Last night I went to bed with 2. dollars and. Thir. teen. cents (said in the automated voice that has been announcing that sad balance to me for the past 2 weeks via phone banking) in my bank account-I know, yikes- and I woke up this morning with my first paycheck deposited! Perfect timing because there are several instances where I am required to pay for things and just include them on my expense report whenever I choose to turn it in...who honestly thinks I'm going to remember to fill out all of my expense reports? Not this girl. Today was one of those days and so I was happy when I bought 30 dollars worth of beverages for a meeting and the lady said "Girrrl, you done got the best sweet tea on the aisle", instead of "I'm sorry, your card's been declined". Tomorrow night, I'm cooking dinner for Ann and Bobby as a small thank you for letting me stay in their home...what to make, what to make?
Today was the first meeting that we got to coordinate, and it actually went very nicely. The meeting was with the 6 general managers of the Leatherheads. Basically, these guys (and 1 lady...yes, there are lady leather heads. both surprising and encouraging) are the team captains of the six teams we have within the Leatherheads and their job is to keep their guys on track, motivate to sell, and be leaders among the leatherheads. The meeting went really well, and I learned several things. Camille's Sidewalk Cafe does not make a regular large Chef Salad...so it was great that that was my boss's order, but it does have some of the best oatmeal raisin cookies with CARAMEL running through them...yes, I said oatmeal, raisin, caramel all in one cookie. Dad, feel free to wipe the drool from your chin. Also, preparation for a meeting of 13 people, no matter how simple it may be takes a lot of preparation. Whether it be creating agendas getting the right materials together for each person, getting lunch taken care of on time, printing and reprinting from different computers because someone (ehhmmm...we won't say names baha) jammed the copier to the point where the man fixing it wanted names of possible subjects, all of these things require planning in advance which is not one of my strongest suits. However, I'm learning how to plan ahead, and consequently the meeting was executed well. Snaps for Bryson! (someone clearly needs to get me the hell off of the Kappa List Serve...and get me out of the sorority mindset.)
A large portion of today, in and out of meetings was discussing the leatherheads incentives program, which Sarah and I have spent a good time working and reworking, and presenting to people, and changing...and then ultimately realizing that the way we had is worked out best. Anyways, some of the incentives that we are looking at for leatherheads are things like field passes, hospitality access/box access at games, tickets to private events, etc...My thoughts on the leatherheads incentives are that most of these guys can by whatever they want-money is not an obstacle. What they can't by is access to things that are invite only and that's the way you motivate the leatherheads to sell so that is the mindset we are trying to take when considering what Leatherheads would really respond most positively to. Tomorrow we will be meeting with the Leatherheads gifts committee about gifts for Players, Media, and VIP's and so we are hoping to make some progress as far as narrowing down our gift ideas even further. Any athletes have any fabulous ideas as far as what they would want in a Bowl gift or ACC Championship present??? Feel free to let me know before 11 tomorrow!
Will Webb came into our office with a branding iron he is going to use to personalize some gifts for the leatherheads...if nothing else, by the end of this internship I will hopefully be able to use my new found skills in branding on a cattle ranch of some sort. While he was in our office figuring out the iron, one of the Raycom staff came into our office and brought up his daughter who is in high school, and is apparently excelling in social circles, more so than in her academics. The way he described this struggle with his daughter almost made me sick to my stomach because it was literally like going back to 2002-2005 and listening to the bi-weekly talking to I got, eye rolls included, from my parents. I had to laugh and tell the him that I was certain my father described my less than bright academic future the same way to his colleagues when I was a junior in High School. He actually asked if we wouldn't mind taking his daughter to lunch on Friday, which I am actually very excited to do because I think I am far enough away from my own similar experiences that I can give her an objective adult perspective, while still understanding where she's coming from. The sad thing is that he said she probably is not going to want to come to lunch with us, and with that I looked at Sarah and said 'you here that, we are now the old people that young cool people are embarrassed to go to lunch with!'...growing up is overrated.
My final thoughts for the night are: 1. I have got to stop leaving subject lines blank in emails...frankly, it just looks tacky. 2. 'Y'all' is not an acceptable word in professional, written conversation and 3. If you asked me if I was addicted to my blackberry yet, I wouldn't lie to you...I don't think I've gone 10 minutes without at least checking it except for when I was sleeping...and even then I'm pretty sure I woke up a couple of times just to make sure it was still laying beside me (I won't be taking it into meetings with me anymore because it's too much of a temptation...like facebooking in class). Is it too soon to give my communication device a name? I feel like I've developed a relationship with it already.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Long few days...
Saturday was the most hectic day as far as timing was concerned. I got up at 8:30 to pick up Mary Catherine from North Carolina School of the Arts...took a round about way of getting there. Let's just say there were some miscommunication about directions, and it took an hour and a half to drive what should be a half hour trip. By the time I got to NCSA, it was 10am (should have been there by no later than 9:15), and the front desk staffer explained to me that I was not authorized to pick MC up as I was not her parent...the situation was dealt with, and the staffer was quickly corrected, which was good for me because I was already a little heated from the drive. By that time, I was going to have no time to get back to Greensboro to get ready for Katie Jones' shower, so I got ready in the bathroom at NCSA...can anyone say, bird bath? YIKES! The shower for Katie Jones was at 11:30 out at the Carlson Farms Club. It was so great to see Katie and the Jones' family but I literally had to leave within the hour to make it back to Charlotte in time to pick up Sarah, drive downtown, park and walk to the Westin hotel by 3, which was all the same to me because while the decorations and atmosphere at the shower were great, the food was less than appetizing. Needless to say, the pressure of the schedule was a little scary, especially when I was not completely sure how to get to 85 from that side of town. I'm still not convinced I took the most direct route, but I made it in plenty of time, nonetheless.
We had a meeting with Charlotte Collegiate Football and the ACC group from Greensboro from 3pm until what seemed like forever. We toured the Westin, did the walk from the hotel back to the Panther's stadium, and toured all of the suites, press rooms, etc...that we would be using for the ACC game. It was an extremely long day, and was actually one of the less fun things I've done, only because it seemed a little monotonous. However, we met some key players in the ACC, including Michael Kelly, Associate Commissioner of the ACC, who we will be working with quite frequently over the next couple of months, as well as Allison and Amy (also heavily involved with the ACC game) and their interns. It was good to get a better feel for all parties involved in the ACC championship.
In the time between the start of the game and the end of our meetings, we walked over to the practice fields to see how the youth football initiative was going to play out during our event. During that time, I got to talk at length with Ben Tario about that initiative and saw that it was definitely a cool thing for the program to be connected with. Courtney also let us sit in for a while as she played the role of Stage Manager for the Raycom Sports booth as they were broadcasting the game. Sarah and I took our seats (or someone else's for all we knew) in the press box in time for the game to start, and by the end of the first quarter, we were more than ready to go home. I was exhausted!
On Sunday, not much happened other than a church experience with Ansley Zarra that I will not discuss in the blog but which is something that I am more than eager to share with anyone who wants to talk about it more privately. Lets just say...when someone says liberal, they don't mean contemporary. On a better note, I did get a blackberry yesterday! Yes, I am just now getting one...and yes, I am already addicted.
A large part of this morning was spent in meetings about ticketing and the Night of Legends event that will be taking place the week of the ACC game. Some of these meetings are optional, but in almost all of them, there are opportunities to network with extremely important players so I've tried to tag along on as much as I possibly can. Tonight, I went to a Leatherhead meeting and got to meet the youngest group of Leatherheads. these guys are all in their late 20's, early 30's, most are very successful, and all were so nice. I stayed after for a while to get to know a couple of the guys better, and they had some great advice to share with me based on their experience with this group over the past couple of years. The guys were great...I loved spending time with them! And I'm excited that I'll get to work with this group over the next couple of weeks.
Tomorrow's another big day...and I'm already behind schedule getting to sleep. Blogging at this time really affects my sleep pattern, and probably affects the quality of my writing...but it's the only time I really seem to have to myself, where I can just sit and write for a while (that is no one else's fault...just the way my schedule has played out), and I at least want to keep my commitment to myself to keep an active log of my day to day happenings in the internship...but that's all I'm sharing for tonight!
We had a meeting with Charlotte Collegiate Football and the ACC group from Greensboro from 3pm until what seemed like forever. We toured the Westin, did the walk from the hotel back to the Panther's stadium, and toured all of the suites, press rooms, etc...that we would be using for the ACC game. It was an extremely long day, and was actually one of the less fun things I've done, only because it seemed a little monotonous. However, we met some key players in the ACC, including Michael Kelly, Associate Commissioner of the ACC, who we will be working with quite frequently over the next couple of months, as well as Allison and Amy (also heavily involved with the ACC game) and their interns. It was good to get a better feel for all parties involved in the ACC championship.
In the time between the start of the game and the end of our meetings, we walked over to the practice fields to see how the youth football initiative was going to play out during our event. During that time, I got to talk at length with Ben Tario about that initiative and saw that it was definitely a cool thing for the program to be connected with. Courtney also let us sit in for a while as she played the role of Stage Manager for the Raycom Sports booth as they were broadcasting the game. Sarah and I took our seats (or someone else's for all we knew) in the press box in time for the game to start, and by the end of the first quarter, we were more than ready to go home. I was exhausted!
