Ashley Hall is the Manager of Media and Community Relations at AFI of Lakeland. She has had this position for seven years and has impacted the position a substantial amount. She graduated from Florida Southern University in Lakeland, FL. This interview was conducted over the phone. My professor, Barbara Nixon helped my find this wonderful PR Professional. My interview with Ashley went as follows:
1) What’s a typical week like? (If no week is typical, then what was last week like?)
She does not work strictly as the public relations specialist of this company. She explains it as a “niche position that keeps her on her toes”. She is the Manager of Media and Community Relations for AFI which means she is in charge of getting any and all information that needs to go out to the public, to them which includes anything that needs to go out in the paper or online. She is now in charge of their website but it is currently not her main focus.
She focuses a lot on social media (Facebook, twitter, YouTube).
Also, she is always doing something for community involvement, such as tours of the facility or setting up and making arrangements for different presentations.
She plays many different roles each week, and it is never the same.
2) Tell me about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
Ashley is in charge of the “Action club” which is sponsored by Kiwanis. Action club is centered on adults with disabilities. She is the faculty advisor over this. They are involved in such things as ringing the bells at Christmas time, or even toys for tots. She is very proud to be a part of this.
She has also won an award for PR professional of the year for Polk County.
3) What do you do to keep current in the PR industry?
She is big on keeping up with all the major social media platforms. She makes sure that all the information is getting out to where it needs to go. As an organization, they have been in Polk County for 57 years. They have recently (in October) changed their name from the Polk county association for handicap citizens, to AFI (the Alliance for Independence). In the last 7 years (since she has been there) they have amped up their publicity.
4) What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR?
She wishes she had had more schooling in public relations. Graduating from Florida Southern, she never learned about things such as campaigning or other job specifics of a public relations professional. She wishes she had learned about PR campaigns which include press releases and media contact.
The company does not have a running campaign but does what needs to be done. Nothing is written out in an “action plan” but in their brainstorming, it “does what needs to be done”.
“The need for PR in our organization is not really to get business but to raise awareness and get donations (non profit) not to get new clients. PR was not very necessary until about 2007”
5) How important is writing in your career?
At the moment, I am mostly writing for press releases. I want and need it to go out correctly to the correct people and places. “My job requires more public speaking”, she says. “I will be writing the blog when the new website is completely up. Right now, all of the news stories on website comes from my written press releases.”
6) What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR?
1- Get involved with a local professional organization that is PR related (FPRA’s 15th chapter is in FL) She says that personally, the PRSA helped her a lot.
2- Build a network in your community. Even the people who have nothing to do with what you do can come in handy when you need them or they need you.
3- Social Media: Facebook and Twitter and Blogging. Put out only things that you would be okay with a professional seeing. Being aware of what you say on social media sites.
7) Did your education prepare you for working in PR? How?
“Once I was out in the field and saw what it was really all about, I felt sort of unprepared.” Hall says. She did not think she had the skills she needed such as campaigning knowledge.
8] What has surprised you the most about working in PR?
“PR is not just about talking to people about the organization”. In her education, she never thought past thinking that PR was all about talking to people. She felt she was not prepared to go out into the real career world.
9) How has PR changed since you entered the field?
Social Media has dramatically increased which has given way to many PR opportunities.
10) How does technology affect your daily work?
Aside from social media, her smart phone is a major source of her technology reliance. She says, “My job is from 7:30am to 4:00pm daily. Most people work until 5:00pm. That is an hour that I am away from my office and I am receiving emails and contact from other businesses that are still on the clock. Since I got a smart phone, I use it for emails from 4-5pm.” Her smart phone usage has increased her ability to do her job at all hours of the day.
11) When your company is hiring for an entry-level PR position, what makes a candidate stand out?
Laughing at this question, she said she hopes they are not hiring because she has the only PR professional position in the company!
She does speculate that if they were going to hire someone, they would look for someone who is “outgoing, energetic, flexible, adapt to change”.
12) What professional organizations are you involved in? (For example, PRSA, IABC, etc.)
FPRA: Dick Pope Polk county chapter
Emerge Lakeland
North Lakeland Kiwanis club
For more information, here is the link to Ashley’s LinkedIn profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleydhall
After interviewing this person, are you (the student, not the practitioner) more or less likely to want to have a career in PR? Why?
Personally, I do not want a career in PR and this interview did not change my mind on that matter. I feel it is really great for me know the inside position and thoughts of a PR professional, knowing how they work and what they do. I was interested to see all the different things Ms. Hall spoke of that I know will assist me in my own career as a news reporter. I am not turned off to the idea of becoming a public relations professional; I would just rather not go into this field. It seems like you have to have your head in so many places at one time, and right now in my life, I know that is the last thing I can personally handle.
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Jenn Browning 