HC visits the Capitol of Illinois for a video shoot with the Illinois State Treasury
Insightful. Smart. Funny. Unpredictable. Those are just a few of the words I would use to describe the things that come out of Kathleen Henson’s mouth. Another word though, is moving. It was at a client meeting a few months back that Kathleen said something I will never forget. When referring to our profession and the “image” surrounding it, she simply said, “Look, at the end of the day, we understand, PR doesn’t save lives, but if we can do great things and create moments that impact people’s lives and make them happy, then it’s all worth it.” I couldn’t agree more…
At Henson Consulting and through our charitable arm, HC3, we are fortunate enough to work with many amazing organizations like the Open Hearts Foundation (which you can read about here), Bright Pink, and for me personally, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana (RMHC-CNI). It was through working with RMHC, that I experienced a “wow,” moment, and really understood what Kathleen meant when she said that if we can do great things and create moments that impact people’s lives and make them happy, then all of our hard work is worth it.
This past Friday, we had a Mother’s Day Makeover segment filming for our client, m2f Denims, in which deserving Moms were treated to a morning of hair and makeup, and given new outfits, courtesy of Sofia Vintage and m2f. When tasked with finding a couple of deserving moms to participate, I immediately thought of involving RMHC. For those of you that aren’t familiar, Ronald McDonald Houses aim to provide a “home away from home,” for parents and families while their child is receiving life-giving care at nearby hospitals.
While we coordinate segments all the time, this one started out with a few bumps. At first we didn’t have enough moms available to participate, which led to us having too many on board, after frantically sending out invites to our network. At 7 p.m. the evening before the segment (which was being filmed at 4:30 a.m.), two of the moms had to cancel, so we weren’t sure if the segment would happen. It was a stressful night, to say the least.
In the end though, it all worked out. We were fortunate enough to be connected with Shannon Melquist, a mom who recently stayed at Ronald McDonald’s Hope House while her newborn son, Carter, was in the hospital. When she arrived at the boutique we saw that she had brought along her mother, Dawn, and her other son Charlie, Carter’s twin brother. While Shannon was the intended makeover target, and Grandma Dawn was simply there to watch Charlie, we decided, hey, why not give Grandma a makeover too.
I can’t begin to describe how excited they were—yes, there were tears. If that wasn’t enough, to see Shannon and her mom after the makeover, looking so happy (and FAB-U-LOUS, I might add) after all that they have been through with Carter being sick, literally made the entire thing worth it. From the early morning wake-up call to the stress of finding moms that were able to participate last minute, I would do it all again just to see the joy on Shannon and Dawn’s faces.
At the end of the day, PR may not save lives, but it certainly can make someone’s life better. Check out this clip to see Dawn and Shannon’s transformation! http://chicago.cbslocal.com/video/7214802-mommy-makeovers-with-vince-gerasole/
As a wife and working mom of two, I’ve always wrestled with the idea of balance, perhaps because I’m not one to give up on the idea of a full life. The people that fill my heart, the work that brings me joy, the play that keeps me sane — I need them all in serious quantities. I’ve read countless books and articles on balance, grilled every successful woman I know on what’s worked, even tried to own the mantra, you can have everything, just not at the same time.
But here’s where I always land: It’s hard. Period.
Recently, though, when I was spending time with my good friend Kathleen Henson, the answer to work-life balance — every woman’s grail quest! — hit me like an epiphany. Kathleen and I were in my driveway trying to have a conversation while our kids circled us like buzzing bees.
You should know that K and I always have loads to talk about, a direct result of having lives that intersect in so many ways. First there’s our work; I’m a writer and, as many of you know, she’s a rockstar publicist, so we often talk shop. But we’re also very good friends and neighbors (I can see her house from my window now), our children are best buds at the same school, we wear our hearts on our sleeves, we consider our husbands very lucky men. Honestly, I can’t think of anyone with whom I have more interesting connections.
So, there in my driveway, we talked in interrupted bites as our kids simultaneously pulled us in every direction. And in a flash, I was struck by Kathleen’s ability to stay present – to offer have meaningful thoughts and feedback — despite all the commotion. And while focused on our disjointed convo, she also managed to fix her eyes on our kids, bolting out here and there to grab the youngest ones in danger of straying too close to the street.
My brain doesn’t work that way. I typically worry too much about what needs to get done that the current moment gets lost on me. But Kathleen was fully there, her attention on me, her watchful eyes on the kids, her words as thoughtful as those you’d expect from your therapist.
Seriously, it was amazing. Here is this woman with five awesome kids and a great husband, running a busy company and managing a brilliant staff not to mention a high-profile client list, and she was not a bit frazzled or thrown, but totally responding as if this was exactly where she needed to be.
After that I studied Kathleen a bit in all the ways I’ve come to know her. Here’s what I can tell you: this insanely skilled ability to be present is clearly her shtick. Whether on a client call, in a staff meeting, at a school function, cutting the cake at my daughter’s communion party, or at the bedside of her youngest boy who had to spend a lot of time in the ICU this past week because of his asthma, Kathleen has a gift for being completely, wholeheartedly where she needs to be at any given moment.
No doubt Kathleen is also surrounded by a strong support system at home and in the office. But the kind of success she has achieved is something that I believe comes from within. Kathleen is a fire bolt, whip smart, deeply compassionate, quick to rescue and create miracles, but it’s her ability to be present that amazes me most and has totally opened my eyes to the secret of balance.
Watching her in action, I now get that having a totally full life – the only kind of life I want — is possible so long as I can stop and be present for each moment. Of course, I’ll be a work in progress for sometime. But lucky for me, Kathleen is so much a part of my world that I just know the inspiration will keep on coming.
In pulling up to be present, I can’t think of a better way to kickoff Mother’s Day weekend than to acknowledge someone who has given me one of the best gifts I can own as a mom. Thank you, K, for the life-changing insight, and for always being such a great pal and mentor. Now I can walk into this weekend knowing exactly what to do to really celebrate with my family.
– Nina Hahn
Nina Kokotas Hahn is an independent magazine and travel writer, editor and copywriter serving print and digital outlets. Her work regularly appears in Chicago magazine and Conde Nast’s HotelChatter. See more of her work at ninakhahn.com.
We’re changing up our regular routine and posting Photo Friday on Wednesday due to an exciting guest blogger that will be appearing on our site on Friday! (Come back Friday to see who it is!)
In the meantime, we’re thrilled to announce that HC is the winner of two Golden Trumpets and one Silver Trumpet from the Publicity Club of Chicago.
As the internship coordinator here at HC, I see a lot of resumes. Resumes are not really all that different from online dating website profiles. They are a very short first impression on paper (or computer screen) that helps us decide whether or not we would like to spend more time with you in person (i.e. an interview). The more time I spent professionally “dating,” I started to realize that there is a pretty simple etiquette that I’ve come to expect while I’m being “courted” by a potential employee/intern.
Hear me out on this … I’m not expecting you to tell me that I have beautiful eyes, but there are some basic tactics that we use very regularly in public relations. And believe it or not, when you interview at our agency, we aren’t just looking at your experience and checking out your references (but yes, we do that too). We’re testing you to determine whether or not we think you have what it takes to get the job done.
Wondering what exactly we’re looking for? Here are a few friendly suggestions on how to get a “second date” at HC:
I’d consider that last one the most important of all. Most people spend more time at work than they do anywhere else in their life, so finding a job is like committing to a monogamous relationship – it only works well when both parties are happy and supportive. Internships are like dating … and many of the same rules apply. Be yourself, and if it doesn’t fit, don’t force it.
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