events planning

This is the first blog I’ve written about my PR Placement, which I am doing at The Nationals WA political party. On my first day in the office, I was BEYOND excited about being there. Now, a few days in, the excitement has gone down a touch, but I’m still very appreciative for being given this internship!

The office I work in is very small, consisting of only three other people. This is a good thing for me, as it means I’ve got to know the other staff well. My boss Marty is fairly busy, often going to meetings, on the phone or away on trips so it’s good to have other people around me who can help. Marty prepares a list of jobs for me to do each time I’m in and seems pretty keen on having me on board. This makes me feel appreciated and welcome.

So far I haven’t had any difficulties with the work he’s given me. Most of it has been surrounding a Business Breakfast with Brendon Grylls (leader of The Nationals WA) which my office planned. As I’ve learnt from my PR units at uni, organizing an event takes a lot of preparation. I’ve been given the easier jobs. These have included writing reminder letters, acknowledgement of registration letters, and proof reading invitations. It’s been really interesting being involved in the process of organizing an event. Marty does most of the writing (media releases and timetables) and the rest of the staff proof read his work. This has taught me that in many offices, you have to work your way up before you can do the actual ‘writing’. The format of their strategies is quite different to what I’ve learnt at uni. There is less focus on media and more focus on selling tickets and gaining support and memberships. They are also very detailed. When I have spare time, I often browse through their strategies and media kits for prior events which are very interesting.

I’ve learnt so much about the behind the scenes work of organizing an event. Just doing an acknowledgement letter is a long process. There is quite a lot of red-tape to get through in government. I have to get these letters checked by two people before I can email them off. When writing timetables at uni, I never really considered such little tasks to take so much time. But they do, sometimes a whole morning before I can send it.

Overall, I’m really enjoying my PR placement so far. I’ve been doing two days a week, which is working out well at the moment.