My Bio -
I didn’t set out to be a marketer or to become involved with information technology and the Internet. Some may say that I came upon it accidentally, but I say God's providence guided every step and all I did was follow.
Before the Internet was public, I got my first taste of marketing and public relations (PR) as a student at Toccoa Falls College. I had the privilege of traveling with two college-sponsored music teams. While I was a member of Exaltation, the team traveled the United States, Canada, and Indonesia for 16-months ministering and promoting the college.
After finishing the tour with Exaltation and a B.S. in Broadcasting at Toccoa Falls College, I joined the college staff as a PR Assistant. I later worked my way up to PR Director. During my six years on staff, I was involved with many traditional marketing, public relations, and fundraising activities.
However, many new opportunities in marketing and public relations became available in 1994 when the Internet was introduced to the college campus. Endeavoring to take advantage of the new technology, I became actively involved with the IT (Information Technology) Department in the design and coding the college's website. (You can see many of the old Web pages at the Internet Archive for toccoafalls.edu).
It was during this time that I began to use some of the techniques now widely used and describe in "The New Rules of Marketing & PR". For example, I posted all News Releases on the Web site for all of the college's constituents to read. This new tactic also attracted new visitors through the building of keyword-friendly content. Of course, in those beginning years of the Web, search engines like Google were not part of the equation. What we had to work with were Web directories like Yahoo! and Excite.
Just prior to Y2K, I began a new phase of life. I left the comfort and safety of Toccoa Falls College and joined a information technology consulting firm, the IT Institute. As a project analyst, I coordinated IT projects; tracked multi-million dollar project budgets; managed business-to-business IT procurement; installed networking equipment, servers, and workstations; and designed and administered the corporate website. While working with the IT Institute, I had the joy of assisting in the construction of Jazzland Themepark. Later the park became Six Flags New Orleans. Unfortunately, the park was decimated by Hurricane Katrina and is no longer operating.
After working on Jazzland, I joined the staff of Alfa SmartParks, the company that built the park and owned and managed a group of themeparks, waterparks, and amusement parks. As an IT project analyst and applications specialist, the change in employer meant little. I performed most of the same tasks I did before, but with the added responsibility of administrating and supporting enterprise applications.
While with Alfa SmartParks I began my MBA program with Jones International University, the first regionally accredited university to exist only online. My MBA specialization was in Information Technology Management.
Upon finishing my MBA, I joined the staff of Adventures In Missions, a Christian short-term missions organization, as their marketing coordinator. During my three-year tenure with AIM, we rebranded the organization and vastly expanded the nonprofit organization's Web presence. Our marketing efforts were Web-centric and included search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), Web banner advertising, online newsletters, email marketing, blogging, and online videos in addition to the traditional marketing tactics of magazine advertising, direct mail, and personal selling. Believe it or not, AIM was using a non-RSS blogging system for mission trip reports before blogs become popular. Trip participation levels increased 6.3% after my first year and 29.3% after my second year on staff at AIM.
The founder of Adventures in Missions, Seth Barnes, is always listening for where God will lead the organization next. In fact, his first book is called The Art of Listening Prayer. For example, God lead Seth to partner AIM with Bruce Wilkinson as he founded several projects in Swaziland. These projects included an abstinence based AIDS prevention program called Dream for Africa and a project called Never Ending Gardens, which partnered Americans with South Africans to plant green-leaf gardens for families in Swaziland.
In 2006, Adventures In Mission began an incredible new venture, The World Race. It is an 11-month, 11-country, around-the-world missions trip. Teams of young adults race from site to site ministering at each site for about a month. Teams members experience such outrageous adventures you have to read their blogs and watch their videos to believe the stories.
Additionally, Adventures In Missions was part of the immediate and long-term relief efforts in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I was honored to play my part. For more on the mission's response to the crises I recommend your read Katrina Soul Search.
While I was with Adventures In Missions, I also performed consulting, web development, and graphics work for publisher Praxis Press and e-tailer MissionsResources.com, an online store for missions resources.
Currently, I'm in my dream job back at Toccoa Falls College. I'm an assistant professor in the Business Administration Department. My courses include all of our marketing courses, Business for Nonprofit Organizations, Business Finance, Management Information Systems, and more. In my spare time, I'm working on my Ph.D. in Business Administration with a Specialization in Marketing at Northcentral University.
