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December 28, 2006 CNBAM Selection Committee Business Manager of the Year To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to recommend Ari Ben-Shimol for your Business Manager of the Year award. I believe he is deserving of this recognition for three reasons.

First, in his term as Business Manager of The University Daily Kansan, Ari demonstrated exceptional diligence in his effort to lead his team to success. He gave constant and earnest effort to accomplish every task and challenge he undertook. More importantly, he motivated his management and sales teams to give the same level of effort, so that our entire organization was focused on getting through each challenge.

Second, Ari was calm in the storm. By that I mean that he showed a sense of serenity and level-headedness that enabled him to act with conviction and steadfast resolve even in the most stressful situations. He didn’t make rash decisions. He didn’t “freak out” in emergencies. He wasn’t rattled by problems that he knew were short-term and solvable.

Ari simply analyzed problems and found effective solutions quickly. In an often-crazed student newspaper environment, this sense of tranquility made Ari a resolute leader who carried the Kansan through many difficult situations.

Third, and related to the qualities above, people were drawn to Ari because they trust him. They didn’t assume he would solve their problems, because he refused to do that.

They didn’t assume that with Ari in the driver’s seat, they could relax, because he wouldn’t allow that. They knew that Ari would coach them through the problems, teaching them how to break it down and solve it so that when it came up again, they could solve it on their own. Ari trusted the people who trusted him, and by that, he empowered his team to get the job done as best they could every day.

These three characteristics define Ari’s leadership style, and for these reasons, he was overcame even the most trying challenges. For example, at the midpoint of the semester, Ari noticed that many of the salespeople were struggling to make goal. Several people were very stressed out, a couple had quit, but the Kansan still had a ways to go to meet its semester goal. Furthermore, the team was working on a very important, very profitable special section at the time. Many managers would have reacted rashly, getting stressed out and frustrated. Ari did not. He analyzed the problem, settled on a plan to fix it, and worked that plan day in and day out. Ari remained level-headed and professional, and he coached his team to do the same. For this reason, they trusted in him even when they were scared of failure. The team pulled through for and because of Ari, and that special section was a record-breaking success.

This is just one example of many showing how influential a leader Ari is. He brought empowerment, resolution and diligence to the Kansan that quite frankly, we were lacking in a bit. When we hired him a few semesters ago as a salesperson, I had a hunch that he would bring something incredible to this organization weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never seen before. After a stellar sales career and an exceptional semester as Business Manager, I know now that even in my best hopes, I underestimated this young man. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an incredible leader with unmatched resolution to better the Kansan and himself, and I highly recommend him for your Business Manager of the Year designation.

Please feel free to contact me immediately with any questions or concerns regarding Ari. I can be reached at jweaver@kansan.com or (785) 864-7666.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Weaver Sales and Marketing Adviser The University Daily Kansan

To Whom It May Concern: I am very pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Ari Ben in the category of Business Manager of the Year. During his tenure, I worked directly under him while managing a small team of salespeople myself. I have known him for more than two years, and in that time I have learned how lucky The University Daily Kansan was to have him leading our organization.

It is usually difficult for me when someone asks that I write a letter of recommendation.

This was not the case with Ari. During his time as business manager, Ari’s most valuable quality was his grace under pressure. Every day he endured endless meetings, questions from new account executives and helped put out fires with clients. As a person who thrives on pressure, I know how easy it is to become overwhelmed. Through all this—and I am not exaggerating—Ari never lost his cool. This attribute, in my experience, is the hallmark of a great business manager.

Looking back at the semester, it is hard to believe that it was only Ari’s third semester on staff. Don’t let me misguide you; our semester was not perfect. (But when has it ever been?) Despite this, he was one of the most composed and professional business managers out of the nine with whom I have worked. The knowledge he demonstrated of the business of sales was beyond his years. Because of the leadership and even-handed guidance he provided, I was better equipped to lead my sales staff to a goal-breaking semester.

Once again, I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation. If there is anyone who is more qualified to win this award, I’d like to meet that person. They must be amazing to work for.