On Sunday, not much happened other than a church experience with Ansley Zarra that I will not discuss in the blog but which is something that I am more than eager to share with anyone who wants to talk about it more privately. Lets just say...when someone says liberal, they don't mean contemporary. On a better note, I did get a blackberry yesterday! Yes, I am just now getting one...and yes, I am already addicted.
A large part of this morning was spent in meetings about ticketing and the Night of Legends event that will be taking place the week of the ACC game. Some of these meetings are optional, but in almost all of them, there are opportunities to network with extremely important players so I've tried to tag along on as much as I possibly can. Tonight, I went to a Leatherhead meeting and got to meet the youngest group of Leatherheads. these guys are all in their late 20's, early 30's, most are very successful, and all were so nice. I stayed after for a while to get to know a couple of the guys better, and they had some great advice to share with me based on their experience with this group over the past couple of years. The guys were great...I loved spending time with them! And I'm excited that I'll get to work with this group over the next couple of weeks.
Tomorrow's another big day...and I'm already behind schedule getting to sleep. Blogging at this time really affects my sleep pattern, and probably affects the quality of my writing...but it's the only time I really seem to have to myself, where I can just sit and write for a while (that is no one else's fault...just the way my schedule has played out), and I at least want to keep my commitment to myself to keep an active log of my day to day happenings in the internship...but that's all I'm sharing for tonight!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Countdown to Kickoff Luncheon-Panthers
I woke up early enough this morning to enjoy a bowl of cereal and watch a few music videos on CMT. One of the songs was Darius Rucker's "Come Back Song" and the video was shot in Charleston. There's a scene that shows the South Carolina flag, and upon seeing it I noticed my lower lip pucker up over my upper lip. I haven't had time to think about it lately, but I really do miss Clemson and the state of South Carolina and the people I love from College! As a Clemson fan, I am totally an outsider in my own state. It was much easier for me to make connections ANYWHERE in South Carolina, but I am dealing with a completely different set of people here in Charlotte. I have, however met a man named John Mixon (we've been at a couple of events together) who's on the President's board at Clemson and whose daughter is a freshman at Clemson and just went KKG...That's been a highlight for me. Ha!
Today, I totally got to play the role of the star struck fan. Will Webb took Will Pitts (I think I'm just going to start referring to them as Webb and Pitts, for the sake of this blog anyway), Sarah, and Myself to the Countdown To Kickoff Luncheon for the Carolina Panthers. So the whole thing was this big production but, as much as you are supposed to act nonchalant about these things (especially when representing the people you work for), I couldn't help but enjoy...and be a little bit star struck. There were a ton of people at this lunch, but for the purposes of me sounding like a big deal I will describe the experience to anyone who asks simply by saying that I had lunch with the entire Panthers Football Team and the coaching staff. There were hundreds of people at this lunch, but we were all in one ballroom, so technically my description is correct. Truth be told, I did in fact get to sit at a table with Dante Rosario. As part of the luncheon, they announced each team member...individually (do you have any idea how long that took), and assigned them at random to a table. Essentially, this meant that you could be sitting with Steve Smith or you could be sitting with a player who would get cut the next day. Our table was called towards the end and we began wondering if we were ever going to get our guest of honor at our table. The man next to me leaned over at one point and whispered "I feel like we're playing a game of bingo...and I'm losing". He described the feeling pretty perfectly as we anxiously awaited our football player to be matched to our table. At the end of the day we really lucked out with Dante. Not only is he a good player, he's actually a really good guy...and has a passion for movies, apparently. He talked about a site that he and one of his fellow teammates will be launching soon where they can provide their film rating expertise regarding movies they've seen, and offer a forum for movie lovers to post their thoughts as well...so he's more than just the muscles. He was really personable, carried on comfortable conversation, and was a very nice looking man...I was shocked when I noticed that peaking out of his long sleeve button down shirt was a tattoo around his wrist-that seemed to only be the start of the body art that he was sporting. Then I noticed the piercings in both his left and right tragus...so he definitely had a little edge to him. We also talked to him about his opinion on the possible 18 game season next year. His thoughts? If they drop 2 preseason games, it will be a little more stressful because more games will count. But if they don't drop 2 preseason games and keep an 18 game season, he'd want to shoot himself. Touche, Dante. One of my favorite parts of the lunch was when a high school marching band performed...GOOD marching bands always get me excited- it reminds me of Will's drum line days and those drums always give me chills.
After work, Megan, Abby, and Courtney invited Sarah and I out for a drink. It was nice to be with them in a social setting, and I kind of felt like it was their way of saying 'we're looking out for you'. Have I mentioned that I like the people I work with? A couple of the guys from the Panthers offices (one who we've met a couple of time- Jason Lowman) were at the same restaurant as us and came to join us at our table so we got to hang out with other people in the sports industry on a social level which was really nice.
At around 8pm I decided that I was going to head to Greensboro tonight for a wedding shower for Katie Jones tomorrow at 11:30. I have to work in Charlotte from 3pm until...who knows. Tomorrow will certainly be an interesting day as far as figuring out timing goes! I don't have a clever closing to this entry, but I'm exhausted...so we're just going to leave it at GOOD NIGHT!
Today, I totally got to play the role of the star struck fan. Will Webb took Will Pitts (I think I'm just going to start referring to them as Webb and Pitts, for the sake of this blog anyway), Sarah, and Myself to the Countdown To Kickoff Luncheon for the Carolina Panthers. So the whole thing was this big production but, as much as you are supposed to act nonchalant about these things (especially when representing the people you work for), I couldn't help but enjoy...and be a little bit star struck. There were a ton of people at this lunch, but for the purposes of me sounding like a big deal I will describe the experience to anyone who asks simply by saying that I had lunch with the entire Panthers Football Team and the coaching staff. There were hundreds of people at this lunch, but we were all in one ballroom, so technically my description is correct. Truth be told, I did in fact get to sit at a table with Dante Rosario. As part of the luncheon, they announced each team member...individually (do you have any idea how long that took), and assigned them at random to a table. Essentially, this meant that you could be sitting with Steve Smith or you could be sitting with a player who would get cut the next day. Our table was called towards the end and we began wondering if we were ever going to get our guest of honor at our table. The man next to me leaned over at one point and whispered "I feel like we're playing a game of bingo...and I'm losing". He described the feeling pretty perfectly as we anxiously awaited our football player to be matched to our table. At the end of the day we really lucked out with Dante. Not only is he a good player, he's actually a really good guy...and has a passion for movies, apparently. He talked about a site that he and one of his fellow teammates will be launching soon where they can provide their film rating expertise regarding movies they've seen, and offer a forum for movie lovers to post their thoughts as well...so he's more than just the muscles. He was really personable, carried on comfortable conversation, and was a very nice looking man...I was shocked when I noticed that peaking out of his long sleeve button down shirt was a tattoo around his wrist-that seemed to only be the start of the body art that he was sporting. Then I noticed the piercings in both his left and right tragus...so he definitely had a little edge to him. We also talked to him about his opinion on the possible 18 game season next year. His thoughts? If they drop 2 preseason games, it will be a little more stressful because more games will count. But if they don't drop 2 preseason games and keep an 18 game season, he'd want to shoot himself. Touche, Dante. One of my favorite parts of the lunch was when a high school marching band performed...GOOD marching bands always get me excited- it reminds me of Will's drum line days and those drums always give me chills.
After work, Megan, Abby, and Courtney invited Sarah and I out for a drink. It was nice to be with them in a social setting, and I kind of felt like it was their way of saying 'we're looking out for you'. Have I mentioned that I like the people I work with? A couple of the guys from the Panthers offices (one who we've met a couple of time- Jason Lowman) were at the same restaurant as us and came to join us at our table so we got to hang out with other people in the sports industry on a social level which was really nice.
At around 8pm I decided that I was going to head to Greensboro tonight for a wedding shower for Katie Jones tomorrow at 11:30. I have to work in Charlotte from 3pm until...who knows. Tomorrow will certainly be an interesting day as far as figuring out timing goes! I don't have a clever closing to this entry, but I'm exhausted...so we're just going to leave it at GOOD NIGHT!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A million different things...
There was a lot going on today. We were planning a couple of lunches and setting up meeting agendas, finalizing sales incentives for the Leatherheads, narrowing down our gift ideas for the gifts committees and trying to figure out a couple of computer issues. I think I started 5 different excel sheets for RSVPs, ticket package balances, etc...they're all running together at this point. It was one of those busy days where your To-Do list is going in a thousand different directions. I think I was visibly a little overwhelmed at one point and Sarah was really great about knowing when/how to help. I noticed that today, and really appreciate it, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to be that same person for her as well. Ultimately, it makes both people more effective interns.
