We’re back for our fourth year of the “8 Weeks” series! Can you believe it?
Since 2020, our team has dedicated the last eight weeks of each year to spreading kindness and doing acts of service to inspire each other (and hopefully you) to add some intention to the season.
This special series has been a way for the PPR team to get creative and show our love for our community. We’ve “popped by” small businesses to deliver locally made popcorn, created and shared encouraging notes, volunteered at local establishments, and much more!
This year, we’re centering on connection. PPR’s team members will take turns sharing how we connect with our communities, old friends, health, nature, and each other! Today, Sandy shares how she’s strengthening past ties with old friends.
Here’s Sandy!
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the great relationships that I’ve made with coworkers, economic developers, and marketers since starting PPR Strategies (formerly Platinum PR) in 2002.
Meeting so many talented and kind people over the past 22 years has been an absolute joy.
In the spirit of connection, I decided to reach out to PPR’s very first intern, Juliet Stickley Prillaman, for lunch earlier this month to catch up. Juliet joined the team when we were working in my home office and just starting the business.
Juliet and I on our lunch outing!
With two decades of weddings, career changes, babies, and other life events to catch up on, our lunch was full speed ahead.
It was fun to look back on some of the activities and projects that we took on together, but the greatest memory we shared about that time in PPR’s history was the feeling of the early days. Everything was new and somewhat unknown! We had a world of possibilities ahead of us (and a lot on the line), bringing energy to that small home office that propelled us to aim high, perform well, and kick butt!
Juliet has done some beautiful things since then with her career and life. The excitement for the new and unknown is something we both have carried into our other life pursuits.
The biggest takeaway from our conversation and this experiment in renewing ties is to encourage myself and others to keep connections going, whether it’s been days, weeks, or years since they were initially made.
One big thing for me is connecting with people I’ve met at virtual events.
As you may know, I’ve had the honor of facilitating the Chesapeake Basic Economic Development Course for our client MEDA for nearly a decade. Since 2020, this course has been virtual—making it accessible for many but also challenging us all on how to create true connections through a screen and then be intentional when we attend in-person activities.
While many of us stay in touch through social media (which is great!), we shouldn’t devalue the significance of connecting more meaningfully.
With fall comes a slurry of conferences, but something new that brought me joy during the busy schedule was seeing some of our Basic Course attendees in real life. I’ve seen dozens of our Basic Course alums “in the wild” and even got selfies with a couple.
From left to right: Kevin Carter, Maurice Leary, Rebecca Lefebvre-Atkins, Erica Smith, and Karen Meier.
In 2025, I’m setting a goal to revisit more friendships. Who’s with me?
Whether it’s reaching out to an old friend for a quick coffee or simply sending a LinkedIn DM to a former coworker, every connection counts.
Here’s to a season of warmth, renewed ties, and purposeful connection. Let’s make it a memorable one together!
