Since losing my job in 2014 and launching my own business weeks later, I have lived and breathed public relations.
From helping small businesses and nonprofits promote their events and fundraising initiatives, to drawing greater awareness of their products, services and memberships, my mind is constantly in overdrive sorting through every possible way to gain clients exposure and sought-after publicity.
Until several weeks ago, that is. On March 12, the greater Philadelphia area, where I live and run my marketing business, went into an almost shutdown. Along with business closures in response to the COVID-19 virus, meetings, events and schools were cancelled in my community, as well as communities throughout the U.S.
My long-held passion for PR was instantly replaced with an overwhelming sense of panic and despair. My new reality saw me transitioning into a homeschooling mom of sorts, learning a few at-home workout routines to replace my daily fitness regimen and improving upon my cooking hobby by substituting ingredients for whatever I could cobble together.
It’s a life that many of us have had to embrace, unfortunately. As more than 100,000 people in the U.S. have tested positive for the Coronavirus and more stay-at-home restrictions are put in place nationwide, I have never had more time to focus on anything other than my livelihood of six years.
Each day, my husband and I cross our fingers for some sort of silver lining or brief distraction to refocus our attention away from what has become our new normal. This weekend, I got it.
The folks at Montco Happening released the winners of the 2020 Happening List. For the third year in a row, Katalinas Communications has won in the Public Relations category. It’s an honor to once again win this award, mostly because clients and supporters in Montgomery County, with their votes, ultimately choose the winners in each of the various categories. I view it as a stamp of approval and am so incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of so many.
Katalinas Communications was nominated as one of the best Public Relations service providers at the start of the contest in January 2020 (in a time before Coronavirus was the focus of nearly every conversation and news segment). Six weeks of online voting followed. The company competed against (and defeated) four other Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Public Relations firms for the highest honor. Montco Happening List results were announced on March 27 following an extensive audit process.
The announcement of the Montco Happening win has helped me shift focus away from the panic and back to my business. Maybe one day soon I’ll be back to living and breathing public relations instead of living and breathing in fear.
About Katalinas Communications
The Montgomery County-based business is led by Theresa Katalinas, a former journalist who repurposed her news media experience to help clients generate local and regional publicity, build brand awareness, gain exposure for events and news and, ultimately, to have their unique stories told through top-notch writing, media relations, email marketing and social media. Creative Director Mark Hubman, an award-winning graphic designer of more than 20 years, blends Theresa’s words with compelling and thought-provoking images to devise eye-catching advertisements, fliers, newsletters and more. Mark also heads up Website development for Katalinas Communications.
Katalinas Communications provides public relations and marketing services for many ongoing local municipal, nonprofit and small business clients including Falls Township Board of Supervisors, Plymouth Township Council, Conshohocken Borough Authority, Bucks County Wine Trail, Edward Taylor Coombs Foundation, SCORE Bucks County and the Danny DeGennaro Foundation.
For more information on how Katalinas Communications can help your small business, nonprofit or organization, call Theresa Katalinas at 215-519-8833 or email Theresa@KatalinasCommunications.com for a free no-commitment consultation. To keep up-to-date on our news, subscribe to our email list.
