Thanks on Thanksgiving

As we take stock of our blessings during Thanksgiving week 2016, Jon and I have much to be grateful for. Our health is mostly good, notwithstanding a few aches and pains. Our wives continue to put up with us. Both the Mets and Orioles made the playoffs. Our kids are nice people. Bruce’s tour stopped not far away and my golf index dipped (ever so briefly) into single digits. We still have most of our hair and teeth, and Richmond has a new mayor who is going to get us a new ballpark. (He is, right?)

On a professional front, the agency had another good year, and generally speaking, it’s a good time to be in public relations in the RVA. Here’s what we are especially thankful for:

Clients. That’s a no brainer. Without clients, we’d likely have a tough time making payroll, conference calls would be pretty lonely and our white boards would be mostly just white. We especially appreciate clients who bring out the best in us – who trust our ideas and experience, who give us room to innovate and experiment, who give us room to laugh at ourselves after the occasional hiccup. We love those clients, even if we don’t tell them enough.

Social Platforms. Thanks to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and the other social platforms that have given us new stages for storytelling. We were founded as a media relations shop, something we’re still pretty good at, but our migration into content management and the Earned, Owned, Paid model has reshaped our agency and given us new ways to help our clients attract and retain business. Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and whoever those other really rich guys are who invented those other platforms. We owe you one.

Local Media. We still love the media, in particular local media outlets – the great reporters and editorial writers at The Richmond Times-Dispatch who we count on time and time again to tell our clients’ stories. Invariably, they get it right and remind us what professional journalism looks like. And now that our paper delivery guy has found our front step each morning, we’re especially big fans.

PR Crutches. What did we do before we had so many resources at our fingertips? We’re thankful for spellcheck and the synonym feature in Word. I used to work with a young woman on Capitol Hill – where we all worked in one big back office – who used to yell to the rest of us, “Hey, everybody, what’s another word for ‘lascivious?’” (I think she was writing a letter to her mom.) The synonym function is much better. Then there is the AP Style Guide, and The Elements of Style and Quotations.com and so much else that is just a few clicks away. Thanks, technology.

PRSA. The local chapter of PRSA holds our profession to a high standard and gives us much to help us be our best month in and out. We’re thankful for their programs, the new doors they unlock and the general sense of connectedness they bring to the PR community in Central Virginia.

Colleagues. This may be another example of “burying the lead,” but Jon and I are so, so grateful that so many talented people have seen fit to walk through our doors every morning and join us in our daily commitment to exceed our clients’ expectations, to tell stories that can kick start action, to deliver new ideas and valuable insights, to treat our clients’ challenges as if they were our own. And through all that, to find enough moments in the day to laugh and enjoy the fun that can come with a shared sense of accomplishment. For all of you Hodgers, we are very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.