Sincerely, Chris Pumpelly The University Daily Kansan

Ari Ben Category 6C: Management Style The University Daily Kansan Across the Country with a Good Manager Over the past couple of years, I have had the opportunity to play many different roles for the University Daily Kansan. I started as an Account Executive which was strictly a sales position and since then I have had a job in management, including the role of Business Manager (Ad Director) in spring 2006. So having experience in sales, management, and in most semesters, both at once, I have developed a pretty clear management style and philosophy. Because the world of college newspaper advertising is one in which we encounter a great amount of employee turnover and also one in which the median age of each worker is around 20 years old with no spouse, kids, house, etc., managing style for such an organization must be fairly different from that of an organization with more established employees. Nonetheless, I feel that I have found what managing style drives people to succeed in our world of college newspapers and maybe beyond that.

In my opinion the first step to being a good manager is establishing your self as a manager and creating the territory that goes along with it. What I mean by that is before you can manage anybody, you have to decide what your goals for the group are and how you are going to take the necessary steps toward achieving those goals. However, this is not nearly as simple as it sounds. I believe that a group’s performance is usually a reflection of their leaders. If goals not clearly defined and if a path of how to achieve those goals is not clearly paved by the manager, chances are few people will take that path and it will be a bumpy ride for everyone involved. Unfortunately, the concept of clearly defining goals is only the first baby step on the success ladder. All it really does is get your workers to focus on where they need to go and in some sense how to get there.

It would be like telling an inexperienced driver who has never left their home to drive from Los Angeles to New York and providing them with nothing but a set of MapQuest directions. Though the ultimate goal is established in that circumstance, and a path is paved, there would be no way that poor person would know what to do.

The next step in successful management is aiding a group on their journey from point A to point B. This is the tricky part. As a manager, one must provide guidance.

Also easier said than done. Think of all the people that you know that you would follow to a place just because they said follow me. The list of people is probably short. So, here is the managers challenge: you as a manager need to get a group of people who don’t know you as anything other than their boss through a treacherous semester that is sure to provide many obstacles and neglecting any group member might result in failure. So how does one guide another person properly to reach the peaks of success? Let’s go back to that short list of people that you would follow anywhere jut because. Chances are you would follow them because you know they will guide you to a good place. You know that because you trust these people. You trust these people because they have made you feel comfortable and they somehow relate to you. Now, let’s summarize. At some point,

someone took the time and energy to make you feel comfortable in general with that person by relating to you or being there for you, so you began to trust this person to a point where you would allow them to guide you to a potentially unknown place. Bingo.

So the ultimate challenge to a manager is taking the time and energy to personally know their employees. And I don’t mean by name, I mean by finding something that makes them feel comfortable and safe within an organization. For example, it’s important to know how people are motivated and encouraged, and believe me; everybody is motivated in different ways. Also, simple positive reinforcement or walking someone through a problem and having them walk you back through it are good ways to let people know that you, their leader, care about them which in turn, makes them more comfortable working hard for you. After the comfort level is established with each individual, you as a manager must establish yourself as trustworthy in their eyes. For most people, trust is established when people do what they say they will do. In fact, that is a key component to developing client relationships on the sales side of this job. Likewise, it also applies to management style. Let’s say your employees have an issue with one of their designers and ads aren’t being made properly because of it and they express this to you. A good manager will “fix” the problem. I can’t get into how to necessarily fix it because it depends entirely on the organization, but the point is you fix the problem no matter what.

Once this is done, all of a sudden your workers have this new found trust for you, simply because you did what you said you were going to do. Now, mix that with the continual encouragement and the apparent effort to really know everybody, and you as a manager have now established comfort and trust with your employees. The obvious part of good management is proper training and continual training of your employees so they know how to do their jobs. If this is all done effectively and properly, you will have taught your team, made them feel comfortable, and earned their trust. Do those criteria sound like qualities of a person that you would allow to guide you? I think so. So consider the people on your list that you would allow to guide you somewhere. Chances are they include a parent or family member. They could include a certain political figure or a professor. Maybe even a manager.

Let’s look again at the example earlier about the driver driving across country.

Assume now that in addition to telling that person where to go and only providing some directions you did a number of other things. Let’s say you provided a form of good car for them to make this trip. You also provided a list of hotels that would good to stay at to get proper rest. Maybe you agreed to meet them mid-country for lunch one day and boost their spirits. You call them everyday with whether conditions and where to avoid driving for their safety and while you are on the phone you converse about other things for a while because you know they are bored. These amongst many other things would be you “guiding” this driver to their destination of success. The road at first might be tougher (let’s say through Nevada), but if done properly, by the end of this journey, that driver will guide itself (let’s say through Pennsylvania and through the home stretch.) It would be due to your management.

Ari Ben

(720) 838- 7877 ariben24@ku.edu 920 Indiana Lawrence, KS 66044

Education The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with a Minor in Marketing.