We had a couple of technical difficulties with our social networking sites. First of all, I wanted to post a link to our Extra Point Pass website from the Facebook page. As I'm sure some of you are aware, when you post a link on Facebook it will give a text and image preview for the site on your facebook page. The feature is really great, unless the image that shows up when you post the link is not the extra point pass graphic! For some reason the website sent the Fuel Pizza graphic, which is one of extra point pass's partners...so we had to call LGA to try and fix that problem. Didn't know if any of you had seen this happen before? The second issue we are having is making our twitter pages accessible and easy to search. I can't find an email address for Twitter, and followed the how-to Youtube videos...yes, I watched Twitter How-To Youtube videos about Twitter-all in a day's work. Anyone have any suggestions for making your page accessible on twitter? Just throwing some things out there to see if anyone else has dealt with these social networking glitches before.
Will Webb, the head honcho, invited Sarah and I to get a group together for lunch today...our group ended up being Sarah, Will Webb, Will Pitts and Me so we had a nice little outing at the Charlotte Country Club. It was a kind gesture for Will to include us in his lunch plans, and it really helped to see him in an atmosphere outside of the office. He was not there for most of our first week of work, and this week has been a little busier, so we haven't had much of an opportunity to get a feel for him. Turns out, Will is a generous guy with a good sense of humor, and I genuinely enjoyed conversation with him. He's an excellent businessman and easy to talk to (at least at lunch) so I'm looking forward to learning a lot from conversations with him. We had an interesting conversation about selling out stadiums. I learned two things: 1. that college athletic programs will always have problems thriving in a city that already has a professional sport following. 2. People love status, and snobbery sells. He told us about the Grid-Iron club which is essentially the most coveted set of seats in the Panthers stadium. Tickets sell for 600 bucks and you get out door leather seating, outdoor heating, television replays, all hospitality amenities...you know, the works. The odd thing is, these seats are high up, in a corner (not the best view in the house)...and before they were converted to luxury seating, could not be sold. Interesting what people will pay for when you slap a name on something and give it status appeal!
So tonight we attended Alive After 5 to promote the pass. Naturally, I didn't realize it was Thursday this morning, and tried to dress accordingly for the ice box that happens to be my office, so working outside in pants and a jacket and in 90 degree weather was an absolute ball tonight. Note to self: on Thursdays, bring bathing suit to wear in the afternoon...or at least a skirt. Alive after 5 is a social gathering outside at the EpiCentre in downtown Charlotte. Essentially, a lot of people gather after work to hang out, drink a few beers, and listen to some good music (the band really was awesome tonight). Because a lot of the partners of the Extra Point Pass are located in the EpiCentre, it made sense to promote there. Sarah and I came up with our sales pitch, but it was the first time people had heard about the pass, and I think most people wanted to check out the website before making the $10 commitment. We did get a couple sales in, and realized that the focus of tonight really needed to be raising awareness of the pass and directing people to the website where they could spend some time looking at it and purchase it on their own, and also figuring out which of the benefits people responded best to so that we knew how best to sell the pass.
Anyways, 12 hour days ware me out now apparently...another reminder that I'm no longer in College. Tear.
We had a couple of technical difficulties with our social networking sites. First of all, I wanted to post a link to our Extra Point Pass website from the Facebook page. As I'm sure some of you are aware, when you post a link on Facebook it will give a text and image preview for the site on your facebook page. The feature is really great, unless the image that shows up when you post the link is not the extra point pass graphic! For some reason the website sent the Fuel Pizza graphic, which is one of extra point pass's partners...so we had to call LGA to try and fix that problem. Didn't know if any of you had seen this happen before? The second issue we are having is making our twitter pages accessible and easy to search. I can't find an email address for Twitter, and followed the how-to Youtube videos...yes, I watched Twitter How-To Youtube videos about Twitter-all in a day's work. Anyone have any suggestions for making your page accessible on twitter? Just throwing some things out there to see if anyone else has dealt with these social networking glitches before.
Will Webb, the head honcho, invited Sarah and I to get a group together for lunch today...our group ended up being Sarah, Will Webb, Will Pitts and Me so we had a nice little outing at the Charlotte Country Club. It was a kind gesture for Will to include us in his lunch plans, and it really helped to see him in an atmosphere outside of the office. He was not there for most of our first week of work, and this week has been a little busier, so we haven't had much of an opportunity to get a feel for him. Turns out, Will is a generous guy with a good sense of humor, and I genuinely enjoyed conversation with him. He's an excellent businessman and easy to talk to (at least at lunch) so I'm looking forward to learning a lot from conversations with him. We had an interesting conversation about selling out stadiums. I learned two things: 1. that college athletic programs will always have problems thriving in a city that already has a professional sport following. 2. People love status, and snobbery sells. He told us about the Grid-Iron club which is essentially the most coveted set of seats in the Panthers stadium. Tickets sell for 600 bucks and you get out door leather seating, outdoor heating, television replays, all hospitality amenities...you know, the works. The odd thing is, these seats are high up, in a corner (not the best view in the house)...and before they were converted to luxury seating, could not be sold. Interesting what people will pay for when you slap a name on something and give it status appeal!
So tonight we attended Alive After 5 to promote the pass. Naturally, I didn't realize it was Thursday this morning, and tried to dress accordingly for the ice box that happens to be my office, so working outside in pants and a jacket and in 90 degree weather was an absolute ball tonight. Note to self: on Thursdays, bring bathing suit to wear in the afternoon...or at least a skirt. Alive after 5 is a social gathering outside at the EpiCentre in downtown Charlotte. Essentially, a lot of people gather after work to hang out, drink a few beers, and listen to some good music (the band really was awesome tonight). Because a lot of the partners of the Extra Point Pass are located in the EpiCentre, it made sense to promote there. Sarah and I came up with our sales pitch, but it was the first time people had heard about the pass, and I think most people wanted to check out the website before making the $10 commitment. We did get a couple sales in, and realized that the focus of tonight really needed to be raising awareness of the pass and directing people to the website where they could spend some time looking at it and purchase it on their own, and also figuring out which of the benefits people responded best to so that we knew how best to sell the pass.
Anyways, 12 hour days ware me out now apparently...another reminder that I'm no longer in College. Tear.
Photo Shoot
I'm realizing more and more that this (as in this job) is all much bigger than me and I can't do it on my own. God is blessing me in that I'm definitely learning lessons that are bigger than the internship itself. I've been feeling the need for a confidence boost in the past couple of days. Because of the events leading up to landing this internship, I was completely sure that this is where I am supposed to be, and started last Monday without anxieties or fears about being able to perform in an industry like this. I'm still confident that this is where I am supposed to be. But since jumping in with both feet, I've realized that I'm a little fish in a really big pond. Still loving the internship...every day I love it even more. Just feeling a little unsure of myself, and I'm asking for that insecurity.
ANYWAYS, we went to the photo shoot for one of the ad spots for the games today. The concept for the ad is simple, but definitely creative and quite effective for our purposes. This particular image is centered around the "x's and o's" of football and grilling out...think bacon crossed to form X's and onion slices shaped like O's placed on hamburgers on a grill. Let your imagination run wild (pictures to come at some point, although you may be seeing these images on billboards or in magazines in the near future). You would be surprised at the amount of effort that goes into making a picture of hamburgers on a grill sell football tickets. The crew started rolling in around 7:30 this morning...we arrived around 1 and they still hadn't started shooting. The process is quite long and involves a model (even though you only see his hand and maybe a shoe, a food stylist, a photographer, a creative director, and assistants to capture this one image. Courtney, Sarah, and I went together and were 3 of 10 people in this room to take a picture of hamburgers! It all made more sense once I saw what everyone was doing.
The food stylist prepared the hamburgers with defined grill marks, and chemicals to make the meat the perfect shade of brown, and to make it glisten as only a perfect burger would. The stylist prepared and placed the burgers, bacon, cheese, onions, etc... on the grill in order to capture the essence of a playbook in food.
I didn’t understand why they (meaning LGA, the marketing/advertising group we work with) hired a model to pose, when in reality the end result of the photo would have very little focus on the person in the shot-I would have done that for free! I didn’t understand, until I saw the shoot in action. This guy held a spatula in the exact same position, arm flexed and feet in the same position, head tilted just so, and back at the perfect angle for several minutes at a time while the photographer and creative team would take pictures adjust lighting, scrutinize the image, take a picture again, and so on. I asked Lisa from LGA what the qualifications were to model in this shoot and she said that they literally just sent in pictures of this guy’s hands to make sure they were “good hands, you know, manicured and everything”. His jeans weren’t showing off the tiny bit of shoe that you could see in the photo so the photographer hiked them up and clipped them in the back so they would fit him just so. There was even a wardrobe change for the shirt that you, as consumers of the ad, will probably never see. But apparently a light gray shirt picks up detail better than a white one…these are the kind of details the common eye doesn’t catch, and it’s why these guys are great at what they do. They spent endless amounts of time on body positioning. “Should he hold a can in the other hand? No, should he put that hand back on his hip? No, that makes his waist look too small. Would you mind moving that foot back just the tiniest bit?” Some call it nitpicky but these are the things that make the difference between an ok shot and a really good one.
