There’s not much we can’t do from our laptops and phones these days, and it can be hard to walk away from our screens when we know an email backlog awaits us. But a slew of recent events reminded this admitted screen junkie just how important it is to be with people in the moment—because the emails aren’t going anywhere! 

Attending three in-person client events in the span of one week is unusual for me as someone who typically operates and prefers to be behind the scenes. Nevertheless, the universe aligned to present me with this exact scenario, including one client’s annual community cleanup, another’s 25th anniversary celebration, and a third’s graduation ceremony for the crisis response training of law enforcement officers.  

And actually, it was pretty great. 

Witnessing each client in their element—with the communities and constituencies they serve—was so meaningful. In between taking photos and handling on-site media coverage, I was able to work with my fellow Ceisler Media colleagues to participate in the events, meet staff I have only emailed with, and connect with the broader universe of my client’s partners. I came to understand and appreciate the work of these clients in new ways that I am grateful to have experienced. 

Witnessing each client in their element—with the communities and constituencies they serve—was so meaningful. In between taking photos and handling on-site media coverage, I was able to work with my fellow Ceisler Media colleagues to participate in the events, meet staff I have only emailed with, and connect with the broader universe of my client’s partners. I came to understand and appreciate the work of these clients in new ways that I am grateful to have experienced. 

I helped with the cleanup and got to see the impact they made in their surrounding neighborhood in the before/after views. I enjoyed seeing our client be celebrated by their peers and community in a well-deserved recognition of tremendous service. I also saw the third client’s dedication to serving the community by providing mental health training for officers to help citizens in crisis as well as protect their own mental health.  

These events gave me a chance to engage with the stakeholders and staff of these clients and to experience their impact in real-time, in the real-world, not just the digital one. The details and layers I gathered from these experiences helped me develop media pitches that were more compelling and communications that were more authentic and targeted than they might otherwise have been. 10/10 would recommend.