New PR Opps

Not sure if this portends a thawing in the jobs market, but I’ve come across a few communications opportunities of late. Feel free to pursue or pass on:

1) Korn Ferry is running a search for the VP of Corporate Communications at Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The position is based in Wilkes Barre and reports to the president/CEO. Contact Gregory Santore (gregory.santore@kornferry.com, 215-656-5331).

2) The Repovich Reynolds Group is leading two searches. One is for the VP of Communications, Marketplace at Western Union in Denver. The other is for a senior director of media relations, PR and financial communications at Avery Dennison in Pasadena, Calif. Contact (Ms.) Shellee Smith (shellee@trrg.com, 626-585-9455).

3) Bloom, Gross & Associates is leading a search for a director of internal communications at a Fortune 500 company (based in Dayton, Ohio). Contact Jocelyn Hecht (jhecht@bloomgross, 312-654-4556).

Much Hullabaloo About (Something)

My personal trainer is quite the lady. She’s also one of the most knowledgeable physical fitness gurus you’ll ever come across. Now in her early 60s, she’s in better shape than 99% of us.

It just so happens she’s also famous — or at least once was. Some still know her as the gorgeous teenage go-go dancer in the cage in the ’60s classic TV show, “Hullabaloo.” She also had some success on the big screen, even receiving top billing in the 1969 movie “Out of It,” opposite Jon Voight. She also appeared in “Love, American Style.”

Meet Lada Edmund Jr., once also known as the most famous stuntwoman on the planet. Her film credits doing stunts (following her brief acting career) include the famous flick, “Smokey and the Bandit.” In fact, during her acting career (and fitness training), she became quite good friends with Burt Reynolds and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

If you “Google” Lada, you’ll get a litany of entertainment accomplishments, including tribute films from fans nationally. On TV, she’s appeared on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and “Banacek.”

Today, she’s a top fitness trainer at the Odyssey Athletic Center in Waldwick, N.J. If you’re looking for a great trainer (and fascinating conversation), look her up. Odyssey’s number is 201-447-6565.

Fiscal vs. Monetary Policy

I’m no economist, but I find the current pursuit of policies designed to reverse our economic nosedive fascinating.  In supporting the PR efforts of Columbia Business School and editing various opinion pieces, I have found that the range of innovative ideas (particularly on the housing front) is broad and seemingly limitless.  But that fountain of ingenuity also makes the policy choices so complex. 

As Pres.-elect rolls out the parameters of his recovery program, I’m struck by the resulting debate on the merits of both monetary and fiscal policy.  To date, led by Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke, the focus has been on monetary policy as the government liquidity spigots are now wide open.  To be sure, there’s a lag in the effect of such moves.  Let’s hope that the resulting increase in the money supply also translates to an increase in money velocity (the average frequency with which money is spent) and more widely available credit.  We’re far from reaching the latter two objectives.

 In the wake of such monetary policies, we’re now seeing the Keynesian economists coming into vogue, pushing fiscal policy-driven initiatives (over monetary-based solutions), and the resulting government spend likely will be enormous. 

 Amid the economic debate, comparisons increasingly are being made to FDR’s efforts to reverse the banking crisis and spur economic activity during the early 1930s.   (Justin Fox of Time magazine notes, interestingly enough, that FDR followed a plan created by Hoover’s Treasury Secretary to solidify the banking system.  FDR simply had the courage to try something and looked for creative ideas wherever they resided, while Hoover struggled with analysis paralysis.)

 I’m a fan of the huge stimulus package being unveiled by Obama.  The situation is so dire, it commands grand action.  However, I’m struggling with how the impact of government spending (if focused on traditional infrastructure projects like roads and bridges) translates to today’s economy.  Obviously, today’s service-based economy is vastly different from the industrial-based economy that FDR faced.  That’s why the debate over not only how much the government spend will be, but also where and on what, is so interesting (and crucial).  Should it be on research, renewable energy, bridges, roads, national parks, education, IT (e.g., broadband), manufacturing, jobs training? 

The next few months will be fascinating to watch because our long-term economic health is in the balance.  At least I’m getting the sense that Obama (like Bush over the last few months) will follow FDR’s lead in being aggressive in at least trying a number of options to see what works.

