Brandon Burlsworth was an exceptional football player who started his career as a walk-on for the University of Arkansas, and eventually earned a scholarship and All-American honors. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 1999 draft, but was tragically killed 11 days later, keeping him from fulfilling his potential and excelling in the NFL.

After Burlsworth’s death, the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory. The Foundation supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular, those children that have limited opportunities.

As a result of our pitching efforts and strategic planning, the unveiling was featured on every major television station in the state, including KHBS, KFSM, KNWA, KATV, KARK, KTHV, KLRT and KAIT. There were a total of 216 placements reaching more than 135 million impressions.

We were honored to be a part of commemorating the memory of an extraordinary young man whose life holds many examples of doing things the right way, or as many of us would say, “Doing things the Burls way.”

Honorees are stellar business and political leaders in the six-county area under 40 years old; people the public and NWABJ editors believe will continue rising in coming years. As Senior Manager of Organizational and Leadership Development at MCG, Melanie Arterbury certainly fits that mold.

Arterbury began in sales management for SouthTrust Bank in Alabama before moving into training and development management for United-Bilt Homes in Springdale. While there, she also attained a master’s in leadership and ethics from John Brown University. Arterbury established her own company, Arterbury Consulting and Training LLC, in 2007. Late last year, she fell into step with MCG as senior manager.

Today, Arterbury is still taking strides to act on her own advice to make learning a lifelong process. She creates business training, executive strategies and customized curriculum development, while continuing to expand client relationships at MCG. She says, “I like seeing the change in people as they polish skills in their own organizations, or seeing the light bulb come on for someone just learning a skill.” She encourages others to pass their new talent along, teaching future generations.

Read the complete article on Arterbury: http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/people_nwbj_40U.asp?id=444

In the interview, Mitchell says: “Every day is a gift to work with the employees and clients we are blessed to have.” After 15 years in her current position, Mitchell says helping employees work to their highest potential, solving problems for others, developing new approaches, and “connecting the dots” for a better result are just a few of the highlights that continue to make her job rewarding.  Whether she is working to help clients achieve their goals or taking a spin on her motorcycle, Mitchell’s determination to live life to the fullest is an inspiration to us all.

To view PRSA’s entire interview, click on this link: http://nwaprsa.org/images/newsletter.aug10.pdf

We’re excited to introduce an innovative new concept we have created to meet your training and development needs.  The ProFound Business Enrichment Consortium offers top-tier trainings in a group setting on a monthly basis at a great price.

Designed for small to mid-sized businesses in the Northwest Arkansas area, the Consortium  offers three primary benefits:

• Relevant, business-impacting trainings that will help develop and motivate your employees;
• A  powerful network of professionals who are looking to grow their own skills as well as find solutions for their workplace;
• Engaging and experienced trainers who will ensure each monthly session is valuable and applicable.

All of this comes at a significant value.  Because by sharing the costs of training with other companies, each company gets the same training experience at a much reduced price.

You can also join the Consortium now by clicking here. Special discounts are available for those who join by August 15! Classes start in September.

For more information, click here

Jane Thompson (far right) and members of Walmart Financial Services present Mitchell Communications Group team, Susan Morgenstern, Heather Ellington and Scott Pope, with 2009 Walmart Customer Service Award.

If you asked me what I like most about the agency world, I would answer: Our clients. It is such a privilege and joy to work in partnership with great clients. I know I speak for the whole team when I say we love our jobs because we love helping clients.

That’s why we are so grateful to have been honored with the 2009 Customer Service Award from Walmart Financial Services. Our teamwork with Financial Services is a continuing source of pride because of their dedication to excellence in products and services. Who doesn’t enjoy working with the best?

So we offer our thanks to Jane Thompson and her entire team at Walmart. The award has a place of honor in our offices. It’s an inspiration and a reminder that all our clients deserve our best efforts every day.

The ProFound Business Enrichment Consortium (PBEC) is the newest organizational and leadership development product from Mitchell Communications Group. PBEC is a member-based initiative that offers employers who become members high quality, relevant training for their employees on a consistent basis. PBEC trainings are designed for front-line employees, rising stars and new hires.

Prior to formalizing our concept for the consortium, MCG conducted research throughout the region to identify the greatest training needs of small to mid-sized companies. Our findings helped us develop meaningful, affordable and applicable curriculum designed to develop employees.

Trainings have been divided into four key topic categories: communication, effective teams, leadership and managing others. A description of each one of the courses can be reviewed at:
http://www.mitchcommgroup.com/pbec/PBEC_Brochure.pdf

If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Chris Case at 479.443.4673 or chris.case@mitchcommgroup.com

Or go to www.mitchcommgroup.com/pbec to register.

Our 2010 APEX awards include:

• Public Relatioins Campaign – Walmart Healthy Families H1N1 Flu Shot Campaign
• Special Events and Observances – Southwestern Energy Company five-year anniversary of the Fayetteville Shale Play
• Website – Southwestern Energy Company website
• Social Media – Tyson Foods Lift Up America event at the University of Arkansas
• Press Conferences – Tyson Foods Lift Up American event at the University of Arkansas
• Printed Materials: Feature Story – Southwestern Energy Company Horizon newsletter story “A Byrd’s Eye View”
• Printed Materials: Brochure – Southwestern Energy Company recruiting brochure

We are privileged to work every day with clients who inspire us to bring our best forward for them, and we are grateful for the opportunities they give us to provide strategic counsel as well as award-winning work.

Michael Clark, APR, speaks at The Summit

Last week, our very own Michael Clark gave a presentation on social media at The Summit, a statewide annual conference for volunteer, philanthropy and nonprofit leaders. His presentation covered the history of communication, social media statistics and standings, tools for building an online presence and examples of social media success stories.

Click here to view Lee LeFever’s video, “Social Networking in Plain English,” which Michael showed during his presentation.

Follow Michael on Twitter at @clarknwark.

Thanks to our friends at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at our office today.  We were recognized by the GreeNWAy Initiative based on an audit conducted by the University of Arkansas’ Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program.

The criteria analyzed by the SIFE program included energy and water consumption, disposal of waste, purchasing of eco-friendly materials, environmental education and creating opportunities for employees to take part in an environmental action plan.

At MCG we try to practice environmental awareness every day, so we were “green with excitement” to be acknowledged for this honor.

Many companies wonder how to maintain a bottom-line vision of success, while also fulfilling their responsibilities to the environment.  An earlier blog post from Elise touched on a few principles that can help focus your organization’s environmental efforts, and we thought this would be a good time to revisit those ideas.

• Have a clear understanding of impact – Take a 360 degree look at your organization, its products and people to determine how internal processes and end usage of merchandise will affect your environment.

• Be proactive and strategic – Get out in front of change and anticipate future environmental best practices in your field by looking to conservation groups for direction.

• Engage employees – Take an inside-out approach to environmental communications by starting with your own people and then reaching out into the community for fresh content and ideas.

• Build credibility and create support – Develop messaging that states the facts to your consumers while illustrating the benefits of your efforts to the community.

We’d like to hear how you are “greening” your business.  Visit our Facebook page and share your ideas or follow us on Twitter to see more tips to reduce your environmental impact.  After all, it’s the little things that can make a big difference.