Fughedaboutit

If I told you  “I got to get back in shape.  Got to go lift weights,” you would think I was going to the gym to work out.  If I said I was chased you might ask by who or where.  If I said I had been burned you may express sympathy and ask me if it hurt.

If I said, “That babbo has a parakeet down in Pepsi Cola,” would you think I was thirsty and waned an ice cold Pepsi?

What if I asked you what the vig is?  Or told you what the nut was?

The mafia fascinates me. I love reading about it and how the FBI has been fighting the mob over the last couple decades.  My favorite story is about FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone, aka, Donnie Brasco.  The character of Donnie Brasco was made famous first by a book about Pistone’s undercover work and then by a movie featuring Johnnie Depp as Donnie Brasco.

Pistone spent six years undercover living with and associating with the mafia.  He gathered intelligence and evidence that helped the FBI send more than 100 gangsters to prison.

In one of Pistone’s books he explains what wiseguys say and what they mean.

When a wiseguy says, “I got to get back in shape.  Got to go lift weights.” It mans he’s going to prison.  When he says,  “That babbo has a parakeet down in Pepsi Cola,” he means some useless underling has a mistress down in Pensacola.  If a mafia member is chased it means he’s been banished from the mafia.  If he’s been burned he’s been wacked (killed).

A “Vig” or Vigorish refers to the interest accrued on mob loans.  If a mobster references the nut he’s talking about the bottom line or gross profit.

I bring this up because each industry has its own set of words that mean something to those involved in that industry but may mean nothing or something totally different outside the context of your work environment.

When we meet with our clients and do what we call media training we explain to them the importance of speaking and using terms or words that are familiar to people and not just a particular industry.  We encourage them to refrain from using industry jargon, catch phrases or terminology that somebody outside the industry is not going to understand.  Keep it as simple as possible and don’t expect or assume that everybody knows exactly what some of these words mean.

Fughedaboutit, by eliminating these types of instances, you’ll ensure that people understand what you’re telling them and eliminate any chances of being misunderstood or not understood at all.

I originally wrote this blog post for the Snapp Conner PR Website.  It was published on May 16, 2012.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

The Mitt I Know: Cloudy With A Chance Of…Brilliance

In my last blog entry, I told the story about Mitt and his performance at two press conferences explaining and handling the collapse of he Olympic Speedskating Oval’s roof.  In a later press conference to announce the Olympic Weather Forecasting team Mitt amazed me again

I oversaw the Weather Forecasting function for our PR department and for this announcement, I was in charge of organizing the press conference.  I did all the usual things, including booking the venue for the press conference, coordinating with the key participants and drafting the press release announcing the team.

In a side note, I’ve always thought it would be cool to be a Weather person.  I mean, come on, where else can you be wrong more than half the time and still have people keep coming back to hear what you have to say?

In drafting the press release, I made up a quote for Mitt.  This was not an unusual occurrence as we regularly did this.  We would always run it past Mitt for approval so he could edit or change it to his liking but many times we would simply draft a quote for him and others that were quoted in press releases.

For this release, Mitt didn’t have a chance to review or see it prior to the press conference so I scheduled some time with his assistance, Donna Tillery to sit down with him prior to the press conference to let him see and approve the quote and review key details of the announcement and press conference.

As I arrived at his office for our meeting he was conducting another meeting.  He saw me arrive, smiled and kept going with his meeting.  I sat and waited and became more and more nervous as we got closer and closer to the press conference start time.  I new Mitt well enough at this point to know that he undoubtedly knew more about the Weather Forecasting team and function than I did but I wanted to make sure he had a chance to review the press release and answer any last minute questions he might have.

With about 3 minutes before the start of the press conference Mitt ended his meeting.  He walked out of his office, said hi and kept walking to the Atrium where we were conducting the press conference.  From Mitt’s office to the Atrium it was maybe 100 yards and at the rate Mitt always speed walks would only take Mitt about 15 seconds to reach the Atrium.

