Cordy Communication
With the feelings of leaving the cheap first apartment for a mansion, with a butler, I’m heading out.
www.bcordy.wordpress.com will no longer offer the excellence that is my ongoing contribution to blogging. I’m moving everything over to a central website. Don’t cry though. It’s good news. Check it out.
Update any bookmarks or links.
Pass it along:
Looking for a website builder/designer to help create an amazing site for a Seattle based nonprofit. We need somebody to work with our Communication specialist to implement design ideas. If you know someone, email me here. Spread the word! We’re looking for someone soon (reads: asap!). It’s a short gig, and probably really simple. Let me know if you’re interested.
As it turns out, (near) daily blog posts have become a rare commodity. I should change my “mission” to (nearly never) blog posts – so as to reach a uniform understanding of what to expect: nearly nothing. Yet, in the eternal pursuit of perfection, I try again.
Report:
Executive Alliance continues to charge forward with amazing dexterity as we come to the end of 2009. I’ve spent most of my time analyzing and reviewing EA policies, practices, and style which allowed me to create the Communication Plan 2010! This fancy document includes every major Communication goal and challenge EA faces in the upcoming year. Everything from revamping the website to media exposure is outlined, and let me tell you, it’s going to be an amazing year. If you’re not sure how your organization is going to Communicate through the current economic climate, it’s probably time to review that plan.
Some of you may have heard via twitter, facebook, or f2f (that is, face to face, it’s an old-fashioned way of communication. Ask your grandparents, they’ll tell you all about it.) that today I was offered, and accepted the communication internship position at Executive Alliance (EA). Let me phrase it ever so delicately: I’M SO EXCITED! I love the idea of working with a fantastic organization with an amazing vision for our community. I already plugged them once, and – hey, while I’m working for them, I’ll do it again (and again, and again…). Check them out: www.exec-alliance.org. Seriously, do it.
With autumn well under way, I’m noticing there’s a lot more to this season than beautiful trees and leafy pathways. In a relatively short few weeks, I’ve had some fantastic opportunities to meet with even more fantastic people. Most of these interactions are thanks to Jerry Baldasty and Florangela Davila, who co-teach a Careers in Communication workshop. We’ve been introduced to PR gurus, Journalism professionals, Movie critics, Consultants, and probably a few variations of each. The experience has been just short of amazing. Thursday I had the opportunity to meet with another professional, Melany Brown, and learn more about a fantastic nonprofit, Executive Alliance.
Executive Alliance (EA) fills an interesting role in the nonprofit sector. One that admittedly, I hadn’t contemplated before finding EA. They give a voice to the sector. It’s so simple, I know, yet it is extremely vital. Without some collaboration, leadership, and support, the nonprofit sector, as a strong and vibrant community dedicated to improving the lives of everyone in the state of Washington, would otherwise be fragmented, unorganized, and ultimately, ineffective. Fortunately that’s not the case. There are people advocating for those who advocate for others.
Check them out. www.exec-alliance.org
In a time of relative uncertainty I’m supposed to make all kinds of decisions. It’s crazy! Graduation’s fast approaching, internships are waiting, job opportunities loom ahead, grad schools beckon, and I have a million deadlines to keep. But I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Today I continued my (sure to be never ending) search for a jacket with so much style and pizazz it’ll shout, “I’m amazing and cozy!” at passers by who are fortunate enough to cast humbled eyes upon such a garment. Of course I’m only willing to pay – oh maybe fifteen dollars for it. It’s been a rough hunt. I thought it was over today. I stepped into the dressing room, to try on what was thus far the best fitting coat, to find this:
The Stars Are Within Reach…
How a profound piece of illegally placed wisdom, otherwise known as graffiti, managed to find itself inside a Seattle area clothing store is beyond my cognitive capacity. But what wasn’t beyond my cerebral processing was the message. The Stars Are Within Reach…
One reason I love the field of Communication is it’s passion. Every message carries with it an emotion, a passion, a story. Unfortunately in today’s fast paced, bottom line, heartless world the message dies out, being filtered and diluted so often it barely tugs at our heartstrings. Most PR or AD campaigns miss the mark, viewing the “target audience” as numbers and demographics, Mr’s and Mrs’ with checkbooks, wallets, and wants – or that is “needs.” These messages fill the world targeting fake people, lifeforms that take no shape. All the while forgetting: the most effective message is the message that conveys passion. Whoever took the thirty seconds to scribble this message on a wall in a dressing room in a clothing store in a city hit a mark (probably unintentionally) most “professionals” miss. People.
We can all relate. Some days our dreams, goals, and futures are there, within reach. We just need to grab it. Take our future and today make it ours. In this time of constant change-of-plans, with increasing workloads, it’s nice to know it’s all close by, success is within reach. Today I’ve been feeling this message. Thanks to the Communication genius who launched this campaign. The Stars Are Within Reach…
By the way: I don’t endorse graffiti.
I suspect you may have seen this mini series published in the NY Times this past week. If not, it’s required reading. Truly an amazing story. It chronicles the seven month ten day captivity of David Rohde, a NYT reporter, and his two Afghan colleagues, Tahir and Asad. While covering the war in Afghanistan, Mr. Rohde was kidnapped by the Taliban and held hostage, with little hope of escape.
Read the five part series at the NY Times online.
By far today’s “main event” was meeting with and hearing from respected Seattle based PR guru David Blandford. Currently David is the Vice President of Communication at Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, a nonprofit economic development agency designed to market Seattle as the destination for convention groups, tourism, and leisure travel. Yeah, it’s a pretty big deal. Some 9.5 million visitors spend something like $5.16 billion dollars a year. A lot of that can be credited to Mr. Blandford.
As a guest speaker in my Careers in Communication class, David introduced himself and his organization, then, most importantly, answered questions and engaged in rather insightful dialogue. As the course is geared toward careers in the field of communication, be that public relations, journalism, marketing, event planning, consulting, etc., etc., our discussion revolved around two main topics: skills and employer interests. It was amazing.
The main thing I pulled away from today’s meeting was: “There must be a way.” In today’s fast paced and often unforgiving world, there’s hardly time for every boss to find every problem, and every solution. In fact, if you leave all that work to your boss, you might not have one much longer. Every problem has a solution, every crisis has it’s “way.”
Problems and obstacles belong to everyone. We all have them. It’s how we face the crisis and act that set us apart. As I listened to David, I began comparing my own philosophies and ideas about problem solving with his. And I’m happy to report that I’ve made a regular habit of utilizing this very phrase. “There must be a way.”
This is the site. You’ve found it. It’s mostly Benjamin Cordy. It’s all awesome. More information always on the way – good stuff’s already here. Check out the bio page. There’s a résumé, personal information, and contact info.