We were in an indoor studio so the "outdoor" set had to be created completely from scratch. That meant that the lighting had to be set perfectly. They had to recreate a backyard patio, so they brought in patches of grass, and individually laid bricks, to create the illusion of your typical outdoor cookout scene. Detail orientation is the key to capturing the perfect image, and this became obvious when I saw one of the assistants on his hands and knees with a squirt bottle spraying each individual brick in the patio area to make the red color pop. They even had 4 different options for spatulas…and there were distinct opinions on which spatula worked best. Overall, the shoot was eye opening, and I will be looking at all ads and professional photography more analytically from now on!
On a personal note, it was a great day because my baby sister, Mary Catherine, turned 15 and reality set in that she’s not my baby sister anymore...kind of bittersweet. I also got to talk to my brother, Will, today on the phone for a little while and we haven’t gotten to have a decent conversation recently so it was just good to hear his voice. He’s starting Film school in the next couple of weeks and so I put my plug in for him to come see me in Charlotte and possibly visit the production hall of Raycom soon!
ANYWAYS, we went to the photo shoot for one of the ad spots for the games today. The concept for the ad is simple, but definitely creative and quite effective for our purposes. This particular image is centered around the "x's and o's" of football and grilling out...think bacon crossed to form X's and onion slices shaped like O's placed on hamburgers on a grill. Let your imagination run wild (pictures to come at some point, although you may be seeing these images on billboards or in magazines in the near future). You would be surprised at the amount of effort that goes into making a picture of hamburgers on a grill sell football tickets. The crew started rolling in around 7:30 this morning...we arrived around 1 and they still hadn't started shooting. The process is quite long and involves a model (even though you only see his hand and maybe a shoe, a food stylist, a photographer, a creative director, and assistants to capture this one image. Courtney, Sarah, and I went together and were 3 of 10 people in this room to take a picture of hamburgers! It all made more sense once I saw what everyone was doing.
The food stylist prepared the hamburgers with defined grill marks, and chemicals to make the meat the perfect shade of brown, and to make it glisten as only a perfect burger would. The stylist prepared and placed the burgers, bacon, cheese, onions, etc... on the grill in order to capture the essence of a playbook in food.
I didn’t understand why they (meaning LGA, the marketing/advertising group we work with) hired a model to pose, when in reality the end result of the photo would have very little focus on the person in the shot-I would have done that for free! I didn’t understand, until I saw the shoot in action. This guy held a spatula in the exact same position, arm flexed and feet in the same position, head tilted just so, and back at the perfect angle for several minutes at a time while the photographer and creative team would take pictures adjust lighting, scrutinize the image, take a picture again, and so on. I asked Lisa from LGA what the qualifications were to model in this shoot and she said that they literally just sent in pictures of this guy’s hands to make sure they were “good hands, you know, manicured and everything”. His jeans weren’t showing off the tiny bit of shoe that you could see in the photo so the photographer hiked them up and clipped them in the back so they would fit him just so. There was even a wardrobe change for the shirt that you, as consumers of the ad, will probably never see. But apparently a light gray shirt picks up detail better than a white one…these are the kind of details the common eye doesn’t catch, and it’s why these guys are great at what they do. They spent endless amounts of time on body positioning. “Should he hold a can in the other hand? No, should he put that hand back on his hip? No, that makes his waist look too small. Would you mind moving that foot back just the tiniest bit?” Some call it nitpicky but these are the things that make the difference between an ok shot and a really good one.
We were in an indoor studio so the "outdoor" set had to be created completely from scratch. That meant that the lighting had to be set perfectly. They had to recreate a backyard patio, so they brought in patches of grass, and individually laid bricks, to create the illusion of your typical outdoor cookout scene. Detail orientation is the key to capturing the perfect image, and this became obvious when I saw one of the assistants on his hands and knees with a squirt bottle spraying each individual brick in the patio area to make the red color pop. They even had 4 different options for spatulas…and there were distinct opinions on which spatula worked best. Overall, the shoot was eye opening, and I will be looking at all ads and professional photography more analytically from now on!
On a personal note, it was a great day because my baby sister, Mary Catherine, turned 15 and reality set in that she’s not my baby sister anymore...kind of bittersweet. I also got to talk to my brother, Will, today on the phone for a little while and we haven’t gotten to have a decent conversation recently so it was just good to hear his voice. He’s starting Film school in the next couple of weeks and so I put my plug in for him to come see me in Charlotte and possibly visit the production hall of Raycom soon!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Extra Point Pass!
Days are already starting to run together. Literally, 1 minute ago, I established that today was Tuesday and not Monday. It was "Trivia Tuesday" this morning on the Meineke facebook page...and we realized a glitch in our system when we posted a question on our page and realized after the first answer that there was no way we could get responses from our followers without the answers being posted publicly...OOPS! We'll have to come up with a new strategy for that. We also made some decisions on staff gear...who doesn't love free clothing? (insert comments from all past roommates and parents about the excessive amounts of clothing I have already here). We also made some strides regarding decisions on the incentives for our Leatherheads once they exceed their sales goals. We will be meeting with Will tomorrow to discuss these, and other Leatherhead outreach tomorrow so I'll look forward to that!
Tonight was exciting because we finally got to discuss with the public the promotional item we have been waiting to launch! The Extra Point VIP Pass Program is designed to give unique benefits for pass holders. Local business partners determine benefits that are only available to pass holders. These benefits, which may change from week to week, will be sent to pass holders by direct email releases. It's valid through January 30, giving participants in the program more than an entire football season to get the use out of it! We partnered with several great restaurants, bars, etc..., in Charlotte-which are listed on the website www.extrapointpass.com - and they have given some really great promotions like free cover to bars, free appetizers at restaurants and more. The passes are $10, so essentially if you use it twice you will have most likely already saved money. In the end, the Extra Point Pass is not only designed to bring in revenue to Charlotte Collegiate Football. We are hoping to bring awareness to the Charlotte community about the Meineke Car Care Bowl Game and the ACC Championship Game. There is still a large portion of this community that is unaware that we have the ACC championship in Charlotte, and we are trying to generate lots of excitement for these awesome games! We went to a YSPN (Young Sports Professionals Network) event, which is a part of the Charlotte Sports Commission, to promote the pass. In the process, we met some awesome folks (including a Clemson Grad...finally!) and in addition to it being a great opportunity for Charlotte Collegiate Football, it was also a fabulous chance to network with some key players in the Sport field in Charlotte. Just another indicator that this internship will provide opportunities beyond work experience.
On a side not- Carrie and I are having an exciting night, folding loads of laundry and watching recorded episodes of the bachelor pad...jealous, anyone?
If you are in Charlotte, and like the idea of the pass then visit the website, follow us on twitter (@extrapointpass), and "like" us on facebook (Charlotte Extra Point VIP Pass). Yes, that means we are now managing 3 seperate pages on both Twitter and Facebook...I guess if you are going to do something...do it big, right?
Tonight was exciting because we finally got to discuss with the public the promotional item we have been waiting to launch! The Extra Point VIP Pass Program is designed to give unique benefits for pass holders. Local business partners determine benefits that are only available to pass holders. These benefits, which may change from week to week, will be sent to pass holders by direct email releases. It's valid through January 30, giving participants in the program more than an entire football season to get the use out of it! We partnered with several great restaurants, bars, etc..., in Charlotte-which are listed on the website www.extrapointpass.com - and they have given some really great promotions like free cover to bars, free appetizers at restaurants and more. The passes are $10, so essentially if you use it twice you will have most likely already saved money. In the end, the Extra Point Pass is not only designed to bring in revenue to Charlotte Collegiate Football. We are hoping to bring awareness to the Charlotte community about the Meineke Car Care Bowl Game and the ACC Championship Game. There is still a large portion of this community that is unaware that we have the ACC championship in Charlotte, and we are trying to generate lots of excitement for these awesome games! We went to a YSPN (Young Sports Professionals Network) event, which is a part of the Charlotte Sports Commission, to promote the pass. In the process, we met some awesome folks (including a Clemson Grad...finally!) and in addition to it being a great opportunity for Charlotte Collegiate Football, it was also a fabulous chance to network with some key players in the Sport field in Charlotte. Just another indicator that this internship will provide opportunities beyond work experience.
On a side not- Carrie and I are having an exciting night, folding loads of laundry and watching recorded episodes of the bachelor pad...jealous, anyone?
If you are in Charlotte, and like the idea of the pass then visit the website, follow us on twitter (@extrapointpass), and "like" us on facebook (Charlotte Extra Point VIP Pass). Yes, that means we are now managing 3 seperate pages on both Twitter and Facebook...I guess if you are going to do something...do it big, right?
Weekend and Monday Shenanigans
WEEKEND:
Weekends are a lot shorter when the weeks are guaranteed to be filled with work Monday-Friday. There have been some adjustments in lifestyle, not just for me but for most of my friends with fulltime jobs. I had to make excuses to not go out this weekend, not only because I do not currently have an income to fund those kinds of outings. At the end of the day, I am typically too tired to participate in any kind of social activity. Carrie and I haven't even spent significant time together and we are living in the same house!