Graduation date: December 2007.

Experience The University Daily Kansan Aug. 2005-Dec. 2005/ Aug.2006- Present Zone Manager, The University Daily Kansan, Lawrence, Kan.  Managed a staff of over six people that generated total revenue of at least $180,000 over the course of two semesters.  Lead my team to exceed quota by an average of 16% between two semesters.  Built relationships with twenty clients and exceeded my quota goals by and average of 20% between two semesters.  Created and proposed advertising campaigns that generated total revenue of nearly $80,000 over the course of two semesters.  Sold nearly $14,000 in November 2006, my highest mark.

Jan. 2006-May 2006 Business Manager, The University Daily Kansan, Lawrence, Kan.  Manage a staff of over 40 people, while maintaining a client list of my own.  Exceeded revenue goals for all special sections by more than a total of $2000.  Exceeded revenue goals for the online department by 150%.  Exceeded goals for local linage by 3%.  Developed a training program for sales staff that has been implemented throughout the semester.

Jan. 2005-May. 2005 Account Executive, The University Daily Kansan, Lawrence, Kan.  Developed advertising campaigns and marketing plans for 25 active clients.  Exceeded my sales quota goals by an average of 175%.  In Feb. 2005, exceed quota by more than 400%.

The Denver Business Journal May 2006-Aug 2006 Advertising Account Executive Intern, The Denver Business Journal, Denver, Col.  Generated roughly $20,000 total in new business revenue.  Proposed and sold advertising for a multitude of specific products including classifieds and a Non-Profit Giving Guide.  Supported the sales staff by attending client meetings and pitching special projects.

Awards        

Manager of the Semester, The University Daily Kansan, Fall 2005, Fall 2006 Salesperson of the Semester, The University Daily Kansan, Fall 2006 Account Executive of the Semester, The University Daily Kansan, Spring 2005 Manager of the Month, The University Daily Kansan, Oct. 2006, Nov. 2006, Aug. 2005 Account Executive of the Month, The University Daily Kansan, Feb. 2005, May 2005 “Rising Star Award”, Denver Business Journal, 2006 Nominated Salesperson of the Year, College Newspaper Business & Advertising Manager Conference, 2005.

Nominated Business Manager of the Year, College Newspaper Business & Advertising Manager Conference, 2006

Activities   

KUJH Sports Talk, Production Assistant.

Volunteer, Denver Chop House, Miracle on 19th Street Volunteer, Cherry Creek Arts Festival

References Malcolm Gibson General Manager, The University Daily Kansan 785-864-4358 mgibson@kansan.com Jennifer Weaver Sales and Marketing Advisor, The University Daily Kansan 785-864-7666 jweaver@kansan.com Denise Jendrusch Advertising Director, Denver Business Journal 303-837-3518 djendrusch@bizjournals.com

The University Daily Kansan: Revenue Growth and Improvement Chart for Spring 2006 This graph is intended to display the improvement each month by our staff in terms of revenue generated through ad sales in the spring 2006 semester. The numbers 15 represent the months January through May. As I'm sure you are aware, January and May are shorter months. In fact we only had 10 selling days in May and we were still able to bring in over $86,000. Therefore, the way I see it, the month of May would have continued the growth pattern had it been a full month. January was a rough month indeed for our sales staff. Luckily, my managers and I were able to analyze the problem early, implement more needed training, and pull the staff out of it's initial slump. As far as percentage to goal is concerned, March was our best month. Though it was supposed to be a "down month", the managing team and I were able to motivate the staff and provide enough guidance to lead the staff to a 17% increase in revenue over the previous year.

The revenue displayed in this chart reflects sales from Run of Press, Classified Line and Display Ads, Inserts, Coupons, Online Ads, among a few other sources.

We as a staff did experience other achievements throughout the semester that didn’t necessarily pertain strictly to revenue generation. For example, the training program we used in the spring of 2006 was the same training program that won third place in that category at CNBAM last march. So, I made it a point to make sure that our staff was well trained. Though most people were successful last spring, I really believe most of the people who stayed were able to take what training experience they had from the spring semester and apply it and grow in the fall 2006 semester. Last fall we as a staff had the most successful semester in years. I was not Business Manager in the fall, but I feel that much of the training, and other programs I installed in the spring, led to the ultimate success we saw in the fall. For example, my main goal for when I was BM was to boost our online presence which had been sub-par for a few semesters. So, I appointed two people to spearhead our online effort. One person was basically in charge of the technical aspects and the other was in charge of training the staff on how to sell the online products. Though it was a huge success last spring, our online department saw record breaking numbers in the fall, which I take a great deal of pride in.

