2014-15 Year In Review
It is hard to put into words just how much the 2014-2015 GrandPR staff was able to accomplish over the past nine months. It is astounding, really. We had the largest staff in firm history – a whopping 28 in fall and 26 in winter, served 7 client accounts, on top of the national accolades we received for our national affiliation and general kick-ass attitude. I can say that now, right? I mean, I’m like… retired? When do I get a painted portrait of myself in the hallowed halls of Lake Superior Hall?
As a student CEO, one of my main goals for this year was to offer engaging learning experiences for everyone on staff. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. I didn't want a single soul to walk away and think it was a waste of time. We were able to reroute some of our processes this year to ensure that at learning took place on all levels on the firm. Whether you were an Account Associate or the CEO – you learned something.
I encouraged the staff this year to think outside the box, push themselves, and to never use the excuse, “We can’t do that – we’re students.” Some thought I was dreaming too big, but I am happy to say that we rose to the occasion. I compiled this pretty little list of what we’ve accomplished so we can all glean in our successes (humbly, always humbly).
· 28 student professionals
· 7 client accounts
· National affiliation
· New website launch with upgraded features like online applications, portfolio and newsroom
· Recognition from PRSSA National in quarterly report, FORUM as Featured Firm
· Adopted official project management software for internal and client work
· Two internal news articles
· External media garnered for clients, including local media and radio interviews
· 3 external events held, reaching over 70 students in the GVSU community covering topics from personal branding to SEO to corporate communications
· #Hugs4Howard initiative
In all of these positives, there were, of course, some negatives. While I won’t go into detail about them, they each had their own unique set of challenges, lessons and takeaways. I can sincerely say that nothing happened this year, good or bad, that we did not learn from.
In closing, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to any of these lessons learned – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Don't forget to call!
Your 2014-2015 CEO, Daltyn Little
In the News
Daltyn Little, CEO | Daltyn is a senior at Grand Valley State University, sporting a major in Advertising and Public Relations paired with a language emphasis in Italian. Prior to her promotion to CEO, she served as an Account Associate and Account Executive for GrandPR during the 2013-14 school year. She has a passion for anything unique, colorful, and creative. She loves to explain, to describe, to host, and to write. She is generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in any situation. Her public relations passion resides in non-profits. Her top five strengths, according to the Clifton StrengthsFinder are Developer, Communication, Positivity, Includer, and Maximizer.