Maryville, Tenn. — Mary Beth West Consulting, LLC, a public relations and reputation management firm in Maryville, Tenn., won “Best in Show” and multiple top honors at the annual awards dinner of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Volunteer Chapter on May 12 at Hunter Valley Farm.

The event also honored Kevin Painter of LeConte Wealth Management with the Community Service Award, which recognizes an individual or organization who has used public relations practices to improve the quality of life within East Tennessee communities.

The agency won “Best in Show” for the 2010 holiday media relations campaign for Dandy Lions as well as 10 “Award of Excellence” honors in the following categories:

• Public Service: Blount Education Initiative
• Media Relations: Dandy Lions 2010 Holiday Campaign
• Public Affairs/Government: Expanding Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Scientific User Community
• Marketing Consumer Products: Rainscapes
• Marketing Consumer Services (Financial): LeConte Wealth Management
• Marketing Business-to-Business: Interactive Springboard 2010 Launch Campaign
• Writing (Column): LeConte Wealth Management “Purpose-Built Portfolio”
• Collaterals (Direct Mail): Rainscapes 2010 Direct Mail Campaign
• Website (Professional Service): Rainscapes website
• Blogs: Mary Beth West Consulting “In the Profession” Blog

Joe Bogardus, Mary Beth West, Amy Schwinge, Mallorie Mendence and Tyra Haag following the V Awards ceremony.

Interactive Springboard – a collaboration between Mary Beth West Consulting and Knoxville-based Blue Media Boutique – shared top honors for the newly redesigned Avistelé website; Avistelé Lifestyle Communities is managed by Knoxville-based RenaissancePG.

 “I’m so appreciative of the clients we’ve been privileged to serve,” said agency principal Mary Beth West. “Throughout my career, I’ve held tremendous respect for the public relations profession; my team is honored with the overwhelming response by our colleagues to recognize the work we so highly value.”

Painter – a graduate of Maryville High School and co-founder of LeConte Wealth Management– was  honored with the Community Service Award.

“Kevin has been a client for three years and a dear friend for many years longer,” said West. “Of all the colleagues I have in my age cohort in the local community, I can think of no one who takes on more community service efforts to support the non-profit, social service and arts sectors than Kevin.” 

Established in 2003 and located in the Law Building in downtown Maryville, Mary Beth West Consulting works with clients to advance their communications, relationships and reputations to meet business objectives. 

The firm’s services include integrated brand marketing communications strategies and campaigns; media, community and employee relations programs; social and interactive media strategies and program management; crisis preparedness; and special events.

By Mallorie Mendence

I learned early in life that you cannot always learn everything in a classroom, especially when it comes to one’s chosen profession. Sometimes the only way to learn is to go out and get work experience.

That is exactly what I did when I took on several internships in college.  My main focus for completing these internships was to get experience and determine if I was best-suited for agency work or corporate public relations. At the time, I did not realize that agency public relations and corporate public relations were really that different. 

I did my first internship at Mary Beth West Consulting and quickly learned that the world of agency PR is fast-paced and requires one to do a bit of a juggling act to complete work for multiple clients. In an one-hour time span, I was working on fundraising for one client, writing a news release for a non-profit client and then transitioning into event planning for yet another client.  On top of these tasks, I could not forget to track my work time to be billable to the appropriate client. 

For a new intern with not a lot of PR experience outside of the classroom, my internship experience at Mary Beth West Consulting was invaluable.  I learned that I really did enjoy the agency world and knew that I could thrive in that type of environment.

After finishing the agency internship, I moved to my next internship at a private school near the college I attended.  Fresh off my fast-paced agency work environment, I quickly realized that there was a lot more time to work on projects at the private school.  Further, I was doing photography and some graphic design, which was different from my agency experience.  I was still writing news releases and doing event planning, but it was different than the agency work.  I did not have to track every minute of my day, and I was able to focus on one client as opposed to several. 

It was during my corporate internship experience that I decided I enjoyed both the agency and corporate PR environments and could really work in either.  However, that is not always true for everyone.

Since I am in charge of our internship program at MBWC, I always encourage our interns to do both an agency and corporate PR internship.  What is an ideal work environment for one intern might not be for the next.  All public relations college students should do an internship to apply what they have learned in the classroom and to learn a few lessons that only work experience can teach you.

For anybody, stepping outside of a comfort zone is one of the toughest challenges that people face.  For college graduates like me, stepping out of a comfort zone is dreaded, but inevitable, as we finish our last days of classes and enter the scary world called the workforce.  

Before working at Mary Beth West Consulting, I had little to no “real world” experience.  I am a public relations major, but everything that I had done in the past was in the classroom under the careful watch of my professor.  In fact, before working here, the only “work” I had done was that of a student-athlete, which consisted of me constantly training for my sport.  Unfortunately, I did not have much time to network and get interview experience as I would have liked. 

Needless to say, I was very excited but very nervous when it was time for me to start this job.  Looking back, I could not have predicted just how much this internship has helped me.

I first heard about this internship opportunity through a friend who had worked here previously.  She was consistently informing me of the great work experience and atmosphere that Mary Beth West provided for her; needless to say, she was right.

When I was accepted to be the new intern, Mallorie Mendence, the internship coordinator, kept in full contact with me, sending me information that I would need to know about our clients.  She also made it clear that she was available for any questions that I had and immediately noted that she had full confidence in my ability to be a successful intern. 