As I hurried to keep pace with Mitt, I handed him the press release.  He said thank you, looked at it and almost immediately handed it back to me.  As he asked if all the key participants and team members were already in the Atrium, I said yes while thinking to myself, “At least read the release.”

By this point we reached the Atrium and Mitt walked up and started the press conference.  As he spoke, I was standing off to the side listening when he talked about the Weather Forecasting team and said word-for-word the quote I had made up for him.  My jaw about hit the ground.  I know he had never seen the release until I handed it to him and I have no idea how he read it so quickly.  Like I said, when he handed it back to me I was thinking to myself, “Thanks for reading that.”  Nevertheless, he quoted it word-for-word and continued on with the press conference, introduced the Weather Forecasting team and answered questions about the importance of the team and their role during the Games.

I walked away from that press conference convinced that Mitt is simply brilliant and very well may be a genius.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

I Don’t Have To Like You, I Just Have To Be Nice

Several years ago my brother-in-law made an interesting comment about a potential new in-law.  His comment rang very true in the context of the family setting we were in, but I believe it makes as much sense and is as applicable to a work environment as well.

He said, “Just because my sister marries somebody doesn’t mean I have to like that person.  I do however have to be nice and find a way to get along.”  He continued by saying, “If we become friends and like each other and choose to socialize together then that’s just an added bonus.”

As I said, he was referring to a family scenario, but I believe the same concept can be applied to a work relationship.  We may not always have a choice or a say in who we work with, but we do need to find a way to get along.

I’m a huge sports fan and have always loved basketball, especially the NBA.  One of my all time favorite players is Larry Bird.  I loved the way he played and how hard he worked to make the most of his abilities.  During the ‘80’s I always rooted for Bird’s Celtics as they seemed to face the Los Angeles Lakers every year for the NBA Championship.

I was young at the time but felt the Lakers always had the better talent but that Bird and his Celtics played better as a team, which enabled them to win three championships on the ‘80’s.  Little did I know that Bird and Kevin McHale didn’t like each other very much.  Bird was driven, highly competitive and practiced his craft relentlessly.  McHale was laid back, working hard during the season but rarely touching a basketball during the offseason.

The differences in personalities caused some friction and tension in the locker room, but in Peter May’s Book entitled The Big Three, the author quotes McHale after one of many disagreements with Bird as saying, “I’ve only developed a few tight, long-lasting relationships in basketball with people I’ve played with, and I don’t know why that is.  Danny (Ainge), Jerry (Sichting), Bill (Walton).  And there were guys I loved playing with.  You work in the office with people, but does that mean you have to invite them over every weekend?  But one of the things I can say about Larry and Robert is that we never had an argument that lasted.  And if we ever yelled at one another, it was all over the next day. Nothing ever lasted.”

This quote reminds me of my brother-in-laws quote I referenced earlier.  While Bird and McHale

The third member of Boston’s Big Three was Center Robert Parrish.  Parrish managed to stay fairly neutral in the Bird-McHale rift.  His only concern was winning.  Indeed all three were focused on winning despite their personal feelings for each other.

Individually they all enjoyed success.  Bird was the biggest star of the three, averaging 24.3 points and 10 rebounds a game over his career.  He was a Rookie of the year, three time NBA MVP, scored more than 21,000 points, was a 10 time NBA All-Star a member of the first Olympic Dream team and gold medal winner and a 1998 Hall of Fame Inductee.

Kevin McHale averaged more than 17 points and 7 rebounds a game over 12 NBA seasons.  He was a 7 time NBA All-Star and a 1999 Hall of Fame inductee.

Robert Parrish played 20 NBA seasons averaging more than 14 points and 9 rebounds a game.  He was a nine time NBA All-Star and a 2003 hall of fame inductee.