Discovering PR Job Opps

A few folks in the network are circulating a new job posting at Discovery Networks International, which encompasses Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, among other TV properties.  The company is looking for a VP of International Communications (reporting to the SVP of Global Communications). 

The position serves as the chief spokesperson and is a senior member of the Global Communications and Corporate Affairs team.  The VP will be expected to provide communications counsel to senior divisional leadership, including President, COO, and regional Managing Directors, and will be responsible for developing and implementing communications strategies. 

 

The vice president is responsible for managing international media trades and overseeing coordination with local market communications to ensure consistency of messaging, strategic positioning and the overall corporate brand.  The position is based in Silver Spring, Md., and also includes oversight of international program publicity and talent management.

 

If interested, contact Michelle Russo, SVP of Global Communications, 240-662-2901 or michelle_russo@discovery.com.

 

 

The Real Illinois Loon

No, I’m not talking about embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The real loon seems to be his selection to fill Pres.-elect Obama’s vacated Senate seat, Roland Burris. Unfortunately, it looks like the Democratic leadership in the Senate is going to cave and allow Burris to actually be seated and serve as a U.S. senator, adding another level of lunacy to the legislative body charged with getting us out of this economic mess.

What kind of person erects his own granite mausoleum listing his life’s accomplishments?   Are you kidding me?  This 71-year-old knucklehead has built a monument to himself.  According to CNN.com, under the seal of the state of Illinois and the words “Trail Blazer,” Burris lists his “firsts” in granite, including being the state’s first African-American attorney general and the state’s first African-American comptroller.  Strangely, the memorial also notes that Burris was the first black exchange student to attend Hamburg University in Germany from Southern Illinois University in 1959.

What’s next?  Monopoly champion?  Trusted friend of the Elvis lookalike in the Illinois governor’s mansion?  Please stop this insanity.

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It’s all Relative

As we enter the new year, I’m embarrassed to say how little I know about many of my relatives. Given that my mother (a Mullaney) is one of what was once 12 siblings, while my father was one of seven, I think it’s understandable. With more than 50 first cousins, the family ties are far and wide — but, candidly, rather thin.

In particular, I have lost touch with many on my father’s side, given his death at 52 in 1977. However, I do have fond memories of that side of the family.  Recently, I was surprised to read about the rich life that my uncle, Paul Healy, lived before his death at age 85 on Nov. 21, 2008. While I remember his golf prowess and the Cape Cod golf course that he once owned (given the Healy family’s fanaticism with golf, which I share), I was shocked to read about Paul’s other interests in the Boston Globe obit on his death.

Like my father, Tom, who was a Marine in the Pacific Theater during World War II, Paul joined the Navy in 1942 and fought in the South Pacific. According to the Globe, he was assigned to a PT boat squadron with John F. Kennedy, who trained on Paul’s boat before getting his own command with the now-famous PT 109. Apparently, my uncle Paul and JFK became quite good friends and stayed in touch after the war (although I had never heard about the relationship).

The rest of the obit unveiled facets of my uncle’s life that reveal the background of a driven man who pursued his interests vigorously.

Like me, Paul graduated from Boston University. But that’s where the comparisons end. His first job was based in South America, where he was a plantation manager for United Fruit. He later was a sales manager with Budweiser, covering New England and New York. He then decided to open the “Chuck Wagon” restaurant in Harwich, Mass., on Cape Cod.

Then, the golf bug took hold. He sold the restaurant and bought Brewster Golf Course, a quaint nine-hole track that eventually was transformed by developers into the Ocean Edge Resort and golf course, one of the great resorts on the Cape. I still fondly remember my father and his brothers making themselves at home at and behind the bar after rounds of golf at the club (during the early ’70s), much to the consternation of the bartender.

While managing the Brewster course, Paul also decided to pursue his PGA teaching card. He eventually earned that card and began to teach the game to locals. In 1976, he sold the course and retired with his wife, Virginia, to Florida.

My career and life experiences to date seem so pedestrian vis-a-vis my uncle Paul’s, as well as my dad’s. The latter, Thomas F., saw major battles in the Pacific (including Okinawa) before embarking on a successful career as a commercial artist for major ad firms in Boston. These guys are certainly are a tough act to follow.