When my first day approached, there was no hesitation in putting me right to work.  I was informed later that I arrived during a very busy week, but I appreciated how they treated me as part of their team from the first day.  I also appreciated how the entire staff was willing to help me build my portfolio as they would pass down assignments they knew would benefit my portfolio.  Four months later, I have more confidence, better writing skills, a greater understanding of the world of PR and a portfolio that has grown tremendously.

As my time here has come to a close, I would not change my experience for anything in the world.  Mary Beth West Consulting has given me the confidence I needed and has guided me to the right path toward becoming a successful young professional.  It has allowed me to take on new challenges and tasks and be successful.  

I know leaving here I have not only gained great contacts but also friends who are willing to help me whenever I need it.  It was not until working here that I realized how important it is for college students to take an internship position.  Internships without a doubt help better the transition from being a student to becoming a young professional.  Thank you Mary Beth West Consulting; I hope to see you in the future!

The event also honored Mallorie Mendence – senior account service coordinator at Mary Beth West Consulting and a Maryville native – with the PRSA Rising Young Professional Award, which recognizes an outstanding public relations professional in East Tennessee who has worked for six years or less in the field.

The agency won public relations campaign “Award of Excellence” honors in the public service category for its Blount Education Initiative Public Awareness Campaign and in the marketing consumer services—financial category for its LeConte Wealth Management Marketing Campaign.

The firm’s work producing strategic communications tools also received “Award of Excellence” honors in five areas:  non-profit media relations for the Blount Education Initiative; consumer services media relations for LeConte Wealth Management; media kit development in the service category for Todd Richesin Interiors; press conference implementation for the Blount Education Initiative; and external web site development for Blount Education Initiative.

The web site award was shared by the agency with Knoxville-based interactive firm Blue Media Boutique, which together with Mary Beth West Consulting launched Interactive Springboard in early 2010 to formalize the firms’ collaboration in online and social media strategy research, reputation management and measurement. 

In addition, Mary Beth West Consulting won four “Award of Quality” honors for several news releases and media relations campaigns.

“For me, one of the most rewarding parts of managing this firm has been building a team of professionals who share high values for producing great work that meets clients’ business objectives and also serving the public in meaningful ways,” said agency principal Mary Beth West.  “I’m proud of my team, and I’m also appreciative of the clients we’ve been privileged to serve.”

Mendence – a graduate of Maryville High School – joined Mary Beth West Consulting in December 2007, following her graduation with honors from Berry College in Rome, Ga., with a degree in public relations, as well as completion of a summer internship with Mary Beth West and other practicum experience. 

In her position with the firm, Mendence works with the account team to coordinate campaigns for agency clients.  She serves on the board of directors of Maryville City Schools Foundation and is a past board member of the Community Food Connection. 

Established in 2003 and located in the Law Building in downtown Maryville, Mary Beth West Consulting works with clients to advance their communications, relationships and reputations to meet business objectives. 

The firm’s services include integrated brand marketing communications strategies and campaigns; media, community and employee relations programs; social and interactive media strategies and program management; crisis preparedness; and special events.

Mendence – a Blount County native and graduate of Maryville High School – joined Mary Beth West in December 2007, following her graduation with honors from Berry College in Rome, Ga., with a degree in public relations, as well as completion of a summer internship with Mary Beth West and other practicum experience. 

In her position with the firm, Mendence works with the account team to coordinate campaigns for agency clients, such as Blount Education Initiative and Dominion Virginia Power.  Mendence has previously served on the board of the Community Food Connection of Blount County and currently serves on the board of the Maryville City Schools Foundation.  She is an associate member of the Public Relations Society of America / Volunteer Chapter.

“Mallorie brings qualities to her work that every young professional in public relations should aspire to, including a focus on ethics and understanding how to manage the process of real relationship-building,” West said.  “She has made many valuable contributions to our team.” 

Mendence received several recognitions while at Berry College, graduating cum laude and making the academic Dean’s list for four semesters. Other honors included being named to the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges and being selected to Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society.

Mendence lives in Maryville with her husband, Eddie, who teaches English at Maryville High School. 

Established in 2003 and located in the Law Building in downtown Maryville, Mary Beth West Consulting works with clients to advance their communications, relationships and reputations to meet business objectives.  The firm’s services include integrated brand marketing communications strategies and campaigns; media, community and employee relations programs; social and interactive media strategies and program management; crisis preparedness; and special events.

Starting your first job is a scary experience, and realizing what comes with the new position can be overwhelming for many.  One expectation that I did not have entering my new position was to join a non-profit board right after being hired.  I was not pressured into volunteering for the board; instead, I actually thought it would be beneficial to me as I continued to hone my PR skills. 

That thought turned out to be an understatement.  Joining the non-profit board gave me the opportunity to use my PR skills, meet new people and learn more about the community in which I live and work.  I recommend to any new PR professional not to think of volunteering for a non-profit board as part of your job, but rather as an opportunity to better yourself and your craft.  The experience on a board can be a nice addition to any resumé, and materials created while working on a board can be added to strengthen a portfolio.

The experience that I received as a member of a non-profit board was so valuable that I recently joined another non-profit board. After two years of service, I can say that I was able to work on tasks and projects that I would not have had an opportunity to manage at my job.  The experiences have enabled me to develop my skills, build new relationships and serve the community. I have found giving back to my community has been very rewarding for both my career and my personal life.  Any new PR professional eager to grow and develop his or her skills should consider joining a non-profit board as a good first step that will lead to many more.