There was another achievement that we had as a staff that I orchestrated and now feel very proud about. In this case, revenue really had nothing to do with it. While six of us were at CNBAM last year, Lawrence, Kansas was rocked by a tornado. It was actually a microburst but we don’t need to be technical. Anyway, our town and school suffered much damage. When we returned to Lawrence, we found out that they had cancelled school. Unfortunately for us it happened to be the day after our basketball team won a conference championship, the NCAA tournaments bracket was coming out, and we had a ton of news coverage about the storm in the paper. It was probably the largest paper we had that semester. Personally I was faced with a few options. If we didn’t somehow distribute the paper, we would have had to reimburse around 30 advertisers that were in the paper that day and also be forced to release delayed news. So, instead of doing that, I figured out what neighborhoods had the highest propensity of students living in them, assigned the staff members to shifts starting around 5am, and over the course of the day, we hand delivered about 10,000 newspapers across town so the students could get their papers and our clients could still reach their targets. The next day, someone left

a message on our office phone saying, “we didn’t have school and I still got a Kansan delivered to my front door…that’s awesome.”

The University Daily Kansan: Revenue Growth and Improvement Chart for Spring 2006 $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 Total Revenue Earned $60,000

$3

$40,000 $20,000 $0 Series1

1

2

3

4

5

$31,433

$110,059

$111,108

$111,367

$86,443

Months

Series1

Kyle Hoedl The University Daily Kansan Business Manager of the Year CNBAM 2007

December 18, 2006 CNBAM Selection Committee Business Manager of the Year To Whom It May Concern: I recommend Kyle Hoedl for Business Manager of the Year because his leadership style is wrapped up in one very simple, very powerful word: proactive. Let me explain.

Before becoming our Business Manager, Kyle was one of four zone (sales team) managers in the spring semester of 2006. He struggled making the transition into management, but I can remember one particularly candid meeting with him that I believe was a turning point. At the outset, Kyle’s team was cruising along at a mediocre level. He wasn’t failing as leader, but he also wasn’t succeeding. So, his mission in this meeting was to find out why. He finally realized that he wasn’t “getting there” the way he wanted to because he was a reactive manager who had the “I’m here for you when you need me, but I’ll leave you alone otherwise” mentality.

I think a light bulb went on. I think he understood the gaping hole in this mentality: that the people who worked for him were desperate for his leadership. They were frustrated by a management style they felt was too hands-off. When Kyle realized this, he knew that he had work to do. He wanted to be better for his team at the time, and he had a personal goal of earning the Kansan’s top management position in the coming fall.

I firmly believe that out of that process came the business manager who took the Kansan to its best-performing semester in three years. It took that struggle for Kyle to learn what a leader is, and more importantly, what a leader does. For Kyle, leadership is about being proactive, about doing.

So what does he do? He doesn’t claim to know all the answers. In fact, I hear him asking more questions than he answers sometimes. Why is that relevant? Because that makes him a continual learner, and it shows the people who work for him that it’s ok not to know everything, so long as you are committed to learning your way through it. That means that under Kyle’s leadership, the Kansan ad staff is always growing, always learning, and always becoming better. That’s proactive, powerful movement forward every single day.

Kyle also acts on a healthy dose of confidence in himself and his team. When he was recruiting for his team, he searched for candidates with the eagerness to learn and the discipline to get there. Kyle searched for these things in people instead of perfect objection-handling skills or a terrific portfolio. Why? Kyle had the maturity and vision to see that he could do something with raw talent and self-motivation. He was at their side day in and day out, pushing, coaching, mentoring. He shared his pride in their progress with them at every chance he got. That is proactive coaching, with a healthy dose of confidence.

I could go on and on with examples demonstrating that of all things, Kyle is “do-er.” It’s a strange word, I know, but there is just no better way to encompass a leader who is so

proactive in developing a team that will go down in our history books as one of the best in years.

