Member Spotlight - July 2016

MEET PRSA AUSTIN CHAPTER MEMBER: Michelle Hargis

What do you currently do for a living? I work with an amazing team that helps clients build businesses, change opinions and mobilize support for key causes. As a vice president and account manager for Cooksey Communications, a full-service strategic communications firm based in North Texas, I work with private and public sector clients to identify the right integrated communications solutions to help them achieve their desired outcomes. Then, I work with Cooksey’s internal team to ensure that these strategies are executed in a way that delivers meaningful and measurable results. In addition to serving clients, I also work with Cooksey’s young professionals to help them strengthen the foundation skills that will serve them throughout their careers. As well, I am working with Cooksey’s leadership team to help the firm leverage its statewide client relationships in order to expand its presence into Travis and Hays Counties.

What motivated you to pursue a career in communications? A large part of communications involves telling stories, and I love a great story. While attending Southern Methodist University (SMU), I realized that I had an instinct for finding interesting stories in unexpected places and decided to leverage this talent into a lifelong career. I also enjoy the process of creating strategies. It’s extremely satisfying when the pieces of a solid strategy come together to drive successful outcomes.

What was you first job in PR/communications? My first job in communications was an internship with FleishmanHillard in Dallas. The account executives and managers showed me the practical application of public relations in a way that could never be achieved in the classroom. As an intern, I learned how to use a media contact database and media monitoring services, create client briefing books and develop monthly clip reports. I also learned about the importance of targeting specific stories to individual reporters. I firmly believe that the hands-on experience I gained during this internship made me more marketable than my peers, and I still credit it as the reason that I was able to find a position almost immediately after college graduation. For this reason, I passionately advise college students who are interested in public relations is to participate in an internship as early as possible and to keep serving as an intern for as long as they can.

Where are you from? Where have you lived? I am extremely proud to be a native Texan! I was born and raised in San Antonio, then moved to Dallas to pursue a bachelor’s degree at SMU. Rewarding career opportunities kept me in the North Texas region for more than fifteen years, until I married the love of my life, Jeff Hargis. His career took us briefly to Salt Lake City, Utah, and now we’re back in our home state and have planted our roots just south of Austin.

How has PRSA Austin contributed to your development as a public relations professional? PRSA Austin helps its members identify and adjust to the industry trends that impact careers and businesses. There is little doubt that the PR industry is currently at a crossroads. Declining ad revenue has resulted in leaner newsrooms and less editorial space, which makes it more challenging than ever to get stories covered in traditional media outlets. At the same time, the rise of social media and increased demand for digital news is creating an environment in which we have more options than ever to control client messages. Over the coming years, public relations professionals will be asking serious questions about the use of branded or sponsored content, social media and new technology. As well, we will be faced with serious ethical questions as citizen journalism becomes more prevalent. PRSA members will continue looking to our local chapters and the national organization to lead discussions and provide resources so that we can thrive in this new media environment.

What is your most memorable experience as a PRSA member? When I first began my career, interacting with the media was intimidating because there seemed to be so many rules for working with them. My local PRSA chapter hosted a media “speed dating” style event that allowed members to interact with participating reporters in small groups. This event was memorable because it removed the mystique surrounding these reporters and humanized the person at the other end of the phone or email. As I broadened my skills and elevated my role at Cooksey Communications, I’ve maintained friendly relationships with several of the reporters who participated in this event.

What are one or two main reasons you’ve continued to renew your PRSA membership every year? PRSA has provided a great deal of value to me throughout my career. I enjoy interacting with the members during the luncheons and breakfast events – especially since I currently work from my home office in Kyle and view these events as my social time. Access to resources from national communications experts is an added bonus.

Fill in the blank: My favorite thing about PRSA Austin: is the Master Class breakfast events. The setting is intimate and allows participants to feel like they are part of the discussion. Interesting speakers who are involved in various projects that are transforming the Austin area have also grabbed my attention.