All very impressive, however, despite not getting along personally, the three were able to put their differences aside while on the court and combined, won three NBA Championships, made 42 playoff appearances and scored more than 62,000 points.

Think what your teams could accomplish if they could follow this example and put differences aside.  Too often people focus on personal problems and allow those issues to cloud and get on the way off achieving ultimate success.  If you take the approach that just because you work together doesn’t mean you have to like each other and focus on taking care of business you’ll find that you can achieve great things regardless of personal feelings for one another.

I originally wrote this article for the Snapp Conner PR Website.  It appeared on that site on August 17, 2011.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Kyle Korver, More than Just A Pretty Face, Ladies

This year my nine-year-old son decided he wanted to try out for a competition soccer team.  No big whoop, but he made the team.  He’s kind of a big deal.

We recently had our first team meeting and each player was asked to pick out their number for their new uniforms.  My son picked number 23 because it was Michael Jordan’s number.  After he made his selection he asked if he could change it to number 26, after his favorite player, Kyle Korver.

Korver played for the Utah Jazz for a couple seasons and became my son’s favorite player.  Since leaving, he has remained my son’s favorite player.

I recently wrote about Paul Pierce and told the story about him inviting a young fan out onto the floor while he was warming up.  This story reminded me of another story involving my son and Kyle Korver.

Two seasons ago, my son was playing Jr. Jazz basketball and he wore Korver’s number 26.  Each season the Utah Jazz provides tickets to Jr. Jazz players to come and watch a game.  Each season, I arrange with my boss at the Jazz to take my son to the game and to bring him down on the court before the game starts. I also happen to know the Jazz’s photographer so I arrange to meet him on the court and take a picture of my son and I.  The photographer will also grab a Jazz player and have him take a picture with my son.

My son knows this and asked if we could get a picture with Korver.  I told him we would try.  Unbeknownst to my son, I talked to the Jazz photographer in advance and he said he could probably arrange for a picture with Korver.

As we stepped out on the court that night, the photographer took a picture of my son and I.  We saw Korver come out to do his pregame warm-up and the photographer headed over to ask him to come take a picture.  As he approached, the Jazz trainer walked up to Korver to begin his warm-up.  Once the warm-ups begin we’re not allowed to interrupt.

My son and I were disappointed.  The photographer though had a plan.  He had my son stand in a way that would put Korver in the background of a picture. As the photographer tried to line my son up so that Korver would be in the background, Korver looked over and cold see what was going on.  As he was stretching, Korver walked up behind my son, smiled big and posed for the picture.  My son looked back and saw Korver, looked back at me and smiled as if to say, “Look dad, it’s Korver.”

The photographer got a couple shots and and said thank you.  I thanked Korver and he said patted my son on the shoulder, smiled and said we were welcome.  I have no idea who the Jazz played that night or if they even won.  All I know, and all that mattered was that my son got his picture taken with his favorite player.

My son still follows Korver and roots for his Chicago Bulls.  He can’t understand why Korver isn’t on the All-Star team every year, especially when he’s “the best three point shooter in the NBA.”  He still remembers that photo to.  Thanks again, Kyle.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

The Mitt I Know: Are You Art Vandelay, The Architect?

One of the first significant events I remember participating in after starting with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) was the collapse of the Olympic Speedskating Oval while still under construction.  I was out of the office and got a call from my boss, Caroline Shaw, the Chief Communications Officer asking me to come pick her up.

Shaw was at the office and as I pulled up to the building she met me at the curb.  I hadn’t heard yet about the roof collapsing at the Speedskating Oval and when I pulled up I said hi and started asking her how she was doing.  As I did this, I realized she was on the phone.  She climbed in the car and as she talked it became readily apparent that something was wrong.

She paused her phone conversation and told me to head to the Speedskating Oval.  On the drive there, while listening to her phone conversation I was able to piece together that there had been an accident on the construction site and that the roof had collapsed.    Shaw was receiving reports on the severity of the damage, but it wasn’t until we arrived onsite that we got a full appreciation for what happened.

