On Friday, this blog turns a year old.
Seriously, what a year it has been. I had a list of goals when I started, and I can humbly say I surpassed all of them and achieved way more than I ever thought possible. I started out on Twitter in Oct. 2008, and the people I met along the way deserve a lot of the kudos to.
So, on to the recognition…..
First: David Mullen and Arik Hanson. Without them, this blog wouldn’t exist. Period. I think I even got in a fight with Arik one day about “Why should I start a blog, lots of great people/thoughts already out there, I’m not established, yada yada yada….” They both spoke with me daily asking if I still planned to start blogging on Jan. 1. They have mentored me through this process and shaped the type of blogger I am and continue to strive to be. D Mullen even changed the scope of my blog by stating “Lauren, I love ya, but your posts are too damn long.”
My community: You guys rock, hands down. I have never had my head hurt in such a good way before because of all the thoughts you cause. We think outside the box, we laugh, we push each other past the limit. I’ve learned more from you guys than any book I could pick up.
David Spinks: Hands down I can call him a close friend and like a brother to me. I mean, have you seen how we pick on each other? My #u30pro partner in crime, he pushes me past the limit daily. Our brainstorming sessions have spawned many of my posts. I couldn’t ask for a better person to run our young professional initiatives. Come on, if someone can handle my crazy ideas, he has to be awesome.
Chevis English and Katie Wall: My regular contributors, for putting up with all of my ideas and series when it comes to this blog. I am truly happy to have brought them on board, and I can’t wait to see what we do in 2010. Without them – yeah, this blog wouldn’t have as much clout.
Beth Harte: The best compliment I ever received was from Beth – she told me, “I wish I was as smart as you when I was your age.” I think she was lying, but that didn’t stop me from printing out her tweet and posting it on my wall. I circled it and wrote “Live up to that NOW.” Beth gave me the opportunity to be a regular contributor to MarketingProfs, and from a mentor standpoint? I couldn’t ask for a better one.
Laura Kwedar: As one of my best friends locally, this girl rocks. She’s there when I’m upset, when I’m laughing, when I want to pull my hair out. At the end of the day, it’s these types of folks that you want in your corner. She was the first person I met in Ft. Worth PRSA, and my twin.
Rachel Kay, Laura Vargas, Amber Naslund, Shonali Burke, Valeria Maltoni: I strive to be like these women every single day. They are there to talk to me, recognize my efforts and make me think. Rockstar doesn’t even cover it. Did I mention that they are probably the nicest (and yes, sometimes snarky) bunch I know?
Richie Escovedo: Richie gave me my first leadership opportunity in PRSA. He was there to mentor, to answer e-mails, and exuded a lot of patience with me. If you know me, that takes a lot of skill and practice.
Stuart Foster: The most blunt friend I have. He’s there to tell me when my design sucks, when my content rocks, and yeah, you get the picture. He drives me daily to think outside the box and push myself past the goals I’ve set. Not to make his ego any bigger, but come on, I wrote a blog post about how I wish I could be like him. Great guy with a brilliant mind, and you can only benefit from knowing him.
Amy Mengel, Kellye Crane and Jennifer Wilbur: Quite possibly my favorite ladies of all time. They are there to chat, laugh, discuss any type of topic concerning PR and social media, and even created an LAF fan club. I can say, again, that many of my ideas have sparked from them.
Carla Blumenthal: She doesn’t know this, but Carla wrote a blog post awhile back about the ‘woman issue’ from a young pro perspective. Awesome. That topic made me strive to be a think a lot more about women issues. Carla is smart, savvy and a whole lot of other adjectives I can’t fit in here. Bright doesn’t even seem to cover it.
Dave Folkens, Kasey Skala, Sonny Gill, Chuck Hemann, Jason Sprenger, Danny Brown, Matt Cheuvront and Mike Schaeffer: My Man Squad. There is really no other way to put it. They are there when I need to bounce ideas, complain or just a laugh. Many have given me opportunities to post on their blogs. Thanks, gents!
Christina Khoury and Chris Illuminati: When I’m feeling blue, these two are there to make me laugh like no other. I sometimes need that creative burst of energy, and I can think of nothing better than a laugh to get my mind going.
And finally…. my dad. Without him, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Papi: Sin su amor, negociaciones y direccion, no seria quien soy hoy. Usted me crio con los mismos principios a que el abuelito le enseno. Soy diario orgulloso a decir que usted es mi abuelito. Te amo.