My mom was nice enough to come down on Saturday morning so that we could head to Anderson, SC to pick up the rest of my things from Susan's house. (For those of you who don't know, Susan is the head coach's assistant for men's basketball at Clemson...and acted as office mom for me while at Clemson). She has let me keep my stuff at her house for the past couple of weeks while I was figuring out where the heck I was going to end up. I had some bar stools that Coach Purnell had given me last year and, although I had no idea where I was going to put them, I wanted to keep them...simply for memory's sake. I also had loads of clothes at her house that made picking out an outfit a lot more difficult this morning now that my options are endless. On our way down to Clemson, my mom and I were in the middle of a conversation that did not lend itself to multitasking and I didn't realize that she had turned onto 77 instead of 85 until we reached Chester, SC. What a...town. Eventually we made it to Anderson and got my stuff and I got to say a sort of official goodbye to Susan!
Side Note: Susan told me I needed to stop apologizing for writing long posts...and for that I unapologetically write this extensive account of my weekend and beginning of my work week.
When we got back to Charlotte, my cousin little Bobby was at the house and we got to enjoy an awesome dinner with the Conrads and my mom. When Mom left Uncle Bobby, Aunt Ann and I all three thanked her for visiting "our home"...no one else expected me to thank her for visiting "my home" and Bobby got a kick out of it...I think it's safe to say that I've made myself at home here by now.
On Sunday, I followed Uncle Bobby around for most of the day. In the morning we walked to Mass with him in the morning, where I almost passed out kneeling...who starts seeing spots and feeling nauseous while kneeling?! Anyways, Bobby asked me if I thought it was divine intervention, and I noted that I hoped God would intervene to the point causing embarrassment like throwing up during a service! After the service we got to meet several of his friends and one of his Clerk's family. All the kids at St. Ann's LOVE my uncle which is no surprise. Afterwards went to Belmont Abbey to take Ryan to school. Just when you think you’re done with college move-in day for good...circumstances change. I had no idea how beautiful the Campus is and I was really taken back when we drove up to the main chapel. Ryan has his own huge room, which was great, except for one thing- no air conditioning. But his teammates and coaches were so nice and laid back and Ann and Bobby got me a T shirt so I am ready to go watch Ry play when basketball season kicks up again! By the way, guess who Clemson gets to play in their exhibition game...wonder which T shirt I'll wear that night.
MONDAY:
I got to work this morning completely disoriented for some reason even though I arrived 20 minutes early as usual...I was worried that I had missed the Monday staff meeting. Luckily, it was all paranoia and I was there in plenty of time. On the other hand, I didn't realize that the meeting would be held in the back conference room and that the meeting would end up being meetingS and would last from 9-11:30. Our office is one of the coldest in the building, only second to the back conference room. After my third straight meeting, I was almost numb. I am drinking coffee throughout the day, with the intention of keeping warm...but I think I need to come up with a better strategy because I may be overly wired throughout the day. I have always sided with bathrobes when it comes to the snuggy/bathrobe argument, but I am realizing that a bathrobe would probably be completely inappropriate to bring to work.
All of the meetings were really informative though. In the first two, we got to meet with all of the staff associated with the two games, and here how deals were coming along as far as sponsorships, events, etc...if nothing else, this internship will certainly be a lesson in excellent business tactics. In the third meeting, Sarah and I got to meet with Frank, who heads up the promotions and media relations stuff (a lot of the promotional writing) about the 4 newsletters that we will be working on. We got to brainstorm ideas for each of the newsletters, and I realized that I think I enjoy coming up with ideas for things like that better than writing the actual stories!
During one of the meetings we were discussing the need for ACC gear for our staff and I had an opportunity to bring up to Will our need for items to give away on the ACC Championship pages. Courtney, Abby, Sarah and I got to meet about these items today and will hopefully be ordering several things by the end of the week! Other than that, we finished up several smaller projects like the ticketing one I was working on with Will that ended up being much more small scale than I had originally anticipated, and a spreadsheet of consumers with balances owed. It was a stop and go kind of day.
I FINALLY got to talk to Sallie tonight, after weeks of phone tag, about the most exciting news I’ve heard in a while…she and Caleb are moving to Nashville! Please pray for them as they take this leap of faith. Sallie will be working as a Medical Coordinator for a Presbyterian Medical Center specializing in patients with mental disabilities (Sallie, correct me if I’m wrong). I am so excited that the two of them will be starting their own life in a city that’s new for both of them! After my conversation with Sallie, I got to top the night off with dinner with Ann and Carrie at the Pizza Peel. It is this awesome restaurant in Charlotte that my aunt does artwork for and it has this bruschetta that is unmatched by any other I’ve had. I have been waiting to eat there since before I knew I was moving Charlotte, and tonight was the night when all of my culinary dreams came true.
Weekends are a lot shorter when the weeks are guaranteed to be filled with work Monday-Friday. There have been some adjustments in lifestyle, not just for me but for most of my friends with fulltime jobs. I had to make excuses to not go out this weekend, not only because I do not currently have an income to fund those kinds of outings. At the end of the day, I am typically too tired to participate in any kind of social activity. Carrie and I haven't even spent significant time together and we are living in the same house!
My mom was nice enough to come down on Saturday morning so that we could head to Anderson, SC to pick up the rest of my things from Susan's house. (For those of you who don't know, Susan is the head coach's assistant for men's basketball at Clemson...and acted as office mom for me while at Clemson). She has let me keep my stuff at her house for the past couple of weeks while I was figuring out where the heck I was going to end up. I had some bar stools that Coach Purnell had given me last year and, although I had no idea where I was going to put them, I wanted to keep them...simply for memory's sake. I also had loads of clothes at her house that made picking out an outfit a lot more difficult this morning now that my options are endless. On our way down to Clemson, my mom and I were in the middle of a conversation that did not lend itself to multitasking and I didn't realize that she had turned onto 77 instead of 85 until we reached Chester, SC. What a...town. Eventually we made it to Anderson and got my stuff and I got to say a sort of official goodbye to Susan!
Side Note: Susan told me I needed to stop apologizing for writing long posts...and for that I unapologetically write this extensive account of my weekend and beginning of my work week.
When we got back to Charlotte, my cousin little Bobby was at the house and we got to enjoy an awesome dinner with the Conrads and my mom. When Mom left Uncle Bobby, Aunt Ann and I all three thanked her for visiting "our home"...no one else expected me to thank her for visiting "my home" and Bobby got a kick out of it...I think it's safe to say that I've made myself at home here by now.
On Sunday, I followed Uncle Bobby around for most of the day. In the morning we walked to Mass with him in the morning, where I almost passed out kneeling...who starts seeing spots and feeling nauseous while kneeling?! Anyways, Bobby asked me if I thought it was divine intervention, and I noted that I hoped God would intervene to the point causing embarrassment like throwing up during a service! After the service we got to meet several of his friends and one of his Clerk's family. All the kids at St. Ann's LOVE my uncle which is no surprise. Afterwards went to Belmont Abbey to take Ryan to school. Just when you think you’re done with college move-in day for good...circumstances change. I had no idea how beautiful the Campus is and I was really taken back when we drove up to the main chapel. Ryan has his own huge room, which was great, except for one thing- no air conditioning. But his teammates and coaches were so nice and laid back and Ann and Bobby got me a T shirt so I am ready to go watch Ry play when basketball season kicks up again! By the way, guess who Clemson gets to play in their exhibition game...wonder which T shirt I'll wear that night.
MONDAY:
I got to work this morning completely disoriented for some reason even though I arrived 20 minutes early as usual...I was worried that I had missed the Monday staff meeting. Luckily, it was all paranoia and I was there in plenty of time. On the other hand, I didn't realize that the meeting would be held in the back conference room and that the meeting would end up being meetingS and would last from 9-11:30. Our office is one of the coldest in the building, only second to the back conference room. After my third straight meeting, I was almost numb. I am drinking coffee throughout the day, with the intention of keeping warm...but I think I need to come up with a better strategy because I may be overly wired throughout the day. I have always sided with bathrobes when it comes to the snuggy/bathrobe argument, but I am realizing that a bathrobe would probably be completely inappropriate to bring to work.
All of the meetings were really informative though. In the first two, we got to meet with all of the staff associated with the two games, and here how deals were coming along as far as sponsorships, events, etc...if nothing else, this internship will certainly be a lesson in excellent business tactics. In the third meeting, Sarah and I got to meet with Frank, who heads up the promotions and media relations stuff (a lot of the promotional writing) about the 4 newsletters that we will be working on. We got to brainstorm ideas for each of the newsletters, and I realized that I think I enjoy coming up with ideas for things like that better than writing the actual stories!
During one of the meetings we were discussing the need for ACC gear for our staff and I had an opportunity to bring up to Will our need for items to give away on the ACC Championship pages. Courtney, Abby, Sarah and I got to meet about these items today and will hopefully be ordering several things by the end of the week! Other than that, we finished up several smaller projects like the ticketing one I was working on with Will that ended up being much more small scale than I had originally anticipated, and a spreadsheet of consumers with balances owed. It was a stop and go kind of day.
