Title/Company: Marketing / Communications Manager, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
Years in FPRA: Eight
Favorite FPRA Event: “Fortunately….Image Awards (since I am transitioning into the FPRA board position to head up Image Awards)! I worked on the Image Awards committee for a couple years.”
Favorite Benefit of FPRA Membership: “The monthly meetings. A lot of my work is very ‘behind the scenes’ so the monthly breakfasts not only are terrific learning opportunities, but it’s nice to get out from behind my desk and talk to others in the profession.”
Explanation of your job: “If it’s in writing and comes from ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, I probably had something to do with it. In addition to PR, I write, edit or proofread (and sometimes all three) most of our marketing materials, including a monthly employee newsletter, a bimonthly wine publication, a (new) quarterly beer publication, our blog and Twitter (someone else handles Facebook)—including monitoring seven wine supervisors who officially tweet for ABC—substantive copy for several of our web pages and signs in our stores, in-store messaging (aka Muzak), radio ads…”
Exciting Achievement: “Just one? ‘Cause I do try to have them on a daily basis. They’re better than naps for getting you rejuvenated. That probably sounds flip, but for me, even small things qualify, because our lives are made of those moments….why not celebrate them? I’ll admit, though, that somewhere around the top of the list sit things like getting my first book published, getting interviewed by Channel 6 a couple of years ago about our cork recycling program, and even my job—when I started with ABC, we didn’t even have a marketing department, and I created my job. Graduating from law school counts, although it turned out I hated practicing law. See? Life is FULL of exciting achievements.”
Contact info: lorenas@abcfws.com; 407-851-0000 x 2541
Final thoughts? “Well, unless you want my philosophy of life, the universe, and everything, I’ll just go with this: if you’re putting off volunteering with FPRA (or anything else you want to do), stop. You have to be involved with your own life, because no one else is going to live it for you. At your retirement party, what do you want them to say about you? Now go out and be that person.”
PRoclaimer 