Tornado Tragedy strikes USM, and what the university did right.

Yesterday, around 5:45 pm an EF-4 tornado with winds peaking at 170 mph struck Hattiesburg and the University of Southern Mississippi. It left 82 people injured but amazingly there are no reported deaths at this time.
Some photos:

Here is a video of the tornado crossing Hardy Street striking the campus from Storm Spotter John Sibley:

Now, I have to brag on the university for a moment. They handled this situation in the best way possible. They were consistent in keeping the students, faculty, staff and parents informed. They sent out text messages and phone calls regarding the multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings in a timely manner all afternoon and night and continued to keep us all informed even throughout today. I think their action preparedness plan paid off and I am so glad they know exactly what to do when and if a tragedy should strike. I think it saved a lot of lives on campus. The City of Hattiesburg was also very prepared. They put their plan into action and were on the scene as soon as the tornado passed through. Residents heeded the warnings and the loss of human life was none. Please keep Hattiesburg, USM and the surrounding areas in your thoughts and prayers. I know we will need it in the coming days as the recovery process is happening.

What can't PR pros live without?

PR News did a Facebook and Twitter survey asking PR pros what they can't live without. There were some great answers. Some of my favorites include: patience, a sense of humor and tough skin. Many others replied with clients, social media, smart phone, email, coffee, etc.

So, basically this:

What is the most important thing you think a PR pro can't live without?

So God made a PR Pro.

Did you see the Super Bowl Dodge Ram commercial "So God made a Farmer"? Well, I was surfing on Twitter a couple days later and found this. A play off of the poem "So God made a Farmer", I thought this was creative and downright accurate.  Written by Arik Hanson on his site Communications Conversations, the poem goes like this:

On the eighth day, God looked down on this world and said, “I need someone to help these retail companies, schools, manufacturers, hospitals, start-ups, tech companies, restaurants, hotels, sports franchises and news organizations communicate better.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone to wake up at 4 a.m., manage a live shot down at the Mall of America outside when it’s 5 degrees outside, then get back to the office by 7, take a two-hour client call at 8, get to a new business meeting at 10:30, take the new AE out to lunch, crank out a strategic plan and proof a news release in the afternoon, pick up the kids at 5:45, get them to ice skating lessons, eat dinner, go back online and complete billing reports, send a few emails to clients, finish the news release and do it all again the next day.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone who can sit in a meeting with a room full of senior-level executives and stand toe-to-teo with the CEO and tell him he needs to take a risk in the first quarter with a new campaign based on her recommendations, then turn around and sympathize with her team and figure out how they’re going to get the whole plan done in just 12 days.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone who can break down analytics and glean useful insights for clients. Someone who can crank out a news release, a blog post, and an annual report in a single afternoon. Someone who can manage and lead a team. Someone who can mentor younger team members. Someone who can massage and manage a client’s concerns, then sit in a room with an assistant account executive and listen to their challenges.”

So, God made a PR pro.

God said, “I need someone strong enough to handle a crisis–where the client has absolutely no clue what to do next. Someone who can handle the heat when it gets so hot you can actually feel the sweat through the phone. But someone kind enough that other employees love coming to work with her each day.”

So, God made a PR pro.

It had to be someone who could write and edit. Interpret and influence. Direct and debate. Consult and collaborate. Organize and categorize. Evaluate and motivate. Lecture and listen. Someone who was willing to take risks. To push the envelope for her clients. To go above and beyond. Day after day after day after day. Someone who has an insatiable curiousity and someone who simply loved to learn.

So, God made a PR pro.

But above all, it had to be someone with a strong moral compass–someone with ethics. Because without that, she is nothing. Someone who’s hyper-organized. Loves lists. And love to complete them. Loves coffee. And loves to read. Someone, who loves grammar so much she spell checks text messages. Someone who has CNN on in the background along with Tweetdeck and 18 columns. And someone who wakes up each morning, takes a shower, eats breakfast and looks in the mirror and says, “I am a PR pro.”

I love the last paragraph the most. What a wonderful reminder about what being a PR pro is all about. We need to remember that as PR professionals out first and foremost responsibility is to be ethical, because in the end if you are not, what is it all for? What do you think about this poem? Comment below and let me know!

My life in Academia.

Ever feel like this?

Well, that is how my week has been. Lately school has gotten pretty busy. Now, I'm not complaining yet.. I started my new job and I have some interesting assignments I'm working on and I wanted to share. This weekend I am doing a critical analysis on an advertisement for my Critical and Cultural Theory class. My group picked this ad. Huggies had a lot of criticism over their "Dad-Test" Campaign and we thought this would be a great one to critique. I am also doing a small reaction paper on the Super Bowl ads. That should be fun right? I also have a social media plan I need to get started on for the mini-session I took. (It was a great class!) My favorite assignment yet is for the campaigns class I am taking this semester. I am doing a campaign for the Historical Hattiesburg Downtown Association. I am super excited about this. I always liked being involved in the Mainstreet organization in my hometown so I decided to seek out the organization in Hattiesburg like it. I met with the Executive Director and learned quite a bit about the organization and I am excited to get started on the campaign. Well, that is it for now. Plenty to keep me busy. Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

Facebook in Real Life.

Since it is late I thought I'd share one of my favorite social media "funny videos" with you. Facebook in real life. Does facebook ever make you feel like this in real life?

What is PR?

This is a question Public Relations professionals and students alike ask themselves quite often. There are many definitions of PR. Last semester my PR Theory class had a ongoing discussion of this very question all semester. We came up with answers like "managing strategic relationships", "managing and maintaining reputations and relationships with the media and various publics", "relationship builder", "creating, maintaining and managing relationships that benefit each party" etc. 
Yesterday, PRowl Public Relations posted on their blog a graphic that PRNewswire compiled of all the definitions of PR that their followers and friends came up with: http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?blog=2355207&link=aHR0cDovL3Byb3dscHVibGljcmVsYXRpb25zLmJsb2dzcG90LmNvbS8

PR(Plus) made a very creative video with how they define public relations.

So, how do YOU define PR? Post in the comments below! Thanks for reading.