Hello from the newest PR Girl at Thornley Fallis! I’m excited to be a part of the team here at the Toronto office, and even though from what I’ve seen most introductory posts were made after a few months, I’m being tossed to the wolves on my third week.

I’m no stranger to writing, and have been blogging on and off for well over five years now. It began innocently enough with a Livejournal, and then evolved onto Myspace. Today I contribute sporadic entries on my Facebook page as well as write on my most recent Blogger account “PR Musings” (which due to my hectic post-graduation schedule is sadly lacking in the musings department).

However, I’m excited that I’m being invited by the team to contribute to PR Girlz as an Account Coordinator and recent graduate.  It was from the gentle nudge given to me by our CEO Joe Thornley combined with resident PR Girl Kerri Birtch and the other ladies here at TFC that I am going to (hopefully) become a weekly contributor. For now I plan to give honest feedback and advice to students and recent graduates.

But first, a bit about me…

I’m originally from Sudbury, Ontario (yes, we have a rather large nickel statue) where I attended Laurentian University for two years until I decided (for a number of reasons) to transfer to York University in Toronto. I love English and writing, so I supplemented my Communications degree with a minor in English. Before I graduated, I jumped at an opportunity to work abroad in England for a year, and was an office temp (very unglamorous) until I landed a job in the “Strategic Marketing” department of Fair Isaac (FICO). Then, after a few pints and tearful goodbyes at the year’s end, I came back to Toronto to finish my degree.

I wanted to grow my portfolio, so I began to look for opportunities. I networked, made contacts and worked briefly as a freelance fashion writer, volunteered for Walk Now for Autism and was the only PR person to promote Kelly Gruber’s 2009 baseball clinics (where I learnt a great deal via “trial by fire”).

I love to write (especially when people are so inclined to read it), and so I hope to give you food for thought through my entries on PR Girlz. Even if during some hectic weeks, it turns out to only be an appetizer.

If there is anything you would like to ask me about, feel free to write it in the comments section and it may just turn into a post!

I just wanted to pop in very quickly and draw everyone’s attention to a newly launched TFC blog: Stethoscope Blog. It will be written by members of the health communications team here at Thornley Fallis and is a forum to share health news, as well as thoughts and ideas on the healthcare industry in Canada.

Here’s a little tidbit from the inaugral post:

“At Thornley Fallis Communications, we are passionate about health care PR. Many of us have been working in the industry for years and we are still here because of the unique challenges that the Canadian pharmaceutical market and its regulatory bodies bring. I believe that these guidelines and regulations make us better communicators and encourage people to develop to their skills to their maximum potential; what are your thoughts? Healthcare is changing, patients are taking control of their health and advocating for themselves and their family and friends, the internet has opened doors and has connected people around the globe sharing stories and information; it is a very exciting time for communications and health care.”

Enjoy!

Ok, I have been putting this off for way too long!

Since starting at Thornley Fallis, I’ve wanted to participate in the PR Girlz blog. I had never done any sort of blogging before, so I thought I would give myself maybe 2 months to settle in and then go to it.
But I kept putting it off because I was too nervous or too busy, but then my 6 month mark rolled around and the new year had come and gone and I decided (with a friendly nudge from my colleague Dave Fleet) to actually do this.

So I’m going to give Kerri a little help reviving the PR Girlz blog and attempt to become a regular contributor on here!

I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Janna Guberman, I am an Account Coordinator at Thornley Fallis, and have been working here, as I said, for about 6 months.
For the last 4 years I attended McGill University in Montreal and for 3 of those years I studied Psychology and Behavioral Science. I decided a long time ago that I wanted to be a Psychologist. However, after re-evaluating some things in my last year at McGill, I decided to change directions. I took on a Marketing minor and decided that what I really wanted was to work in the Communications field. Fast forward a year and here I am at Thornley Fallis!

When I started at TFC, I was totally new to social media. But now, I’ve written my first blog entry, edited and produced quite a number of podcasts and vidcasts, subscribed to my fair share of blogs and even have my own Twitter account. I’m still discovering so many new things, but I think it’s pretty neat what I’ve learned in 6 short months.