I FINALLY got to talk to Sallie tonight, after weeks of phone tag, about the most exciting news I’ve heard in a while…she and Caleb are moving to Nashville! Please pray for them as they take this leap of faith. Sallie will be working as a Medical Coordinator for a Presbyterian Medical Center specializing in patients with mental disabilities (Sallie, correct me if I’m wrong). I am so excited that the two of them will be starting their own life in a city that’s new for both of them! After my conversation with Sallie, I got to top the night off with dinner with Ann and Carrie at the Pizza Peel. It is this awesome restaurant in Charlotte that my aunt does artwork for and it has this bruschetta that is unmatched by any other I’ve had. I have been waiting to eat there since before I knew I was moving Charlotte, and tonight was the night when all of my culinary dreams came true.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Getting My Bearings
Do you ever feel like you get to a new place and suddenly you become completely incompetent? I had to go get gas today which was a painful event because although my gas was terrifyingly low, my funds have gotten terrifyingly lower, and there is no check in the mail for a little while. I drove to the gas station but had to go around the block before I got into the station because I got in the wrong lane. I pulled up to #3 and realized that I parked my car on the wrong side. I put a few dollars in the tank and quickly realized that I would have to go back and put a few dollars more...I am now a few dollars away from being completely broke. Yikes! I don't know what I'd do if I weren't staying with Ann and Bobby...my aunt and uncle are the best.
The gas thing is just the start of this new discomfort with mundane tasks. I'm second guessing everything, whether it be my morning routine or just a matter of interacting with people...I think I may have even lost my knack for sarcasm- scary, I know. In fact, I would even venture to say that I may have become slightly awkward. I don't even know how to "go out" in Charlotte. Carrie and I went for a drink with some friends from college (Christie, Heidi and Lauren) last night, and I felt like all eyes were on me...like who is this girl and why does she think a sweater, jeans, and a ponytail is an appropriate ensemble for this establishment. I feel like a freshman again! Does everyone feel this lost in a new chapter in life? I can't wait to get my bearings and finally get back in a groove.
Today was a kind of slow day in the office, but we did do our firs "Football Friday Giveaway" on twitter. It's fun to get to come up with contests, pick prizes, and pick winners. I think it's probably because I've been around athletic departments for so long but it seems odd to me that people get so excited about gear...but it is cool that it's so easy to make someone's day. It's the simple things in life, right? I did get offered tickets to a panthers game and ended up giving them to someone else, because I wasn't sure about my plans this weekend and Megan really wanted them. But man, I think I am certainly in the right industry and definitely working with the right people!
At one point, Sarah and I were bored so she suggested that we head up to production to see what kind of stuff they had going on. This guy named "Worm" is actually from Greenville, SC and is EXTREMELY talented at what he does. He is almost like a one man team. He goes out and shoots footage, interviews people, and comes back and edits, adds graphics and special effects, and creates a package. He is in charge of many of his projects from start to finish. His stuff is really good and people at Raycom have said that he will make it big...I believe it after seeing his stuff, and would love for my brother, Will, to get to meet this guy before he heads on to bigger and better things! Worm also invited us to tag along with him at some point on one of his shoots and I am so excited to explore that area. I really lucked out interning with Sarah because without her passion for broadcast, I probably wouldn't have thought that exploring this side of Raycom was an option.
I finally got to hang out with Ansley Z tonight and I loved getting to see and hear about what she's going to be doing with her 8th grade science class. She is literally living 2 miles away from me and her roommate and friend, who are both doing Teach For America with her, were perfect for her. I'm so glad she is in a situation where she has a support system because I know this is going to be a challenging year for her. She is so passionate about her kids already, and I'm looking forward to Ansley getting to see the fruits of her labor through the kids that she will be teaching. While having a drink with friends last night a couple of them were discussing how much they dreaded going to work everyday. That so did not resonate with me, because this is the first time I have consistently been early anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I'm still tired in the mornings. But I am excited every morning to go to work. I get in my car, put on some good music, and find myself enjoying the 8 am hour. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed anything about being conscious before 9:30 in the morning. Am I growing up or am I just extremely fortunate to be in a field that excites me?
The gas thing is just the start of this new discomfort with mundane tasks. I'm second guessing everything, whether it be my morning routine or just a matter of interacting with people...I think I may have even lost my knack for sarcasm- scary, I know. In fact, I would even venture to say that I may have become slightly awkward. I don't even know how to "go out" in Charlotte. Carrie and I went for a drink with some friends from college (Christie, Heidi and Lauren) last night, and I felt like all eyes were on me...like who is this girl and why does she think a sweater, jeans, and a ponytail is an appropriate ensemble for this establishment. I feel like a freshman again! Does everyone feel this lost in a new chapter in life? I can't wait to get my bearings and finally get back in a groove.
Today was a kind of slow day in the office, but we did do our firs "Football Friday Giveaway" on twitter. It's fun to get to come up with contests, pick prizes, and pick winners. I think it's probably because I've been around athletic departments for so long but it seems odd to me that people get so excited about gear...but it is cool that it's so easy to make someone's day. It's the simple things in life, right? I did get offered tickets to a panthers game and ended up giving them to someone else, because I wasn't sure about my plans this weekend and Megan really wanted them. But man, I think I am certainly in the right industry and definitely working with the right people!
At one point, Sarah and I were bored so she suggested that we head up to production to see what kind of stuff they had going on. This guy named "Worm" is actually from Greenville, SC and is EXTREMELY talented at what he does. He is almost like a one man team. He goes out and shoots footage, interviews people, and comes back and edits, adds graphics and special effects, and creates a package. He is in charge of many of his projects from start to finish. His stuff is really good and people at Raycom have said that he will make it big...I believe it after seeing his stuff, and would love for my brother, Will, to get to meet this guy before he heads on to bigger and better things! Worm also invited us to tag along with him at some point on one of his shoots and I am so excited to explore that area. I really lucked out interning with Sarah because without her passion for broadcast, I probably wouldn't have thought that exploring this side of Raycom was an option.
I finally got to hang out with Ansley Z tonight and I loved getting to see and hear about what she's going to be doing with her 8th grade science class. She is literally living 2 miles away from me and her roommate and friend, who are both doing Teach For America with her, were perfect for her. I'm so glad she is in a situation where she has a support system because I know this is going to be a challenging year for her. She is so passionate about her kids already, and I'm looking forward to Ansley getting to see the fruits of her labor through the kids that she will be teaching. While having a drink with friends last night a couple of them were discussing how much they dreaded going to work everyday. That so did not resonate with me, because this is the first time I have consistently been early anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I'm still tired in the mornings. But I am excited every morning to go to work. I get in my car, put on some good music, and find myself enjoying the 8 am hour. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed anything about being conscious before 9:30 in the morning. Am I growing up or am I just extremely fortunate to be in a field that excites me?
Friday, August 20, 2010
A day that was supposed to be the most hectic so far was slowed down by bad weather. We did go meet with Max Mpact, which is a promotional products, apparel, and printing company to brainstorm gift ideas. Joe Early invited us to tour the facility which was filled with the coolest apparel, bags, tervis tumblers, etc...you name it, they had it. From cornhole boards, to Cutter and Buck jackets, to sunglasses and watches...they can personalize anything. We also met with the president, Max Daniel. Both men were so accomidating and nice, and offered us great input as we look forward to our meeting with the Leatherheads gifts committee in a couple of weeks.
Joe also had a plate of fresh made Otis Spunkmeyer cookies straight out of the Otis Spunkmeyer machine they had in the back room (who keeps an Otis Spunkmeyer machine at the office anyways?!). There must be a strong correlation between the sport industry and good food because I feel like it's been a constant in my several years of experience. The first thing I bonded over with the old staff at Clemson was food, whether it was getting grub from our favorite restaurants...I think I could name everyone on Coach Purnell's staff's favorite sandwich from Pot Belly Delli, daily runs to sonic happy hour, or running up to the hall shelf after the Official Clemson Basketball Cookie Lady arrived with her weekly instalment...we were frequently discussing food. In fact, I got a text message today from Milton Jennings asking me about the cookies I used to bring into the office- the ones that I eventually had to make especially for him because he requested them so often. He is apparently transfering the request to the Cookie Lady because I decided to up and leave Clemson...I'm hurt. The topic of conversation hasn't changed much since I started at Raycom, and I'm making a mental note of all of the best places to eat, according to this staff. So far they haven't steered me in the wrong direction (Big Daddy's Frenchie Burger- turkey burger with bree, apples and bacon...I'm sorry, I don't care if you are only reading to hear about my career in motion. That sandwich was too good not to mention).
We were supposed to go to Alive after 5 tonight and do some promotional work in the epicenter, but because of the terrible weather Will Pitts decided to postpone the promotion for another week. I sat in on a conference call with Youth Football from Greensboro. They will be partnering up with the championship game and wanted to talk about some promotions they are hoping to put into motion at a couple the Youth Football jamborees held in Charlotte this weekend. Other than that, the day was pretty uneventful and so we just helped Will Pitts out with a few short little projects and, of course, managed that social media. Tomorrow we are doing our first contest on the meineke twitter site so look out for that. I'm getting to see and do a little bit of everything, which is perfect for right now, and I can't wait to focus my interests into some more specific projects soon.
