By Andrea Bils, Assistant Account Executive

I think we’re hung up on titles. In the work environment, everyone is assigned one – director, assistant, supervisor, etc. Sometimes, this title can be limiting.

I completely understand the necessity of establishing boundaries and authority in the office. In the interest of tasks and responsibilities, titles help facilitate production.

But the other day, as I was included in a meeting about Web site-content development for a client, I thought about the advantages of staff members with different backgrounds working together.

To my left was Clary’s chief creative officer and across from me were our graphic and interactive designers. I’ll eventually write Web copy for the site, so we all convened for a holistic approach to the massive undertaking before us. I felt like a fish out of water as I heard Internet jargon that was beyond my territory.

During the two-hour session, I listened and asked a lot of questions. I learned that my approach to the task would have been lacking the necessary input from creative, regarding the capabilities and scope of the site, and sometimes, our creative team valued my insights about the site layout from a copy perspective.

I have a better understanding of the types of questions that need to be asked when producing Web site copy, and I may have given my colleagues something to think about when selecting Web and design features for future projects.

As equally or more important, is the respect I gained for their day-to-day responsibilities.

Uniting associates of dissimilar backgrounds enhances work quality. I know that I’ll turn to my co-workers more often for advice and a fresh point of view. Titles can prevent communication, but only if you let them.

In the coming months, I hope to interact more with various members of our firm – and have a significant update about the Web site.

By Priscilla Powers, Assistant Account Executive

Some people question the importance of community service. Why take the time to help others? Does anyone ever really care? Is it really worth it?

Some would argue no but others, like myself, would say, “Yes, it’s really worth it!”

Wikipedia defines community service as an act by a person that benefits the local community. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

Honestly, community service is much more than giving back to the community - it’s making a difference in someone’s life.

The best example of community service that I can think of comes from the movie “Pay It Forward,” wherein students are given an intriguing assignment by their teacher: to think of a way to change the world and put it into action. One of the students, Trevor, comes up with the idea of paying a favor, not back but forward. This idea leads to a social change that spreads from city to city.

This is how community service should be - an act of kindness; not caring whether or not that kindness is returned, but only hope that that kindness is passed on.

I am currently involved in numerous community-service projects, one of which is Runners4Christ. This group started when a few friends got together and decided they wanted to give back to the community, but they really weren’t sure how to do it. One of the projects we started is called ARK: Acts of Random Kindness. ARKs come in all shapes and sizes, from serving food at a homeless shelter to paying for the person behind you at Starbucks to picking up trash at a park. Each month, we get together to do at least one project for the community, and so far it’s going great!

The staff at Clary also works hard to give back to the community. Each Clary associate donates their time and skills to organizations such as the American Red Cross of Central Ohio, Columbus Metropolitan Club, Columbus Rotary, The Nature Conservancy in Ohio, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and Leadership Columbus. The staff at Clary donates over 1,000 hours every year in pro-bono communications consulting work.

Each year, Clary adopts one organization as the beneficiary of its marketing and public relations expertise. This year, Clary adopted Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a non-profit organization that recruits, screens, trains and supports community volunteers to advocate in the best interest of abused and neglected children involved in court proceedings. CASA volunteers are appointed by the court to assist the juvenile court in determining what is in the best interest of the children who are victims of abuse or neglect.

Clary has been helping CASA raise awareness through a variety of marketing-communications strategies and tactics. The ultimate goal is to help CASA find and retain volunteers.

It is very gratifying to know that I work for a company that cares about the community and understands the importance of giving back as much as I do.

If you ever think to yourself “Man, I need to get more involved,” DO IT! Trust me, the end result is worth it.

By David Gilligan, Account Supervisor

The sun’s blinding-hot eye perched atop a whitewashed sky begins to droop and slide toward a weary red horizon. The lush green of summer gives way to the rich hues of fall and a new season for sports enthusiasts. And it couldn’t come soon enough.

As summer fades and autumn gently rises, my beloved Cincinnati Reds are once again sent home to lament another season of failure. Thankfully (yet regrettably), nearly a lifetime of frustration has conditioned me to expect this September mourning.

In addition to my low expectations for the Reds, the advent of a new season of sports helps me weather my summer of discontent. Bengals and Buckeye football and Blue Jackets hockey are here now to help me out of my pallid summer funk.