I’m really looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the PR Girlz blog. But more importantly, as a new person in the workforce, the PR world and specifically in the blogsphere, I really want to know what other people would like to hear from me. I’m still finding my way here and I would welcome your insight, but I promise I will get the hang of this!

For now though, what would you like to hear from me as a newcomer to the world of PR?

Well here I am. It’s taken a little while to get here, but I’ve finally landed my first job in public relations as an Account Coordinator for Thornley Fallis Communications. I’m working primarily on health industry accounts, but like everyone else around here, I pitch in on just about anything whenever I’m needed.

While I’m a total newbie to agency life, I would say I’m more of a novice in the social media world. I know a little, but I’m still learning. I’ve blogged since January of this year quite consistently and have taken to reading more than 60 or so blogs in my feed reader. I attend speaker sessions on social media and technology like Third Tuesday and Toronto Girl Geek Dinners, and I’ve slowly been building my Twitter presence. For me, it’s about baby steps; I want to learn as much as I can about one thing before moving on to the next shiny object.

All in all, I’m definitely fascinated by the intersection of new technologies and the social world that occurs when we use platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Wordpress and the likes. And of course, I’m interested in looking at the ways in which these technologies can be practically applied to public relations.

I guess maybe I’m a hybrid of sorts: a PR Girl and Geek Girl all rolled into one!

Hope you enjoy my posts.

Welcome to the first instalment of Thursday’s From the Front Desk.

Please note! Due to the unpredictable nature of the PR world From the Front desk may occasionally be posted on a Friday, after-hours, from my father’s computer. Like today, for instance.

From the Front Desk is Samantha Lovelace’s spin on the PR world from a entry-level perspective.

As an entry-level PR-erson and, indeed, office worker, Samantha sits at the front desk of TFC.

During an average day she doesn’t just answer phones and fix printers; Samantha’s front desk experiences are just short of a full degree’s worth of education in PR, computers and people. This, along with general office antics keep her, and she hopes will keep you, entertained all workday long (and sometimes longer).

Now that being said, and with out further ado, Here’s Sammy!

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – Welcome to the first ever post From the Front Desk!

I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce myself:
My name is Samantha Lovelace and I work at the front desk at Thornley Fallis Communications.

I was lucky to have been introduced to the job, Alex Milroy, Sandra Cruickshanks and Michael O’Connor Clarke by my most fabulous friend, Ms. Lauren Saliba.

Lauren was “the front desk” at TFC in Ottawa and knew they were looking for “Lauren” in Toronto. After great consideration, she declined the offer to transfer herself and passed on the opportunity to me; a quickly tiring, server/bartender/manager of 8 odd years.

Lauren and I have been faithful friends for close to 14 years. We met, one fine evening, in the yard behind Muchmore public school in Ottawa’s “the Glebe”. I believe it was a Friday.

With a fresh squeezed BBA and a desire for something new I was eager to take on the new challenge and marched in to the Ottawa office for my first “career” interview.

I got the job!

With in the month I left the famed Royal Oak in the Glebe of Ottawa, trained a couple of days in Ottawa and packed up my things, my loving partner-in-crime and our cat. Off to Toronto we went.

It was three days before I experienced my first printer malfunction, learned how to do a mail merge, met my first client and worked past five in a 9-5 job. Lets just say I didn’t find my admin skills they were violently thrust upon me with the fury of one incredibly angry volcano.

I like to think, though I’ve hit many a nasty pot hole along the way, I’ve fared relatively well. Not only have I learned how to take care of normally adminy duties, but I took on some new roles too. Media monitoring, event support, ideation, podcast production and some fundamental accounting tasks are just a few of my weekly activities.

And now I can ad one more notch to my PR agency belt:
Almost a year later, well versed in computer malfunction, telephone manner, morning scans, excel spreadsheets, and with a couple of events under my belt, I am writing my first official post on PR Girlz. I can say, as I sit faithfully at the front desk of Thornley Fallis Communications, I finally feel like I am an official PR Grrril.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to sharing some front desk antics with you next week.

