January has certainly been a busy month in the office! Keeping up with team J&PR is no simple task!
While we've had our fun trading cards, visiting the theatre and spending time with family, we’ve also had some fantastic client wins to kickoff the New Year in style!
It certainly hasn't been a quiet month in the office...
Kirsty is kickstarting the year with several very exciting proposals and on-boarding our biggest client too! In previous years people have taken a few weeks to get back into the swing of things but not this year!
Similarly, Rhea has loved her January meetings with clients to look over the impact of our work in the last 12 months, hear their plans for the coming year, talk about trends and brainstorm actions as we head into 2023!
For Sophie’s professional highlight, she’s also enjoying getting back into the swing of things with the team after the festive break! She is loving being back in the office, getting to see everyone, meet with clients, deliver training, and work on new projects. Long may it continue!
Also in the office, apprentice Freya R has been challenged with writing more blogs than she has ever done before! She’s enjoying the variation and learning about new topics. Who knew cleaning a dog’s teeth could be so interesting? She is also thrilled to have passed her second exam for her course at SBC training - two down, one to go!
For her professional highlight, Dani is adapting to new working hours for J&PR and is enjoying being able to throw herself in a little more. She recently left her teaching job and it has freed her up to allow more time with her J&PR clients, take on more clients and generally work a little more flexibly. It means she has had the opportunity to speak to even more people across the world for Jesmonite and learn even more about a huge variety of professions.
Tony is happy to have learned about the three students from Ellesmere College who took to the stage to appear in the Frozen production at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury. For Noah Fisher and Imogen Edwards it was the latest in a string of stage credits while Isobel Philbin is now looking forward to appearing in Shrek.
Family time
At home, Freya R’s New Year’s resolution has meant that she has more free time to do the things she loves! She has spent more time reading, watching her favourite shows and walking her dogs as well as spending more time with her siblings and even laughing through an afternoon of virtual reality Beat Saber.
For Kirsty, her trip with Rhea and their mums to see Mamma Mia at The Grand in Wolverhampton was her highlight! The last time the four of them went was in February 2020! Little did they know what was about to happen back then! All a part of Kirsty’s New Year plan, to give the 'gift of time' rather than presents which people don't always need.
Dani’s personal highlight was getting to meet her oldest, longest and best friend's baby. Harrison was born on Dec 23rd and Dani says it is so wonderful to see her friend with her gorgeous bundle of joy - and get cuddles too! Dani and her friend have known each other since playgroup so they really have gone full circle now.
A very close second to this personal highlight is completing the Panini World Cup sticker book! From doing swap deals via Facebook groups at the J&PR Christmas party to talking about it far too much with friends, family and anyone who would listen over the past few months... Dani and her six-year-old finally finished it and stuck in the last sticker needed onto the Mexico page during January.
Dani is now free from the bounds of the sticker book and can resume her adult life.
Freya M and her partner, Todd, went on a little trip to Glascwm near Hay-on-Wye for the weekend. They stayed in a converted bothy with no wifi or signal (that is unless you drove 10 minutes up the road) and had a lovely time listening to music, going on walks and playing board games - including their new favourite, cat bingo. Freya has spent lots of time at home through January and is grateful for the family time she has had this month.
For his personal highlight, Tony loves Christmas so much, he kicked off the New Year on January 1st with family Christmas day take two! Tony was glad to have another day with all of his family.
Staying active this winter…
Sophie’s personal highlight this month has been getting back into her cold water swimming! Soph absolutely loves swimming and says doing it outdoors in the lovely fresh air feels like hitting a 'restart' button. Being the social butterfly she is, it’s not just swimming, either. Every time she goes she finds someone new to chat to and sits outside to read her book after a swim. What a way to reset!
For Si, he is proud of continuing with some form of exercise during January. His New Year’s resolution was to get fitter, and although he claims he’s not exactly Joe Wicks when it comes to enthusiasm, he has managed to do at least a couple of sessions a week - keep it up, Si!
PR and training wins
Going to her first Combined Networking Group event with Shropshire Chamber was Freya’s professional highlight. It was great seeing all three clubs join together at Carriages in Oswestry for the first time and to hear from so many wonderful local businesses.
We had a great result for one of our clients this month which came from always listening out for opportunities on BBC Radio Shropshire. Having heard the breakfast show presenter mentioning he had always wanted to drive a truck, Si’s PR brain went 'ping!' and within a week Adam Green was recording a feature with our client, Dulson Training, which resulted in multiple pieces being aired on prime time radio.
Rhea has been working hard on achieving her Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Autism since late 2022 and January saw the deadline for her coursework - she just about managed it and is so pleased she decided to take the course as it has been fantastic to learn and understand more about autism.
Well that’s our January wrapped, we’ve got lots planned for February - make sure to check back in to see what we’re up to!