A few hours that later, after gathering some preliminary information and data, we held a press conference to confirm reports that the roof had collapsed.  We were honest about the collapse and were honest about the fact that we didn’t know exactly why yet, but that we would investigate what happened and get back to them with an explanation what happened as well as the solution for fixing the problem.

Those details took a couple of days to piece together, but nevertheless, a few days later we held a press conference to address the media and explain the who, what where, when and why the roof collapsed.

I wasn’t privy to any of this information and was just as eager as the media to hear the explanation.  As the press conference started and Mitt Romney stood alone at the podium I remember being a little surprised that there weren’t any members of the engineering team there to join him.  I did notice several members of the engineering team sitting in the audience near the front row and figured they were “on call” to help explain what happened.

As Mitt started the press conference he went right into an explanation of what happened.  He described in detail what happened and then proceeded to explain what was going to be done to correct the problem and finish the construction of the Speedskating Oval on time and on budget.  As he explained the situation, he used a number of engineering and architectural terms and sounded as if he himself were an engineer or architect.  He even had a large drawing pad of paper, similar to the ones used in the game show Pictionary that he used to draw and demonstrate what happened and to illustrate the building concepts that would fix the problem.

I remember vividly thinking to myself, “how does he know all of this?”

As I sat there thinking this we opened the press conference up to questions from the media.  As Mitt answered questions form the media, at one point after a detailed explanation he turned to one of the engineers, Grant Thomas and asked if he had explained the concept properly.  Thomas could only smile as he said that yes, he had explained it perfectly.  Mitt did that one other time, turning to Thomas for confirmation that he had explained something accurately and Thomas did the same thing, smiled and confirmed that he had indeed answered the question correctly.

Mitt stood there answering questions and explaining in intimate detail how everything happened and how we were going to fix it for nearly an hour with only minor involvement from the experts on the engineering team.

I don’t know how much time he spent with the engineers prior to the press conference but I do know this, Mitt was always willing and able to do whatever it took to gain the knowledge necessary to make the right decisions that would lead to ultimate success for the Games.  When he first came onboard as CEO of SLOC, he would spent as many as 18-20 hours a day reading materials about the Organizing Committee and pouring over reports so he knew everything there was to now about the Organizing Committee so he could formulate his strategy to ensure that the Games would be a success.

That dedication, coupled with his superior intellect enabled him to do what needed to be done to save the Games and turn them into the smashing success they were.  This dedication and drive is also what will enable Mitt to develop and implement the strategy necessary to turn around the economic woes facing this nation and lead the country into prosperity during the next four and hopefully eight years.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

When I Became A Paul Pierce Fan

I work for the Utah Jazz on the team’s Media Relations Department.  I just completed my sixth season with the team and have been surprised at just how often I’ve had an opinion about a player only to have to have it change by being able to interview, meet the player or see them in person.

The one thing I’ve learned over the last six seasons is that fans and the public in general don’t know players very well and have a lot of misconceptions about athletes because they don’t get to see some of the cool things professional athletes do.  Not every athlete is a great guy but there are enough of them out there, it’s just that the good things they do aren’t always public information.

I recently read and article about the Boston Celtics and their “Big Three” of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.  I’ve always liked Ray Allen for his sweet shooting stroke and incredible work ethic and Kevin Garnett of his hustle, leadership and ability to control a game without being the highest scorer.  Paul Pierce on the other hand was a player I didn’t’ care for very much.  I liked him coming out of college but became disillusioned when, on the eve of his first playoff appearance early in his career he made comments about how unstoppable he is.

Pierce is a great player but I just didn’t care for his brashness.