Until then, take care.

Samantha Lovelace

My first couple of months at Thornley Fallis have been great.
 

A new job is always daunting and you have all made my transition enjoyable and understandable. I had a lot of unformed ideas about what working in an agency might be like, but I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The learning curve is steep but I wouldn’t want to be here if it wasn’t.

This is just a short post. I needed to break the ice and say an official ‘hello’ here on the PR Girlz blog before too much time passes. As a former PR Girlz special correspondent, I’m especially happy to be here.  

Any advice for the greenest girl in the group?

As the newest member of the TFC Toronto team, it’s only natural for me to join my fellow PRGirlz in the blogosphere. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever used the word “blogosphere” in a sentence. How exciting!

I am setting aside my stage-fright and diving in headfirst. I think my hesitations stem from the fact that I was never very good at keeping a diary as a child and I think of blogs in much the same way as I do diaries. Entries in my pink patent-leather diary (with a heart-shaped lock) would often be months or even years apart. I’m confident that I will be much better at blogging though because I have no doubt that Jos and her whip will keep me in check.  Blogging comes as second nature to most people here at TFC, so I definitely have lots to learn! The most exciting part of this new adventure for me will be reading and responding to the comments which will be posted to my entries, right?  Fingers crossed.

 This “tag” idea began when Zoey Castelino tagged Joe Thornley, who then tagged the PR Girlz. However, my post today is really in direct response to Mary Ellen’s tag from last week. Confusing, I know. Anyway, here we go… 

Q: When did you first start blogging and why? 

A: I started blogging when I formed PR Girlz with my colleagues. Before joining Thornley Fallis last year, I didn’t know much about blogging or what role it could play in my career development. Since then, I realize that it is definitely a worth while activity and it is something that I have come to really enjoy. 

 Q:What don’t you talk about? 

A: So far, I haven’t talked about my personal life, except when in relation to my career. Why? I don’t think it would be something others would be interested in reading about! 

Q: Are you and your blogging persona the same person? 

A: Absolutely, yes. What you read is what you get. 

Q: How do you use blogging to build friendships? 

A: I haven’t done this yet, but it would be neat to try. 

TFC ladies, I am waiting to read your responses, let’s keep this one moving! 

I’m inordinately glad that Joe Thornley tagged us yesterday, because I was out too late last night and I’m about to leave for two weeks vacation. (I guess you’d call it vacation – I’ll be joining the league of the marrieds next Saturday.) So, I’m excited and exhausted and incapable of creating anything thoughful today. So I’m making this quick and dirty, and then I am out of here…

Q: When did you first start blogging and why?

A: About a month ago, and for a lark. To be honest, I’m not a blog fan per se, but the great womyn in my office wanted to get onboard the blogging bus so I thought I should join them. I figure I can scoff at it in a much more sophisticated way now…

Q:What don’t you talk about?

A: Proper PR topics, so far. Which is probably an issue. Which I’ll most certainly address. But in a few weeks. (See above.)

Q: Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

A: I think so. Obviously, I think I’m fabulous in the real world and in this fake one, too. (Kidding aside, is this multiple persona thing a real issue? Is this a new practice area for shrinks?)

Q: How do you use blogging to build friendships?

A: Can’t say I do. Thus far I’ve made friends the old-fashioned way – in person.

I’m tagging… the rest of the TFC ladies. Sorry to send chain mail and run – look forward to reading your responses!

Before joining Thornley Fallis in 2005, I knew blogs existed but I really hadn’t thought about how they were relevant to my world, especially to the world of PR. Now here I am seven months later and I am actually writing my first blog entry. It has been very exciting over the last few days to see how my fellow PR Girlz have been receiving comments on their posts. Some of these comments have been strange and others inspiring. It is great to see that this early on in the game, the voice of PR Girlz is already being heard and is being met with enthusiasm. As we move forward, I look forward to offering my perspective on the PR industry, as having been in it now for over six years, I feel I have learned so much and have come a long way. I know that I have much further to go in my workplace journey and I look forward to sharing my experiences as one of the PR Girlz.