Interviewing a PR Pro

I am a student at Oklahoma State University majoring in public relations.  In one of my classes this semester we had an assignment to interview a PR professional. I am an intern at OKC All Sports Association, so I choose to interview Kati O'Kelley, she holds the public relations position at All Sports.  I got some great tips and advice from her and wanted to share it with everyone else. 

Kati O’Kelley is a new hire at The Oklahoma City All Sports Association.  She is a 2008 graduate from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in public relations.  She hired on at All Sports in the Special Events and Public Relations position.  I met Kati at All Sports, which is also where we did our interview.  I am an intern there and Kati is my mentor.

A typical week for Kati at All Sports is never the same.  Because All Sports is a non-profit organization set up to sponsor sporting events, all schedules work around the upcoming events.  The next event that Kati is working on is Dribble for Dollars.  This event is coming up on Oct. 4.  This past week she worked on making an information sheet and flyer for the media and participants of Dribble for Dollars.  She has also been making lots of phone calls for donations and answering questions for people that are participating in the event.  On Thursday of last week Kati did a drive thru of the locations the event would be at to see what all was needed to get set up and see how much space was available.

The project that Kati is most proud of is Dribble for Dollars.  Because Kati has been employed for about a month this is her first project with the organization.  She did say however, that she has really enjoyed getting to jump right in and work on a major project.

To keep current in the public relations industry Kati makes sure she knows the newest technology being used and makes sure she knows what is going on the sports world.  She is also a member of the Public Relations Society of America OKC and New Pros in PRSA.  She said that these organizations help to her to stay up to date on what is going on it the OKC area.

The most important thing Kati wishes she would have know about public relations before she started her career was how important writing was.  She said she had a basic grasp on writing and AP knowledge but did not realize how much she would really use it or how important it would be.  She also said on a smaller scale she wishes she would have had some background in Indesign work prior to getting her position at All Sports.  The three tips she would offer to someone just starting off in the public relations industry would be: do not be shy, have good writing skills and do not burn any bridges.  She said that not being shy and burning bridges flow together because you need to stay in contact with people that you meet at all levels.  And give all people respect no matter what positions they hold because at some point in your life you could be working with them.

Because Kati is in the public relations position at All Sports, I asked her what the organization would do if they encountered a crisis.  She said that the best thing for them to do would be to stay calm and get all the facts before they reacted incorrectly.  They would want to let everyone know what is going on, but they want to make sure they have the facts straight before they start telling people the information.

After talking to Kati I realized I am still excited to be entering into the public relations industry.  In her day-to-day work she gets to work with all types of people, and she gets to plan all sorts of events.  She never has a typical day, which means things never get to boring.  Her answers were what I expected from someone working in the public relations industry, but it was good to hear all her advice and know that I am still on the right track in my career path.