and I can’t wait to tackle my next batch of tasks! I’ll check back in soon!

I am looking forward to really immersing myself in the world of PR over the next few months. My background is primarily in business, so I am very excited to dive in and get some real hands-on experience in this new field. I have a lot to learn and I know that RRC is going to provide me with a high-quality, in-depth PR experience and a well-developed skill set. Rick and Lindsay are experts in their field, and I cannot wait to see what valuable knowledge and wisdom they have to offer!

So far I’m settling in and learning the ropes – I’ve already gotten a chance to draft a press release! Stay tuned as I’ll be sharing my adventures in PR throughout my internship on this blog.