Thomas Colin McHardy
EMAIL: tcmchardy (at) gmail (dot) com
BLOG: mchardtc (dot) wordpress (dot) com
James Madison University- Fall 2009
Profile
Thomas McHardy is a graduate of James Madison University with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication Studies (concentration in Public Relations) and Media Arts and Design (concentration in Corporate Communication), along with a minor in Kinesiology (concentration in Sports Communication). His goal is to expand his career in public relations, allowing his communication skills and knowledge of corporate communication techniques to continually grow.
Work Experience– Thomas currently works as an Account Executive at RLM Public Relations in New York City. Since beginning at RLM, Thomas has seen his daily responsibilities evolve to include drafting and editing press releases; harnessing the power of social media to benefit clients in the healthcare, finance, technology and advertising sectors; garnering both regional and national media coverage for clients; creating bios, fact sheets, backgrounders, account calendars, and other documents necessary for successful campaigns; daily interaction with clients to ensure all objectives are being met; and conducting media training to help clients learn to effectively present key messages in all media opportunities.
Before RLM, Thomas worked as the Media Relations Intern for the New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA affiliate of the Florida Marlins) from May-August 2009. His daily responsibilities included writing Game Notes to be used by radio broadcasters and other media personnel, writing and posting game stories to the team website following each game and handling interview requests by various media outlets before and after games. Thomas also wrote several feature articles for the team’s website, and used Click Effects to play music throughout the stadium each game day.
In the summer of 2008 Thomas worked as a communications intern with the Harrisonburg Turks, a collegiate Valley League Baseball team. Some of his duties included securing sponsors for the team, coordinating special events and booster nights, handling on-field promotions, helping with game-day ticket sales, writing player biographies under strict deadlines and selling team merchandise.
Skills
Through his work in the professional world, as well as through the varied courses he completed during his undergraduate studies at JMU, Thomas has acquired a wide range of skills that will be valuable assets to any company in the corporate communication or public relations fields.
Writing and Editing– Thomas has learned to write in a variety of ways, including news writing, news editing, corporate media writing, and public relations writing. A small sample of forms Thomas can write and format include:
- Print Press Releases– This is an example of a NFL Press Release of one he wrote for a class
- Feature Articles– This feature article was posted on the New Orleans Zephyrs website in August 2009.
- Internet Press Releases– This is an example of a NFL Internet Release from his writing portfolio
- PSAs– Here is a PSA for Radio from a class at JMU.
- Media Alerts/Advisories– This is a fictional Media Advisory about an event happening at JMU
- Op-ed Pieces– Here is an Op-Ed on Universal Health Care
- Broadcast Release– Although similar to print and Internet releases, this is a Broadcast Release ready for air
- Problem Statements– An example of a Problem Statement is available here
Web Communication– Through his work in SMAD and Kinesiology, Thomas has learned how to effectively communicate over the Web. This includes ample knowledge of new social media and how they are affecting the corporate world, as well as how sports promotion differs in various countries.
-Related skills in this area include knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite CS4 (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver).
Creativity– Classes in both SMAD and Communications have helped Thomas expand his creative side. In a class on visual techniques in public relations he learned how to create:
- Brochures– This is a Brochure for SCIM, a new school at JMU
- Advertisements– Here is an Advertisement for SCIM that Thomas created in a Public Relations class
- Logos– A sample Logo for SCIM created in a class at JMU
- Newsletters– This is a fictional SCIM Newsletter for JMU
Group Work– Thomas has had much experience with working in groups while at RLM. While studying at JMU Thomas worked on projects including an advertising campaign for the Friendly City Food Co-op, a service-learning project with a local retirement home, and several other group research and creative projects.
Travel– In the Fall of 2007 Thomas studied abroad in London for a semester through JMU, where he was named to the Dean’s List. While there he also traveled to Ireland, Scotland, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. During these travels, he learned to communicate through language and cultural barriers, become self-reliant in many situations, and how to differentiate between marketing/promotional strategies of various countries. All of these tools can translate directly toward a successful career in public relations.
Portfolio
Below is small sample of Thomas’ past work with social media tools to help future employers get a better idea of how he can put his skill set to use.
Podcast on Dell’s Adoption of Social Media
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