This article I read reminded me of something I saw two years ago before a Jazz v Celtics game when I became a Paul Pierce fan.  I remember walking into the arena about an hour-and-a-half before game time.  I was running some information up to the visiting teams radio play-by-play guy at the top of the lower bowl.  As I turned around to return courtside and back to the pressroom, I noticed there was a large contingency of Celtics fans gathered around watching the Celtics warm up.  I also noticed there was a member of the arena’s security team in the stands pointing at people, trying to identify somebody that Paul Pierce was pointing out.

My first thought was that somebody said something or had thrown something at Pierce.  Pierce was pointing to somebody in the crowd and the security guy was trying to figure out who he was pointing to.   To my surprise, the security guard pointed to a little boy, probably about five or six years old.  This little boy was wearing a Paul Pierce jersey.  Pierce noticed the kid and had the security guy invite him down to the court.

Once on the court, Pierce gave the kid a ball and let him shoot with him and his other teammates and even gave him a shooting lesson.  Pierce was talking to the kid and had a conversation going with him.  Pierce is 6’7” tall and was leaning over to be as close to eye level as possible with this little boy.  I couldn’t hear the conversation from where I was, but at one point the kid said something that made Pierce laugh so hard he almost fell over.  He had to stand up to not fall over and laughed loud enough that I could hear him.

The kid was out there for three or four minutes before looking around and realizing Pierce’s teammates were all standing around him listening to everything he was saying.  Upon realizing this, the kid looked a little nervous.  I can’t blame him with all these giants standing there watching.

By this time, I was close enough I could hear a few things being said.  The kid said he wanted to go back to his parents and Pierce gave him five and said a few other things to him before clapping for him as he left the floor and returned to his parents in the stands.

After the kid returned to his parents, Pierce continued with his pregame workout.

I don’t remember who won the game that night, but I do know that was the night I became a Paul Pierce fan.  I had never seen a player do that until Pierce did it. That kid and his parents have a memory that will last a lifetime.  From my point of view, it also changed my perspective of Pierce.  I went from thinking he was an arrogant jerk to becoming a huge fan.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

The Mitt I Know: “Hi, Jeremy.” This Guy Remembers My Name?

On my first day as an employee with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) I was introduced to Mitt Romney.  We shook hands and Mitt welcomed me to the team.  The entire interaction lasted a couple minutes tops.

Later that week as I was sitting at my desk I heard somebody say “Hello,” and turned around to see Mitt walking past my desk.  I returned the hello and was surprised that Mitt remembered my name.  After all, I was a nobody, and a new nobody at that. I hadn’t really had any real interaction with Mitt yet.   I sat there thinking about it for a minute and thought he must have seen my name posted on my cubicle wall.

A few days later I was walking back to my desk from a meeting and saw Mitt coming down the hall towards me.  Before I could say hello he smiled and said, “Hi, Jeremy.”  I again returned the hello and was surprised that he remembered my name.  This time I was certain he remembered my name because there was no name badge on my cubicle wall to remind him of who I was and I wasn’t wearing a name badge either.

I remember being impressed that he recalled my name.  As CEO of SLOC, I naturally thought he had other, more important things to remember or think about.  As I worked with him and spent more time with him, I quickly came to realize that he was very personable and really took the time to remember peoples names and get to know the people he worked and associated with (including partners and the media).  It wasn’t uncommon for him to meet somebody only once and call them by name the next time he saw them—even if there was a long period of time between meetings.

After the Games, when Mitt wrote and published his book Turnaround, he held a book signing party here in Salt Lake City for former SLOC employees.  I attended. As I waited in line, I talked to a former colleague and reminisced about our days at SLOC.  As we got closer to where Mitt was sitting, our discussion turned to whether or not Mitt would remember us.

As we walked up to the table, books in hand, Mitt looked up, saw us, smiled and called us both by name.  Mitt personalized his signing of our books and chatted with us for a few minutes about “the good old days.”  His greeting that day made it feel as if the Games had never ended and we had still been working together every day (even though it had been nearly two years since the Games ended).

