It’s party time! This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of Belle Communications, so we’re celebrating with a week of festivities right here on the blog. Here’s a little preview of what’s to come throughout the week:
- A recap of our most popular blog posts of the past year
- Lessons learned during our first year in business
- A special Q&A chat with our team
- A GIVEAWAY! (Read the bottom of this post for details … )
To kick off the week, we thought it would be fun to give you a chance to get to know our team a little better – and to share some of our favorite things with you! But before we do that, we need to introduce a very special new team member (yes, ANOTHER one!) …
Meet Tori
Tori Maloney, Project Coordinator
Even though we introduced Megan last week, Tori is actually the newest member of our team. We are super excited to have Tori join our team to help keep projects moving, manage calendars, and keep us extra organized. Tori is smart, creative and her positive energy is contagious. Be sure to greet her in the comments below or send her a tweet.
From Tori: “I love being on the Belle Communications team! While I use the skills I already have, I’m learning so much about good business and the importance of connections.
The energy Kate, Heather and Megan bring to work every day is inspiring, and it keeps everyone coming back for more. Their compassion and love for people shows in their work ethic, and go-getter attitude, as they treat each client like the VIP they really are! This is an environment where anyone could flourish and thrive. The way they think outside the box to get coverage for our clients is so impressive. I am looking forward to learning more from them, and being able to contribute creatively to the team.”
Our Favorite Things
Kate Finley, Founder + CEO
Kate is our fearless leader and avid cheerleader. Here are some things you may or may not know about Kate …
What’s your favorite business book? Good to Great by James C. Collins and Lean in by Sheryl Sandberg
Coffee or Tea? Coffee. My favorite coffee drink is a Salted Caramel Mocha, although I rarely have them because they are chock full of sugar. I like Soy Caramel Macchiatos too.
Your guilty pleasure: Marathoning. As in, watching entire TV series in one sitting.
Favorite Movie: This one is hard … I really only like to watch movies once.
What’s your pet peeve? Slow internet connection.
Favorite Band: Sigur Ros, The National, Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire
What do you like to do for fun (outside of work)? I love being outdoors – running, hiking, biking and visiting parks. I also really enjoying trying new restaurants! There are so many great food options around town (town, being Columbus, OH) … recently I discovered Bakersfield, which has amazing tacos and fresh margaritas. #Love
Heather Allen, Content & Community Manager
Heather manages social media, blogging and content marketing for Belle and our fabulous clients. Here’s a few more fun things to know about her …
What’s your favorite business book? Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
Coffee or Tea? I don’t drink either very often but I’d choose coffee over tea. Starbucks’ Salted Caramel Mocha is one of the most delicious beverages on this planet.
Your guilty pleasure: The Bachelor. Although I might have broken the habit since I didn’t watch the most recent season with Juan Pablo.
Favorite Movie: So hard to pick just one! A League of Their Own has been a favorite of mine for ages.
What’s your pet peeve? When people try to sound superior and all-knowing about topics they don’t know anything about
Favorite Band: Coldplay, The Civil Wars
What do you like to do for fun (outside of work)? Right now I’m trying to grow my own vegetables for the first time, so I’m a newbie gardener. I also love to read and one of my goals in 2014 is to read 40 books (I’ve read 9 so far … need to pick up the pace!).
Megan Hoying, Media Specialist
Megan is Belle’s Media Specialist and resident pop culture junkie. Here are some fun facts about Megan:
What’s your favorite business book? How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – a classic!
Coffee or Tea? Coffee, in the biggest cup possible.
Your guilty pleasure: YA literature. I’m currently reading the Divergent trilogy.
Favorite Movie: Ooh, tough one. It’s a tie: The Princess Bride and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
What’s your pet peeve? Poor spelling. Spell check, people!
Favorite Band: Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, The Civil Wars
What do you like to do for fun (outside of work)? I love to read, hike and explore Columbus. I’m also a HUGE movie buff and spend a lot of time with my Netflix account.
Tori Maloney, Project Coordinator
As a world traveler, photographer, and Belle’s (unofficial) Craft Consultant, her curiosity and attention to detail help her get the job done! Here are some things you should know about Tori:
What’s your favorite business book? Bossy Pants + Strengths Finder 2.0
Coffee or Tea? BOTH! 🙂 Iced Caramel Macchiato + Orange Market Spice from Muggswiggz Coffee & Tea Co.
Favorite Movie? Robin Hood with Russell Crowe
Favorite Bands: Ah, so many! Gungor, The Civil Wars, The Shins, Band of Horses, Regina Spektor, Lorde, Feist, Pomplamoose. I’ll stop there. 😉
What’s your guilty pleasure? Gluten. Haha I technically should be gluten free so whenever I want comfort food I eat a mac n cheese, a brownie, or something else that’s yummy and gluten-filled… and I immediately regret it.
What’s your pet peeve? Probably when people overuse words and confuse their meanings… like using the word “gem” for everything.
What do you do for fun (outside of work): Travel to & exploring new places, play with kids, relax outside with a good book, talk with people, cook/try new and exciting foods(!!), create beautiful things out of ordinary things AKA Craft time. 🙂
Enter to Win the #BelleBirthdayBash GIVEAWAY!
Ok, here comes the really fun part. Instead of just telling you about our favorite things, we want to share them with you! So we’re giving away a very special prize pack to one lucky winner!
The prize pack includes:
- $25 iTunes gift card
- $25 Starbucks gift card
- Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
- StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
How to Enter:
- Follow us on Twitter
- Send a tweet or leave us a comment below using hashtag #BelleBirthdayBash before 10 a.m. ET on Friday, April 25, 2014
Example: “I entered the #BelleBirthdayBash giveaway for @ThinkBelleCom’s 1 year anniversary! http://wp.me/p371pd-vk” { Click to Tweet }
The Rules:
- The giveaway is open to U.S. Residents age 18 or older.
- You can enter up to 10 times per day. Every tweet or comment with the hashtag #BelleBirthdayBash will be entered into the giveaway. (So, the more you tweet, the better your chances to win!)
- Enter from just one Twitter handle. Anyone found to be using multiple accounts to enter will be ineligible to win.
- Any tweets or comments deemed to be violent, obscene, harassing, or otherwise inappropriate will be disqualified, at our sole discretion.
- The winner will be selected randomly from all entries and will be announced on Friday, April 25, 2014 during our Livefyre Q&A Chat from 12 – 1 p.m. ET. Tune in to find out if you won!
- We will contact the winner on Friday, April 25. If we don’t receive a response by Monday, April 28 at 5:00pm, a new winner will be selected.
Good luck and thanks for stopping by our week-long birthday party! We’d love to hear about YOUR favorite things, so when you tweet or comment to enter the giveaway, tell us your favorite book, band or coffee drink!