I got to chat with our dear family friend, Nancy Winborn, today and she mentioned that I must feel like I am in the eye of a tornado…I thought that was a great way to put this time in my life- although this is a fun tornado that’s surrounding me with exciting experiences-I just never know what’s going to come next and when it’s going to hit me. I am so thankful everyday that I am getting the chance to learn this industry hope I never have to be reminded to thank God for this opportunity and to perform at 110 percent.
Joe also had a plate of fresh made Otis Spunkmeyer cookies straight out of the Otis Spunkmeyer machine they had in the back room (who keeps an Otis Spunkmeyer machine at the office anyways?!). There must be a strong correlation between the sport industry and good food because I feel like it's been a constant in my several years of experience. The first thing I bonded over with the old staff at Clemson was food, whether it was getting grub from our favorite restaurants...I think I could name everyone on Coach Purnell's staff's favorite sandwich from Pot Belly Delli, daily runs to sonic happy hour, or running up to the hall shelf after the Official Clemson Basketball Cookie Lady arrived with her weekly instalment...we were frequently discussing food. In fact, I got a text message today from Milton Jennings asking me about the cookies I used to bring into the office- the ones that I eventually had to make especially for him because he requested them so often. He is apparently transfering the request to the Cookie Lady because I decided to up and leave Clemson...I'm hurt. The topic of conversation hasn't changed much since I started at Raycom, and I'm making a mental note of all of the best places to eat, according to this staff. So far they haven't steered me in the wrong direction (Big Daddy's Frenchie Burger- turkey burger with bree, apples and bacon...I'm sorry, I don't care if you are only reading to hear about my career in motion. That sandwich was too good not to mention).
We were supposed to go to Alive after 5 tonight and do some promotional work in the epicenter, but because of the terrible weather Will Pitts decided to postpone the promotion for another week. I sat in on a conference call with Youth Football from Greensboro. They will be partnering up with the championship game and wanted to talk about some promotions they are hoping to put into motion at a couple the Youth Football jamborees held in Charlotte this weekend. Other than that, the day was pretty uneventful and so we just helped Will Pitts out with a few short little projects and, of course, managed that social media. Tomorrow we are doing our first contest on the meineke twitter site so look out for that. I'm getting to see and do a little bit of everything, which is perfect for right now, and I can't wait to focus my interests into some more specific projects soon.
I got to chat with our dear family friend, Nancy Winborn, today and she mentioned that I must feel like I am in the eye of a tornado…I thought that was a great way to put this time in my life- although this is a fun tornado that’s surrounding me with exciting experiences-I just never know what’s going to come next and when it’s going to hit me. I am so thankful everyday that I am getting the chance to learn this industry hope I never have to be reminded to thank God for this opportunity and to perform at 110 percent.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Meet the Boss
The power switched off in the Conrads house last night. Luckily I happened to wake up but it was a little bit of a late start this morning. I was still at work in plenty of time but didn't realize that Will Webb, executive director of CCF was going to be at work when I got there-he's on vacation this week! Anyways, when I got there Will asked us to meet him in his office to discuss the internship in his terms. He emphasized that the opportunity for employment at the internship's end would not be guarenteed but would be possible, which is certainly an added incentive to do impressive work. His guarentees were that we would have a lot of fun and would learn a lot, and I've already seen these fruits in just three days. I was excited when Will mentioned that if we ever wanted to go to an ACC game, that we just ask and he will hopefully be able to secure credentials, or at least tickets for us! Oh, the perks of sport related jobs.
Will offered up a ticketing project to for one of the interns to head up and I jumped at the opportunity because if I learned anything about breaking into the sport industry while I was looking for jobs, it was that understanding the ticketing side of the biz is extremely important. He gave me a few tickets and said "alright, just keep track of the invoice and we'll regroup in a couple of days". My thought was, 'so, are you going to send me the invoice, orrr...". I quickly realized that it was up to me to create my own system. Self-starting and creativity are going to be two important themes of the internship. Most questions that I've asked result in the answer 'it's really up to you'. This means two things...if things go really great, we as interns can take ownership. But if something goes wrong, with which we are involved...it's all on us. So far, the freedom encourages thinking outside the box for me. I'm learning that there aren't many limits; if I think it's a good idea and present it to the right people, the answer is usually 'yes', and that thinking outside the box is a good thing!
On that note, Sarah and I came up with a plan for contests and giveaways on our twitter and facebook sites. One thing that we are definitely doing with the Meineke social media sites is a weekly giveaway contest. Twitter (MeinekeBowlGame) now features "Football Friday Giveaways" and Facebook (Meineke Care Care Bowl Game) will have "Tuesday Trivia". On each site we'll have contests that will either be trivia based or some sort of incentive for you, as a social media user, to promote our brand to your friends and followers. Prizes will be some really cool Meineke Bowl garb and even some ticket giveaways! ACC champion sites will feature similar promotions, but may not be as frequent as the game is smaller scale in general. If these things interest you, then you should make it a point to follow those pages (wink, wink).
I don't know that i've mentioned how much I enjoy the people I work with yet. I definitely don't feel like an insider yet (yikes, excuse the bachelor pad reference...guilty), but everyone is really great. The group is pretty laid back, there's a good bit of humor, a bit of sarcasm (anyone that knows me, knows that I thrive in sarcastic environments), and a lot of support. Apparently there is no such thing as a stupid question, although we all know how that goes...and I'm sure I've said SOMETHING that has left people snickering. I'm really excited about tomorrow and for those of you who are in charlotte, I will be working a promotional event at Alive After Five in the Epicenter if you're interested in coming out to that!
Will offered up a ticketing project to for one of the interns to head up and I jumped at the opportunity because if I learned anything about breaking into the sport industry while I was looking for jobs, it was that understanding the ticketing side of the biz is extremely important. He gave me a few tickets and said "alright, just keep track of the invoice and we'll regroup in a couple of days". My thought was, 'so, are you going to send me the invoice, orrr...". I quickly realized that it was up to me to create my own system. Self-starting and creativity are going to be two important themes of the internship. Most questions that I've asked result in the answer 'it's really up to you'. This means two things...if things go really great, we as interns can take ownership. But if something goes wrong, with which we are involved...it's all on us. So far, the freedom encourages thinking outside the box for me. I'm learning that there aren't many limits; if I think it's a good idea and present it to the right people, the answer is usually 'yes', and that thinking outside the box is a good thing!
On that note, Sarah and I came up with a plan for contests and giveaways on our twitter and facebook sites. One thing that we are definitely doing with the Meineke social media sites is a weekly giveaway contest. Twitter (MeinekeBowlGame) now features "Football Friday Giveaways" and Facebook (Meineke Care Care Bowl Game) will have "Tuesday Trivia". On each site we'll have contests that will either be trivia based or some sort of incentive for you, as a social media user, to promote our brand to your friends and followers. Prizes will be some really cool Meineke Bowl garb and even some ticket giveaways! ACC champion sites will feature similar promotions, but may not be as frequent as the game is smaller scale in general. If these things interest you, then you should make it a point to follow those pages (wink, wink).
I don't know that i've mentioned how much I enjoy the people I work with yet. I definitely don't feel like an insider yet (yikes, excuse the bachelor pad reference...guilty), but everyone is really great. The group is pretty laid back, there's a good bit of humor, a bit of sarcasm (anyone that knows me, knows that I thrive in sarcastic environments), and a lot of support. Apparently there is no such thing as a stupid question, although we all know how that goes...and I'm sure I've said SOMETHING that has left people snickering. I'm really excited about tomorrow and for those of you who are in charlotte, I will be working a promotional event at Alive After Five in the Epicenter if you're interested in coming out to that!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Orientation into Raycom
This morning I woke up with a friend request from Michael Kelly, Associate Commissioner for the ACC-head of communications and football operations, and this job became all the more real. The day started off with a staff picture and company luau...which was odd on a second day of work, but also an interesting orientation with the staff. I had no idea how many people worked at Raycom until I was standing in front of the Raycom bus, preparing to take a picture with about 40 people (don't you just love the awkward jokes people make when they are waiting around for the photographer to snap the photo?).
The group that I work with is a small one. Charlotte Collegiate Football consists of Will Webb-executive director, Courtney Knowling-Events and Operations, Will Pitts-Director of Sales, and Sarah Stankavage & me-the interns. We also work closely with a couple members of Raycom Sports: Chad Swofford- Director of New Business Development and Abby Christmas in sales. I'm excited to work with a close group of people because it will give us an opportunity as interns to participate in almost all aspects of the bowl game and the championship game. We spoke with Courtney at length today about how to make this internship our own and get involved in things that we are most interested in. This means I'll be able to focus on projects that are in my direct interest area and even try out things that I am not really familiar with. For instance, Sarah is really interested in the production/broadcast journalism side, which is something that I'm not particularly attracted to career wise (i am more interested in promotion and event management), but think it's pretty cool none the less. Courtney does some work on the side with the Bobcats and the Panthers doing some crew work, so Sarah asked if we could shadow her and I think I will probably tag along, just to see what it's all about...and I think it would be a great opportunity to meet some other people in the sports industry.
