A Friday afternoon in late August… always a quiet time. Few phone calls, not many people around, a good time to catch-up and wind down. All is calm.

This Friday afternoon in late-August really epitomizes the proverbial “calm before the storm.” Despite what it now looks like outside our window (the above photo) the forecast calls for Hurricane Irene to hit Maryland sometime on Sunday, resulting in power outages, flooding, and a whole lot of inconvenience for a whole lot of people. We may be a little put out – after all, local TV has made our building a media star because our parking lot is frequently flooded during storms. (The building’s notoriety is also helped by its proximity to three TV stations; to paraphrase Tina Fey paraphrasing Sarah Palin, we can see them from our office (shown in the above photo).

As we prepare for the storm, we are reminded of how weather events impact public events – and public relations people. The first craft show we promoted was cancelled the morning of the first day because of a tropical storm. In our nine years of working with the Baltimore Boat Show, there have been three major snowstorms during the winter event. Last year, we handled media for two woodworking shows held during blizzards.

Here’s hoping that Monday morning is as calm as Friday afternoon.

We never like goodbyes, but over the past two weeks we have had to say it to our great summer interns from the Universities of Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. After the tears, tissues, and farewell lunch parties (okay, just the parties), we asked them about their experiences here at Himmelrich PR.

We’re glad we did. Their thoughts inspired and taught us (and flattered us). We thought they could also help other aspiring public relations pros or future Himmelrich PR interns (hint hint).

All our recent interns expressed their newfound understanding of PR as well as the process involved in what we do. Fey noted our relentless “focus on how, who, what, when, how much, and what is in the best interest of the client.” Jenna agreed, saying her favorite part of the intern experience was “seeing all the different stages of plans,” and “being able to not only sit-in during brainstorming meetings, but being able to contribute and have a voice during them.” Ali “loved being able to work on so many different projects and clients,” and said “it was so gratifying to produce meaningful work.”

Our interns learned the importance of social media as well. Fey commented that “finding new services that will help clients is a big focus for Himmelrich PR.” One of the interns noted that “at Himmelrich PR, social media is not treated as an afterthought.”

The importance of research and organization became clear early in our interns’ experiences, as one of them noted, “it consumes a very large part of the process.”

We tell our interns on their first day that we hold them to the same standards as anyone at the firm. And they seem to appreciate it. Jenna “looked forward to coming into Himmelrich PR every day,” and Fey expressed exactly what we think is valuable in our internships – “from my first day, I was integrated into tasks so I could see even in the smallest of ways that I was adding to the team.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

In directing Twitter followers to his blog post about this afternoon’s earthquake on the east coast, former Washington Post columnist Rob Pegaroro tweeted: “Being a writer means you’re compelled to post your take on any epic distraction you may experience.” Because we are PR people, we are also writers. So here’s our post about this afternoon’s epic distraction.

This afternoon seemed like a Snow Day in Baltimore. After the jolt at 1:50, most people around town (and from what we could tell from Twitter and Facebook – people everywhere) were preoccupied. We too were glued to news on our computer screens and on TV. The parking lot of our building was pretty empty by 4:30, and not a lot of emails or phone calls were coming in.

But we were working. When you represent a science museum, you have access to experts who know a thing or two about earthquakes. So we spent a good part of the afternoon making the staff at the Maryland Science Center available to the media. We arranged for live shots from the museum, and relayed images of the Science Center’s Seismic monitor. We set up coverage from Science on a Sphere, which displays live satellite images on a 6’ illuminated orb.

All in a day’s work – on a day when there is an earthquake.

This Fall at Himmelrich PR is going to be filled with big projects, cool promotions, fun events, a ton of media—and hopefully, a couple of good interns. So, we’re proposing a trade—interns can join our team for the Fall semester to help us out, and we’ll provide some great PR experience, academic credit, and a fun work environment.

Here’s the deal:

Internships at Himmelrich PR give college students valuable public relations experience and a wonderful opportunity to contribute and learn. Our interns work directly on client projects—researching, writing, brainstorming, and producing quality work. Our internships are unpaid, with flexible hours and interaction with some great people.

If you want to build your portfolio, get PR experience, and learn a lot—let us know. Send resumes to Garrett Berberich at garrett@himmelrich.com.

We just got some great new work and we are creating a new position!

Himmelrich PR is looking for an Account Associate to support our media and promotions team.

The Account Associate will:
- conduct media research and create press lists
- write press materials
- develop relationships with online and print media
- coordinate traditional, online, and social media activities
- provide administrative support to Account Executives

The ideal candidate will have at least one year of public relations experience, be a very strong (and very quick) writer, and be knowledgeable about social media.

Based in Baltimore, Himmelrich PR promotes public events, corporations, attractions, destinations, and nonprofit organizations throughout the country. We offer a creative and collaborative environment and the opportunity to work with some really nice people.

If you are interested, please send your resume to jobs@himmelrich.com. No phone calls please.

And so it begins. Again.

Sugarloaf Craft Festivals has renewed its relationship with Himmelrich PR, extending our work in the promotion of Sugarloaf’s 15 annual craft and fine art events in seven Mid-Atlantic markets. In addition to managing all media for the shows and the company, we will be producing visitor and artist communications, and assisting with theme development for the events.

Lets get these shows on the road!

This summer, the Maryland Science Center has been busy

—and so have we. We’ve promoted lasers and rock-and-roll; bubbles, bangs, and booms; cooking; and crazy experiments. It hasn’t only been food fans, laser lovers, eager experimenters, and traveling tourists who have been rushing to the Inner Harbor hot-spot

—a multitude of media have managed to meander over to see what the ballyhoo was all about.

Baltimore Sun explored the Fun with (irresponsible) Science, took shots of bubbles and the culprits behind their popping at Bubble Days, and snapped photos of a chef demo in action for the Baltimore Diner blog. WBAL-TV got the inside scoop on all things irresponsible

—like exploding ping pong balls and burning bubbles.

The Davis Planetarium’s Laser Rock shows were selected as a WBFF-TV Hometown Hotspot, with another day devoted to the blockbuster exhibit, Summer of Irresponsible Science. The Washington Post featured the Summer of Irresponsible Science in its Kid’s Post, and the Baltimore Business Journal reported on the great attendance.

Ahhh… summer. Success.

Yes, we are on Facebook and Twitter.

This past Saturday evening, the Maryland Science Center hosted its annual gala, Solstice. As always, it was a great party: fantastic décor, delicious food (this year with a “farm-to-table” focus), and a very danceable 10-piece band. And as always, because we handle the public relations for the museum, we spent our evening fielding questions: How many people are here? (650) How much money was raised? (over $300,000) Where is the band from? (DC).

But, as always, the question we were most asked was “what’s the drink?” The Solstice gala has become known for its annual signature cocktail, an original concoction developed especially for the evening. Here’s the recipe for this year’s libation, the Velvet Crush:

1.75 oz. Bulleit Bourbon

.75 oz. Amaretto Di Saronno

5 oz. Pineapple Juice

Grenadine to taste (or until drink is color of papaya juice)

Shake & serve over crushed ice

We love Joann Levy – not just because she is a client but because her energy and passion are motivating and infectious. As Executive Director of the Women’s Housing Coalition, Joann leads the successful program that provides housing, job training, and personal development initiatives to formerly homeless women and their children in Baltimore.

And we love when Joann and WHC get the attention they deserve, like the profile in this week’s Baltimore Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2011/06/17/25-minutes-with-joann-levy.html