And unlike the Reds’ consistent (if not predictable) disappointment, my fall sports teams actually have a chance at winning seasons. The Blue Jackets went to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history last year and look to build on that momentum this season. The Bengals are widely regarded as a dark-horse team capable of beating perennial divisional powers in Pittsburgh and Baltimore (although I won’t hold my breath). And even though the Buckeyes’ kick-in-the-gut loss to USC likely knocked them out of national-championship contention, Ohio State devotedly wins the Big 10 almost every year.

Sports have always been a huge part of my life. Throughout childhood, my endless assortment of skinned knees and black eyes owed themselves to soccer, baseball, football, basketball, swimming and other organized sports to which my Mom shuttled my brothers and me. I distinctly recall a summer breeze roll through the garage as I “helped” my dad fix his car to the soundtrack of Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall calling Reds games on the radio. Cold winter Sundays were spent with hot chocolate and Boomer Esiason under center.

Looking back, I now know why sports have been such an influence on me. They are a reflection of life. Sports teach us how to cope with loss and to win with grace. They inspire us and reveal how life’s gifts are earned, not deserved.

However, with that in mind, I think my patience with the Reds has earned me a World Series, but I’ll settle for a .500 season.

By: Michael Iles, Graphic Designer

Professor Iles. Now, I like the sound of that…

Actually I’m an adjunct instructor and will probably go by Michael because some of my students could be as old as my parents. Either way, I’m excited.

In addition to my duties as lead designer here at Clary, I will be teaching Intro to Computer Design at Columbus State Community College this fall. It’s an intro into graphic design’s big three software programs: Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

I double majored in graphic design and art education in college, but things like disciplining students and their general lack of motivation steered me away from teaching junior high or high school. Now, I will be in an environment where the students are paying to be there and are hoping to make a career out of design. If that doesn’t make a difference in the motivation department, then I don’t know what will. And the threat of having to write one’s name on the board should certainly take care of the discipline…

Columbus State really has its act together. From what I have seen so far, the school makes a concerted effort to offer the students relevant and well-rounded instruction. Having been a graphic designer for over six years now, I think I’ll be a good fit. I really feel like I’ll not only be able to teach them the software, but also give them real-world advice and scenarios to help prepare them for a competitive job market. As I’m writing this, I’m getting more and more excited. I have the good fortune of doing what I love for a living, and the idea of helping other people achieve that same goal is pretty cool.

There’s one last thing. Apparently I look young, so friends and family have recommended I wear a tweed jacket with elbow patches and smoke a pipe. My wife wants me to get fake glasses. Seriously, she does. Take a look at my headshot on the staff page and let me know if you have any additional recommendations. And I shave every three days whether I need to or not, so facial hair is totally out of the question.

By: Denise L. Clark, Director, Client Services

Ethics is a hot topic this month, and not just because September is the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Ethics Month. Family Circle also featured an article titled, “How to Raise Ethical Teens.” If you use Google to search for “ethics, September 2009,” more results are returned than one can count!

To highlight Ethics Month, the most recent edition of PRSA’s publication, Public Relations Tactics, focuses on ethics. Various articles debate how public relations professionals can maintain professional ethics and do the right thing at work. However, the article about social media’s impact on ethics interested me the most. This article covered both the pros and cons of the issue.

W. Thomas Duke, Fellow, APR, believes social media affects public relations ethics negatively. One very important point of his argument is that, “Some organizations have even gone as far as creating front groups and sending false messages to support a particular organization or cause.” He states that social media reminds him of a practice called “pay to play,” when there is an intent to hide an exchange of value between a public relations professional and a journalist – i.e. money or something else of value is exchanged for a client’s news to be published or broadcast. He comments, “Bloggers are being hired to write favorable items about products or services in exchange for money or products.”

Ralph J. Davilla took the opposite viewpoint and believes that social media is just another tool in a savvy public relations practitioner’s toolbox. He reflects that most public relations professionals “take a vow to be ethical, honest and transparent in everything we do. This includes creating company and organizational channels.” He also discusses pay to play and how this is happening more frequently in even the mainstream media. He discusses how, “The drop in ad revenue among the media has caused them to allow, and even endorse, pay for play – permitting the editorial and sales departments to blur.” He predicts that this practice will help destroy traditional media.

Quite frankly, I don’t think social media affects the public relations profession negatively from an ethics point of view. Social media is just another opportunity for public relations practitioners to communicate and I believe that the same rules of ethics that apply to traditional media apply to social media. As Davilla pointed out, the same concerns about ethics in social media are already happening with traditional media.

In my mind, it is a matter of each public relations practitioner adhering to PRSA’s code of ethics – regardless of which method of communications he/she chooses to employ.