End of the year and the decade

Wow, 2009 went by quick, same thing for the 00s. I am in a reflective mood today being the end of the year and the decade. As a rule I don't make resolutions, more on that a little later.

The 00s were not the nicest decade for me. I started off in loyalty marketing at Carlson Marketing at the beginning and now I am at the other end ten years older, wiser and ready for the next chapter of my life.

I tried new things, some didn't work for me like my career in sales. While at Servco I realized I was great at communicating to a wide variety of different audiences. Calling on Home Depot and Rona took their toll on me and I was ready for a change. The smartest decision I made was enrolling in the Public Relations certificate program from Ryerson University.

The toughest thing this decade was saying goodbye to my dad in 2005, his cancer was so fast in spreading, he really did not have much of a chance. In way I also have that PR certificate to thank in keeping my attention focused for the remainder of that year. I miss dad terribly to this day, especially heading up skiing with him, his sense of humour and wisdom.

I have two things I am really proud of, founding the Oakville Camera Club with my friend Kieley Kitagawa taking it from 24 members in 2006 to over a hundred at the end of this year. The OCC is an established itself as a member of the Oakville arts community, hosts successful Capture Oakville competition and gala, and built the reputation of not being like other camera clubs in the region.

My first PR job I got work on was the Be Tire Smart community relations pilot project in 2008 with the Rubber Association of Canada. I took an idea with an initial plan, made some changes due to time constraints and the Green machine hit the road with the key message of regularly checking and maintaining your vehicle tire's air pressure to owner's manual specifications. I got work with a great team at the RAC, their PR agency Xposure and the two PR Interns Lindsay Fedchyshyn and Ken MacDonald.

So, what's next? I don't make New Year's resolutions. I already started running this past Summer and I am taking that up again in the spring, switched to circuit training a week ago and will carry that on going forward. When I make changes to my life I rather do them in September or before Christmas, it has a better chance of sticking.

The ongoing big project is the job hunt and in 2010 I am going to land at the right place. I am looking for the right employer, I have been doing a lot of information interviews this past year and I realize what I am after is the holy grail, the transparent organization. You know the one, where people are engaged, happy, the mission statement has substance with everyone from the intern to the CEO and everyone believes in the brand. I want to work at place like that.

In saying goodbye to 2009 and kicking the 00s out to the curb, have a safe happy new year and have an exciting decade.