As far as today's tasks went, we spent a good amount of time coming up with our plan for the social media tools we will be using. We have facebook (Meineke Care Care Bowl & ACC Championship) and Twitter (Meineke Car Care Bowl & ACC Championship) accounts and came up with goals for the different accounts. Goals included raising numbers of followers (100 for each twitter account...yikes!) and raising awareness of each game around the Charlotte community and some strategies to meet the goals for both twitter and facebook. After speaking with Courtney and Megan Parete (who is a Clemson graduate, did this internship last year and introduced me to the position), we are still trying to decide whether a joint intern blog will be beneficial...especially if we are each keeping personal blogs on our own for this experience. We'll see how that turns out. Courtney also asked us to head up the Gifts Committee for the Leatherheads...more on the committee and the Leatherheads in posts to come, but I'm really excited about the committee and working with this group of people so I just wanted to mention it! Finally, we had a meeting with Luquire George Andrews, a marketing communications firm in Charlotte, to discuss one of the marketing strategies we will be using to promote the games this football season. The project has not been launched yet, but from what I've heard it's something that I am interested in getting more heavily involved in so we'll see how that plays out. At the end of the day, Chad and Will Pitts sat down with Sarah and me and explained a lot to us about the business side of Raycom Sports, sponsorships, etc...and it was a bit overwhelming but all good information to take in! I promise that as I continue to write, I will find a way to consolidate my posts but for right now I am just too excited to leave anything out...whether frivolous or not!
The group that I work with is a small one. Charlotte Collegiate Football consists of Will Webb-executive director, Courtney Knowling-Events and Operations, Will Pitts-Director of Sales, and Sarah Stankavage & me-the interns. We also work closely with a couple members of Raycom Sports: Chad Swofford- Director of New Business Development and Abby Christmas in sales. I'm excited to work with a close group of people because it will give us an opportunity as interns to participate in almost all aspects of the bowl game and the championship game. We spoke with Courtney at length today about how to make this internship our own and get involved in things that we are most interested in. This means I'll be able to focus on projects that are in my direct interest area and even try out things that I am not really familiar with. For instance, Sarah is really interested in the production/broadcast journalism side, which is something that I'm not particularly attracted to career wise (i am more interested in promotion and event management), but think it's pretty cool none the less. Courtney does some work on the side with the Bobcats and the Panthers doing some crew work, so Sarah asked if we could shadow her and I think I will probably tag along, just to see what it's all about...and I think it would be a great opportunity to meet some other people in the sports industry.
As far as today's tasks went, we spent a good amount of time coming up with our plan for the social media tools we will be using. We have facebook (Meineke Care Care Bowl & ACC Championship) and Twitter (Meineke Car Care Bowl & ACC Championship) accounts and came up with goals for the different accounts. Goals included raising numbers of followers (100 for each twitter account...yikes!) and raising awareness of each game around the Charlotte community and some strategies to meet the goals for both twitter and facebook. After speaking with Courtney and Megan Parete (who is a Clemson graduate, did this internship last year and introduced me to the position), we are still trying to decide whether a joint intern blog will be beneficial...especially if we are each keeping personal blogs on our own for this experience. We'll see how that turns out. Courtney also asked us to head up the Gifts Committee for the Leatherheads...more on the committee and the Leatherheads in posts to come, but I'm really excited about the committee and working with this group of people so I just wanted to mention it! Finally, we had a meeting with Luquire George Andrews, a marketing communications firm in Charlotte, to discuss one of the marketing strategies we will be using to promote the games this football season. The project has not been launched yet, but from what I've heard it's something that I am interested in getting more heavily involved in so we'll see how that plays out. At the end of the day, Chad and Will Pitts sat down with Sarah and me and explained a lot to us about the business side of Raycom Sports, sponsorships, etc...and it was a bit overwhelming but all good information to take in! I promise that as I continue to write, I will find a way to consolidate my posts but for right now I am just too excited to leave anything out...whether frivolous or not!
To catch everyone up:
Hey friends...thanks for reading! Overall, my hopes for this blog are to keep a digital log of my experiences as a recent graduate and young professional in the field of sport promotion. I want to actively participate in the learning process of my new job and feel like a blog is a great way to hold myself accountable to this goal. I also wanted an avenue to share my experiences with you: my friends and family, or whoever else might be interested. This is an exciting time for me. I am certain that I am about embark on a journey that I will not soon forget, and would love for you all to share in these experiences with me through these blog entries.
The past couple of months have been bittersweet scary, chaotic, and exciting for me as I graduated from Clemson in one of the worst job markets our country has seen. For those who don’t know, I graduated without a job, as did many of my friends, and without any certain plans. I knew I wanted a job in sport promotion, and I knew that those opportunities were few and far between, but could not broaden my field of search out of fear of losing sight of my true ambitions. I was fortunate enough to be able to ride out my lease in Clemson this past summer and continue my work in the Men’s Basketball office thanks to the generosity of our new head coach Brad Brownell and his staff, who had no reason to keep me on…they had only known me for a brief period of time. As summer crept by, and job opportunities seemed to slip through the cracks I realized that I might have to come to terms with the unthinkable: that after 4 years of living on my own, I was going to have to move back in with the Parents. I was getting used to the idea and trying to line things up in Greensboro for when I returned and then one morning I woke up, sitting straight up in my bed (getting up for me is usually a much more drawn out process) and thinking ‘I cannot move back home…my mom will make me throw away half of my clothes!’.
As trivial as the thought was, it was the first of several events that led to the start of a career path. That same day I received an email from a college friend and classmate, Leslie Farmer, saying that she was leaving her current position at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (former Donaldson Center in Greenville, SC) to pursue an opportunity with meals on wheels and that she was looking for a qualified replacement. The job was not in sports…in fact it was the farthest thing from it. It was also not a full time position, but it was an opportunity to manage the public relations and Communications efforts for SCTAC and seemed to certainly be the type of job that would open doors to future careers in general PR. I was unsure about the job, but even less sure about moving back home, so I decided to meet with Jody Bryson, CEO of SCTAC. After meeting with Jody, I felt completely at peace with my decision to jump on board with their team. I got the job on Friday, started Monday (my close friend Channing was so great to let me crash with her for the week), and I had so much fun in my first week learning about the job and SCTAC. I never thought something so technological in nature could be so interesting to me, and I called my parents every night to tell them how much I LOVED what I was doing.
Coincidentally, on my way home from work after my third day, I got a call from Will Webb, Executive Director of Charlotte Collegiate Football, offering me an internship position. Charlotte Collegiate Football is a nonprofit that runs the ACC Championship Football Game and the Meineke Car Care Bowl game, and is located in the Raycom Sports office. I began going through their application process in February which ended for me in the middle of July with the understanding that I would not be interning with them. When I got the call, my immediate reaction was that, because of my job at SCTAC, I would have to let the opportunity pass me by. I thought there was no way I could leave a job I had already taken, especially one that I enjoy. I spent the rest of the night praying and speaking to family about the situation. The general consensus among a few of my close friends and family members was that ultimately, this was a business opportunity and that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I let the opportunity of my dreams slip through my fingers. Ultimately I had to come to the decision that the position with Charlotte Collegiate Football was an opportunity that I simply could not pass up. This is the opportunity that I have been praying for and I knew that if I didn’t seize it, I may never be offered a chance to break into sport promotion and pursue my passion again. All that to say, I went into work on my fourth day and quit my job. It was one of the tasks that I have dreaded most in my time as a young adult, but Jody Bryson could not have been more gracious to me. He told me that it was exciting that I was getting the chance to pursue my dream career and even asked to stay in touch. I will never forget the unnecessary kindness that he bestowed on me as it allowed me to pursue my dreams in full force, without guilt, and also reassured me that the decision I had made was, in fact, the right decision for me.
I started interning today and don’t think there was one moment where I didn’t have a smile on my face. Even though the day was filled with simple tasks and typical ‘first day of work duties’ like setting up my new computer, meeting the team I will be working with, and touring the Raycom Building, I enjoyed every minute of it. Sarah, the other intern, and I got to familiarize ourselves with the Meineke Car Care Bowl Game and ACC Championship Bowl Game social media sites that we will be heavily involved with (you can follow both on twitter: @ACCfootballCLT and @MeinekeBowlGame) and also tried to figure out the new seeding and selections for the 2010-2011 bowl games…we are still not sure if we got all the information right! We will definitely be taking a second and probably third look at that tomorrow. We also got to learn about a lot of the promotional events we will be working with, which is really exciting! The only moment that I did not enjoy was when one of the team members asked me whether I had a Blackberry or a Droid, and I had to ask him to insert a third option. I quickly realized that I was the only one at the table without one of the two communication devices, and was immediately aware of my dyer need for a smart phone!
Overall, the day was great. I’m living with the Conrads right now (My aunt and uncle) and Carrie and Ryan (cousins) are still here so it has been fun getting to spend time with the family during the fabulous dinners they have prepared for the past two nights! I will be updating this blog regularly, but do not anticipate a post ever being this long again…just wanted to catch everyone up at once. Excited for my second day tomorrow!
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