Like many others, I try to count my blessings every day. “Try” is the operative word there. It’s easy to go days, and sometimes weeks, without consciously appreciating the many people who have made and continue to make my life happier and richer, more interesting and rewarding, and, well, worth living.

So, it is with a grateful heart that I take these moments before Thanksgiving Day to lift up those who have made me who I am and those who fill my days with joy.

In the beginning
I wouldn’t have had the irreplaceable experience of being a journalist without the professors who saw me through the first steps of my career. At Cal State Fullerton, the late Carolyn Johnson and past dean Rick Pullen took the time to encourage me to excel in journalism. At that time, working in newsrooms was entering a man’s world. It was daunting. I am grateful for their guidance and encouragement.

During college and afterward, a host of journalists helped me polish my skills with several doses of real-life experience.

The late Nick Harder and the late Al Hewitt, my editors at the Fullerton News Tribune, gave me a place to start as a stringer. My editors during two internships for the Los Angeles Times’ Orange County edition built up my confidence as a writer. Janell Shearer, my internship supervisor at the now-defunct Orange County Illustrated magazine, introduced me to the medium that has been a big part of my career. Editor Marilyn Leary convinced me that being a member of the Orange County Register team that launched the Community Edition papers was a prestigious position. I learned graphics and copyediting under the patient supervision of Dave Campbell and Helayne Perry. Colleagues everywhere I went saw me through rough rides, often becoming my friends.

I am grateful to all.

Thanks, but no thanks
The former mayor of Brea, Wayne Wedin, who asked me to craft a local cable news show that later launched the careers of Phil Blower, Fox San Diego anchor, and Vikki Vargas, OC Bureau Chief for NBC, gave me the chance to discover that TV is not my area of expertise. Thank you!

On to the next
Special thanks to Grif Amies, who took a chance and helped me develop my career in public relations. Also to Janell Shearer once more, because she recommended me to Chapman University President Jim Doti to be the college’s first full-time PR director. And extra special kudos to Paula Selleck who hired me at my alma mater CSUF and launched with me the Titan magazine, which went on to garner local, regional and national awards. It couldn’t have happened without the design, web and writing teams at Fullerton and Paula’s patient encouragement.

Although it was a harrowing event at the time, I also should thank my former bosses at CSUF, who laid me off after nearly 15 years. The ax from Fullerton provided me with the astounding opportunity to strike out on my own.

Now and into the future
I am grateful for my clients, who provide me with new challenges every day. I am also indebted to my colleagues in IABC OC and PRSA OC who hold me to exacting standards and offer me the opportunity to give back to the profession I love.

My deep appreciation goes out to my family, who believed in me from the very first and who always have my back; to my mother, who is always proud of me; to my network of friends from grade school through my alma mater, Marywood High School, my work places and my college years – who always love me no matter what.

Thanks.

Once upon a time, when I was a young woman starting a career in public relations, my boss told me that the only thing we had to sell was time.

That is, time for media pitches. Time for research. Time for interviews. Time for reports. And, most important of all, time for writing.

It turns out that his statement was only half-true.

As PR professionals, we sell both our time and our integrity. One is not effective without the other. If you spend too much time on an account, the client will balk at your billable hours. Likewise, if you lose your integrity in pursuit of the Next Big Hit or sell out to unscrupulous supervisors, you have lost it forever.

I’m a past president of the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. One of the things that drew me to become a member was its Code of Ethics and strong commitment to the truth.

While PRSA argues, I think rightfully, for the public relations professional’s place in the board room with other high-level executives like attorneys and CFOs, its every argument is backed up by a strong code that bonds us together. We first and foremost adhere to the code in everything we do; anything else we add to the mix is gravy.

Why are we so committed to guarding our integrity?

As PRSA Fellow Kirk Hazlett writes in PRSay in September 2017, “Because the public relations field, like many other professions, is still regarded with skepticism by some based on the all-too-public shenanigans of a few of our community who refer to themselves as ‘public relations professionals’ but whose credentials are, at best, spotty. And their actions are taken to represent the way in which we all operate.”

True enough. Anyone with the audacity to hang up a shingle can call herself a public relations professional. My other reason for joining PRSA was so I could test for and receive accreditation in public relations, a title that determines one’s knowledge, ethics and commitment.

As Hazlett points out, “the tools used by public relations professionals in the conduct of their services to clients or employers are increasing exponentially. For those of us who have been around long enough to remember the advent of that remarkable time-saving gizmo called a ‘facsimile machine,’ today’s options can be mind-boggling. We think we’ve got a handle on the do’s and don’ts of the various platforms; then along comes a new means of communicating and, with it, a whole new menu of potential ethical mishaps.”

Using PRSA’s vast database of best practices, members can be assured they know the right way to use social media. But that is just one example of the ways the organization ensures we operate with the best information in the most ethical ways possible.

“Ethical thought and action isn’t an on-again/off-again ‘nice to know’ aspect of a public relations professional’s existence,” Hazlett notes. “It is an all-encompassing, never-ending responsibility that serves as a sign to others of the realities of our field.”

Indeed, Hazlett sums up, “Ethics should occupy a key position in everyone’s repertoire of knowledge, skills and abilities. It should be top-of-mind in our day-to-day activities. Regardless of where we are or what we are doing, ethical practice and behavior should always be at the forefront.”

If I leave you with nothing else after you finish this blog, remember that PR is more than news releases and crisis planning. Time matters. But so too do the ethics you incorporate into your every PR practice.