Filed under: J840 Week 1 | Tags: Eudora Welty, green product, greeting cards, Hallmark Cards, Latin Grammys, literature
It’s good to be back. I took a break from graduate school to take an undergraduate level American Literature overview. The course spanned the 1850s through 1970s. Many American authors from Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) to Jack Kerouac incorporated environmentalism into their works. We studied Eudora Welty for her perspective on the postbellum South and her use of nature in plot development (i.e. The Wide Net). In learning more about her life, I came across this quote of hers: “it had been startling and disappointing to me to find out that story books had been written by people, that books were not natural wonders, coming of themselves like grass.” This lovely observation emphasizes the inspiration and wonder of nature. What a celebration of language and the environment.
I love words. My undergraduate degree is in strategic communications from KU’s J-School. I’m a senior editor at Hallmark Cards where I develop and manage content for social expression product. In five years, I’ve worked on all the Everyday card lines (Birthday, Wedding, Baby, Kids, etc.). My current assignment is with Hallmark Sinceramente, the Spanish-language line of cards. It’s really a gift when your work is both personally and professionally fulfilling. My family is Cuban, and I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. The highlight of my career was attending the 2008 Latin Grammys in Houston to promote Spanish “Cards with Sound.”
My team with Juanes
Hallmark is taking more initiative to communicate internally and externally that “green” is a corporate strategy. It’s tricky when you’re a paper-based company. Hallmark has always been an environmentally-conscious company by way of recycling and sustainability efforts. For example, our cafeteria sends waste to a compost facility in Missouri. There is an internal communication campaign to turn computers and office lights off at the end of the day. Crown Center hosts a farmers market during the summer. This past spring Hallmark debuted a line of “green” greeting cards. The paper stock is completely recycled and recyclable. The card back includes an environmentally-friendly tip and manufacturing information. Go show nature and someone that you love them…send a card.
Look! I'm green.
I enjoy writing, reading non-fiction and watching CSI shows and So You Think You Can Dance. By this time next year, I should be hanging a Marketing Communications Masters diploma in my office.
Monica D,
The night we became engaged on a cruise in the Bahamas
I’m Christine Weremy and my life continues to grow crazier every year since graduating college. I graduated from Marquette University (www.marquette.edu) in 2006 with a BA in journalism and moved to Kansas City in 2007. Since moving to Kansas City, I’ve had two jobs, found a boyfriend, became engaged, bought a house, adopted a puppy, started taking two graduate courses a semester and (along with my fiancé) will be housing a 13 year old girl for the summer and maybe longer.
I currently work at Penton Media as an Online Audience Manager and have been there for a little over a year. I love my job as I’m paid to use Photoshop and Dreamweaver daily. For the past year, Penton’s Intranet has promoted employees to email ideas of how each office can save money by practicing green initiatives. While specific green ideas each office may be using has yet to be promoted on the Intranet, I have submitted a few ideas. All of the ideas dealt with light and how Penton uses three separate options to illuminate our offices – overhead fluorescent lighting, fluorescent lighting at each desk and windows within each office. My idea was to not use the desk lighting and each office should only use daylight instead of their overhead lighting.
While green initiatives are not promoted within our office there are obvious signs of recycling and friendly green behavior. Each floor recycles paper and aluminum cans and Penton is the first office I’ve worked for that uses a low amount of paper. There are nine other Online Content Managers and it is rare to see anyone using a pad of paper. Of course this means that if one computer crashes that day’s productivity goes down the drain.
But enough about work and more about me. This year has been the year of major changes for me. I adopted a puppy, became engaged, went on my first cruise, bought my first house (http://thekesslergardnerhome.shutterfly.com/) and will be housing a 13 year old girl for the summer and probably beyond. Our house is new, is in Gardner and should be completed by the end of June for a July move-in date. Buying a new house is crazy as there are many details of house accessories to choose (interior and exterior paint color, cabinet wood colors, lighting fixtures, fence preferences, landscaping preferences, deck with stair or now stairs, etc.). Buying a house that is further outside the city also means more time driving, and buying a new house means meeting with the developer multiple times a week. But it also means taking pictures of the home as it becomes completed which is fun and builds wonderful memories.
Our dog Tai. a.k.a. "The Tai Fighter"
I would include what I like to do as a hobby but my busy life doesn’t allow me to have a hobby. In fact, I’m writing journal entries for my other summer course (Writing for Marketing) on how to find ways to distress myself without adding more activities to my day. I’ve found there are many ways to distress a person but a person’s personality can define what techniques work best. My distressing activities may be practicing some type of meditation (yoga, tai chai, etc.) and taking nature walks.
I’m excited to learn about what green techniques my office may continue to follow through discussion and research within this course.
Thanks,
Christine Weremy
Filed under: J840 Week 1 | Tags: communication, environment, green, sustainability
I work in the employee communications department for a company in Kansas City. One of our areas of focus for the past few years has been more effectively communicating to employees about all the environmental and social responsibility initiatives occurring within our company. Many employees have a strong interest in hearing about these projects and fully understand the importance of a company being socially responsible. They also want to find ways to be ‘greener’ in the course of their daily work. Because this group is highly engaged, they’re easy to reach and impact with our corporate messages.
My dogs Homer and Martha
However, there are large numbers of employees who I believe have only a passive interest in environmental issues. In this class, I’d like to learn the most effective ways to communicate with this group to convince them to take an interest in the company’s environmental efforts and realize their importance. I’d also like to learn better ways to communicate how an individual employee or team can take small actions that can have a major impact, both environmentally and in terms of cost savings – which is something everyone understands, especially in today’s economic environment.
In addition, I can definitely make improvements in my environmental efforts in my personal life. I’m hoping this class will help inspire me to take additional steps and keep environmental issues top-of-mind inside and outside of work, so that I can properly communicate to others.
I live on the north side of Kansas City with my husband, Mike, and dogs Homer and Martha (see photo). I’ve been in my current job for about two years and prior to it, worked for a financial services company for several years. Before that I worked briefly for two local non-profits. I earned a bachelor’s degree in mass media from Washburn University in Topeka in 2001.
-Jennifer E.
