Thank You Marina Maher Communications

Today is my final day at Marina Maher Communications and naturally I am a bit sentimental. I feel so blessed to look back on the first year of my career with such positive thoughts. How many people can honestly say in their first year at the “bottom of the chain” they felt nurtured, appreciated and valued by every level of colleague? I have been given incredible opportunities and learned so much from such brilliant women.

A little over a year ago if you told me I would still be in New York City, let alone working in healthcare PR, I would have laughed hysterically. Well, I am still here and I can honestly say I love working in healthcare. The once overwhelming tasks of learning FDA regulations, various disease categories, what the heck a PDUFA means and understanding patient symptoms now make me thrive. The patience my teachers in MMC’s healthcare practice bestowed upon me is unbelievable. I can’t even believe how much I have learned, but here are a few tidbits:

• As soon as you know, open a PO
• My definition of a PDUFA date: Plan for months. Expect a Delay. Understand that inevitably half your team will be out when the announcement comes in. Forget about knowing (or in my case understanding) what the answer will be. Anticipate lots of media coverage and don’t think you can arrive at 8:30 and have a monitoring report out by 9 (major mistake)
• The Swine Flu Brigade will forever be my favorite costume ever
• The office services staff are incredible people and always help you when you are in a jam
• #MMC14 is the best Twitter hashtag
• Always, always, ALWAYS make sure the correct file is attached to an email
• An article was PUBLISHED, not PICKED-UP (Shout out to AB)
• I’m calling the Clairol team if I ever decide to color my “virgin strands”
• A junior level project may be extremely time consuming, but being in the trenches is the best way to get to know your coworkers
• Emailing support (aka Jeff) will resolve any technology crisis and he is the genius of all things computer
• Friday Happy Hours are critical to team bonding. They help you realize that your supervisors actually have pretty cool lives outside of work and you have more in common with an SVP and MS than you would think.
• I was able to avoid drinking coffee the first three months of working 9-6, but that collapse was inevitable
• Thanks to the well-being group and our monthly practice meetings, I am comfortable saying the word “vagina” :o)
• An FDA approval will always be delayed
• It is possible to strike the balance between boss and friend while maintaining a high level of respect for her
• No one knows how to throw a great party like the MMC HR department
• You are never too senior to jump in and tackle a project
• And finally….The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake. The five most important words: You did a good job. The four most important words: What is YOUR opinion? The three most important words: If you please. The two most important words: Thank You. The one most important word: We. The least important word: I.

I am a far better PR practitioner thanks to the incredible people I have worked with over the past 13 months and I can only hope that I maintain the professional and personal relationships I have developed.

Thank you to MMC for an incredible start to my career.

Miss Manhattan 2010

As many of you already know, this past weekend I was crowned Miss Manhattan. I didn’t tell very many people I was competing because I was “coming out of retirement” to do so. I started in the Miss America Organization after I graduated high school and realized I was in desperate need of scholarship money to pay my out-of-state tuition. It has always been a hobby for me and I’ve never let it get to a point where it determined my self-esteem or worth.

After Interview

After not participating for two years I found myself missing the different phases of competition. I have grown to love the adrenaline that takes over as I step into the interview room and have questions fired at me ranging from “How do you feel about (insert: universal healthcare, gay marriage, immigration border control, stem cell research, etc)?” to “What makes you tick and what ticks you off?” I could do without the swimsuit competition, but the idea of walking in a bikini and four inch heels in front of hundreds of people is the best motivation to hit the gym. Onstage questions have helped me improve my presentation skills and I love putting on a beautiful evening gown and feeling so glamorous. More than anything however, I have missed the opportunity to sing onstage. Graduating college and being in the “real world” I rarely have these opportunities, so I have missed the thrill of performing my talent.

The best picture so far of crowning, hopefully there are more!

So I went into last weekend’s pageant completely relaxed knowing that it truly was something I was doing for myself and no one else. I was beaming when I walked out of my interview because of how much fun I had and didn’t realize how much I missed being under the “firing squad.” On Saturday afternoon right before my talent I looked at the stage manager next to me and said, “Oh my gosh, I’m about to perform on a New York City stage!!!” Talk about a dream come true!

When the competition was over and we were standing onstage awaiting the crowning, I was on cloud nine. I didn’t expect to win and was simply so proud of myself for having the courage to compete again, so needless to say when they called my name I was in complete shock. I already felt like a winner and to have a crown put on my head was the icing on the cake.It has always been my dream to move to Manhattan so you can imagine how privileged and excited I am to represent the city that has made all of my dreams come true. In June I will travel to Albany to compete in Miss New York and I plan on going with the exact same attitude as this weekend. I already feel like a winner; the rest is just fun!

Amelia and Riley celebrating with me that night

--------------------------

Side note: A special thanks goes out to my mama who flew in from Atlanta. She has always been my number one fan and to have her there to support me meant the world. My win is hers as much as it is mine and I didn’t do the cheesy “pageant girl crying” until she came onstage and hugged me. Thanks to my Aunt Joanne who has also sat through many pageants and had her car towed that day. Before the pageant while she was at the impound she told me, “You better win the damn thing!” Haha Thanks to my former boss Janene who attended her first pageant and was able to share in my special moment. Finally thanks to my Miss Georgia pageant family back home for all their love and support!