Something as simple as remembering your name may not sound like much, but to me it showed that Mitt cared and took the time and effort to pay attention to even the little details.  I’ve worked with other business leaders since working with Mitt and have been surprised at just how many times they can’t remember employees names or butcher the pronunciation of their names.  The saying goes, “the devil is in the details,” and that attention to detail says a lot about a man.  I believe that to be true and believe Mitt’s commitment to detail will be a tremendous asset to our country should he become our next President.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Can Somebody Please Be Prepared!

NBA Hall of Famer and analyst Bill Walton is famous for making a plea for players to get a rebound during games.  Quite often you’ll hear Walton say, “Can somebody please get a rebound!”  I was a Boy Scout, and a couple recent blunders by news people and newsmakers has me wanting to make a plea invoking the Scout Motto, “Can somebody please be prepared?”

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, while giving a speech in support of his hometown Boston Celtics referred to two of the teams star players, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, by the wrong names.

“There’s a lot of heart in this team, let me just tell you,” Menino told reporters.  He continued saying, “KJ is great but Hondo is really the inspiration. Hondo drives that team.”

Garnett regularly goes by KG and most sports fans, especially NBA fans know that KJ refers to Kevin Johnson, a former point guard with the Phoenix Suns who is currently the Mayor of Sacramento.  Likewise, Rondo commonly goes by his last name, spelled with an “R” not and “H.”

Menino has maintained a sense of humor about the error.  After the incident, he Tweeted, “You know it’s championship season when I flub our athletes’ names! Sorry KG & Rondo, it’s kind of my thing — another Menino-ism!”

In another recent instance, Kathy Lee Gifford, host of the Today Show made an embarrassing blunder while interviewing actor Martin Short to promote his new movie, Madagascar 3.  During the interview Gifford talks about Short and his wife, emphasizing what a great marriage they have.  At one point she asks how long they have been married and how they manage to stay so happy together after all these years.

It wasn’t until later, during a commercial break that Short politely explained to Gifford that his wife had passed away a couple years ago due to ovarian cancer.  Gifford apologized, but what an embarrassment.

In my opinion these embarrassing situations could have easily been avoided with a little preparation.  From a PR perspective, we work with our clients on regular basis to prepare them.  Here’s some simple advice for making sure you’re prepared and don’t embarrass yourself or your company.

1. 1.     Listen.  You can’t be expected to remember everything all the time, but if you don’t listen you don’t even stand a chance of remembering.  I know people who have been present for and participated in multiple conversations about things such as colleagues buying a home, having a baby, weekend and vacation activities or other milestones only to later ask things like, “Oh, you went on vacation?” after they return.  Put your phone or laptop away, listen and pay attention to what’s being said.
2. 2.     Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification: I have a difficult last name.  It gets butchered on a regular basis.   My first name to for that matter.  There’s nothing wrong with asking how to pronounce a name if you’re not sure.  However, as the name is being told to you, listen so you can get it right.  I worked with a client with a difficult last name, both to pronounce and spell.  I had to introduce him to media on a regular basis and even help spell his name. After a round of interviews he thanked me for not only being able to say his name correctly but also for being able to spell it correctly.
3. 3.     Do some research into the person you’ll be meeting with or talking to: With one client we were able to successfully schedule a meeting with a big name technology editor because we did a simple Google search, found out where he went to school and realized we had a similar educational background.  In pitching our client I referenced this similarity and that was what it took to get us in the door.  Had Gifford done a simple Google search, Wikipedia came up first and indicates that his wife had passed away. Interestingly, after Wikipedia, the majority of the first page is stories about Gifford’s blunder.
4. 4.     Practice: I was told once by a job consultant that a huge percentage of job candidates blow their chances because they can’t respond to the first question, “Tell me about yourself.”  This consultant recommended that you practice how you’ll respond to this question.  I would take it a step further and practice what you’re going to say in situations like interviews or other situations that cause anxiety or nervousness.  These type of situations can be unnerving and cause even the best public speakers to tense up and say things erroneously or unintentionally.  Practicing and knowing what you want to say will make you feel more comfortable and avoid saying something embarrassing or that you’ll regret later.

I understand that honest mistakes are made all the time.  I also recognize that doing some simple homework and preparing in advance can prevent most mistakes.   By doing some advance work you can eliminate or at least minimize potentially embarrassing moments.

What are you doing to prepare for and avoid embarrassing moments?

This blog post also appeared on the Snapp Conner PR Website, you can check it out there at http://www.snappconner.com/blogs/blog/can-somebody-please-be-prepared.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

The Mitt I Know: Romney Out Fundraises President Obama

I read an interesting article the other day about Mitt Romney and his campaign fundraising success.  The article said Romney raised $77 million in May, outdoing President Obama’s $60 million for the same month.

My first response was that I wasn’t surprised by the amount or the fact that Mitt had raised more money that President Obama.  Here’s why.

I remember Mark Lewis, the head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee’s (SLOC’s) sponsorship division telling a story about his efforts to try and sign sponsors up for the Games.  He said he was hitting all the usual suspects up and was having a difficult time, in fact, a more difficult time than he expected getting appointments but more importantly getting any big companies to commit as sponsors of the Games.

When Mitt came on as CEO of the Organizing Committee that all changed.  Lewis told me how vividly he remembers his first potential sponsor meeting with Mitt.  Lewis said they walked into the meeting, exchanged the usual pleasantries and when it was time to get down to business Mitt looked across at the CEO and spoke to him CEO-to-CEO and briefly outlined what being an Olympic sponsor would mean to his business.  The man looked back and Mitt and committed on the spot.  This CEO knew of Mitt’s business reputation and his success in turning businesses around.  When Mitt said it would add value to his business and explained why, that’s all this CEO needed to hear.

Lewis was thrilled to have secured this business as a major sponsor of the Games but at the same time sat there in disbelief marveling at how quickly Mitt was able to close the deal when he had spent so much time and energy trying to convince this CEO to sponsor the Games.

Mitt accompanied Lewis on other sponsor pitches, but once the first couple sponsors committed and people saw what Mitt was doing, Lewis’s job became significantly easier and as we now all know, the Games had an abundance of great sponsors.

In my opinion, Mitt will always be able to raise money.  His reputation alone is all many top executives need to write a check.  It’s this reputation that I believe sets Mitt apart from President Obama and that will enable him to successfully turn our country around through the creation of new businesses and new jobs.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Introduction

I’ve been doing PR for about 15 years now, mainly in the sports and technology industries.  I’m currently a Partner at Snapp Conner PR, a PR agency based in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I’m a huge sports fan and am lucky enough to be able to work for my favorite basketball team, the Utah Jazz as part of the team’s game night PR staff.

I decided to start this blog as a way to share some of my expertise in PR, to talk about my views and opinions of the sports world. Additionally, I worked for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.  I worked closely with Mitt Romney and saw and experienced some things while working with him that I believe would be valuable for others to know.  I’m a Romney supporter and think he is the ideal candidate to help turn our country around.  I can’t support him financially but feel that by blogging about the experiences I had with him that maybe I can help others see and know the man better.

Every Tuesday I’ll blog about these experiences in a section called “The Mitt I Know.”

I called the blog The Navigators Blog because of a nickname I got as a member of the Jazz’s PR staff.  I’ve known one of the reporters that covers the Jazz since I began working for the Olympic Committee in 1999.  One night while walking out of the Press Room at the EnergySolutions Arena I ran into this reporter and said, “Hello.”  I caught him by surprise and he looked up, saw me and paused before pointing both index fingers at me while saying, “Hey, Navigator.”

I told the rest of the staff about it and from that point on it became my new nickname.

Stay tuned.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+