After reading Kyle’s other material, I’m sure you’ll see that he possesses all of the standard leadership qualities in wealth. After reading this letter, I hope you understand that what really makes the difference for Kyle, what makes him an exceptional leader, is wrapped up in one, simple word: proactive.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Weaver Sales and Marketing Adviser The University Daily Kansan

January 3, 2007 CNBAM Selection Committee Business Manager of the Year To Whom It May Concern: When you review the revenue data of the Kansan for the fall semester over the previous year, you will notice that the Kansan experienced substantial growth. While this in and of itself is an achievement worth noting, the fact that the Kansan hasn’t had a betterperforming semester for over three years puts it into even greater perspective. I know that that success wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work Kyle Hoedl put in from the first day he got the job. As his Sales Manager for the fall semester, I was truly able to see the grit he put in to succeed and for that reason, I recommend him for Business Manager of the Year.

Something that often happens with exceptional salespeople is that they’re not able to translate those traits that make them successful into coaching and leading as a manager.

However, when Kyle first became a manager, he led a small group of salespeople and proved he is both a fantastic salesperson and a wonderful leader. During that semester, he proved that he was ready to take on the challenge of Business Manager. As those he’s led have progressed through the Kansan, I see much of Kyle in them: efficient, goaloriented and determined. As Business Manager, Kyle sought to hire hard-working individuals who wanted to succeed. Since I’d already seen his success at developing these types, I knew we were on our way.

There have been Business Managers before who took an aloof approach to the position, truly feeling as though they were upper management. However, there wasn’t one day during the semester when I didn’t see Kyle coaching someone on cold calling, working out a new incentive, coming up with a catchy headline, or just getting the job done. I know that each week, every person on staff could’ve told a way that Kyle had helped them. When revenue began to plateau, he sat down individually with sales reps and helped them forecast effectively and discovered challenges they were facing. He’s truly great at anticipating problems and solving them before many even realize something’s awry.

One of the reasons people achieve for Kyle is that he is not content with the status quo. If some part of our product isn’t relevant to our audience or our advertisers, Kyle is already working on improving it and making it better. He proved this through his launch of the Winter Break Series, which brought in five times the revenue of the special section it replaced. Additionally, he directed the launch of Hawkchalk.com, our new free classified marketplace for students. The value of Hawkchalk.com may not fully come to fruition until after Kyle graduates; but once competitors enter the market, his foresight will help Kansan Classifieds remain relevant to students and advertisers. It is not often a Business Manager is able to accomplish a framework for the future while also managing the consuming day-to-day.

Upon meeting Kyle, one can immediately sense his drive and determination to succeed.

For those whom he is leading, he inspires confidence in their own ability to achieve under his tutelage. This is an intangible reason for why Kyle is deserving of this award; however, if he hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t set these expectations and modeled success, we wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have those tangible (best performance in three years) results.

Sincerely,

Lindsey Shirack Sales Manager The University Daily Kansan

Kyle Hoedl Business Manager of the Year – Management Philosophy In any sales organization, typically, there are salespeople and there are managers.

There are people who are incredible at sales and people who are great managers, but there are very few people who can successfully conquer both tasks. During my time at The University Daily Kansan, I believe that I have accomplished this. Coming off of three semesters of successful sales, I led the Kansan to its most successful semester in three years. I worked day in and day out as business manager to make sure I was doing everything possible to be the best sales coach and positive motivator I could be. But outside of the day-to-day tasks and busy world of sales, the management philosophy that led me to such great success is simple: it’s about being proactive, being an innovative and strategic thinker, and taking every opportunity to learn something new and applying it to becoming better at what I do.

Something I learned early on in my sales management career is that one of the least effective management styles is being a reactive manager. Solving problems as they come up and only helping people when they need help benefits no one because it doesn’t create continual learners and causes people to only learn when they have to. By being a proactive business manager, I was continually helping people grow. It’s about preparing people to solve problems, handle objections, and make the biggest sale of their career on their own. I realized early on in the semester that being a proactive manager allows the people I am managing to have a sense of ownership in their accomplishments. During my term as business manager, it was extremely important to me to have a continual training program to aid in this process. In addition to the constant training and motivation by myself and all of the other Kansan managers, I instituted a continual training program to constantly develop areas that may slip through the cracks or people may forget from our first intensive week of training. Being proactive is the greatest lesson I have learned so far as a manager, and I credit much of the fall semester’s success to it.

The fall semester of the Kansan was one of great change. The Kansan’s rate structure was completely revamped with the implementation of contract rates, and I hired about half as many salespeople as in previous years. To many, this would have been a constant challenge. To me, this was an exciting new opportunity to improve the quality

of the Kansan for our customers and readers, and I welcomed the changes with open arms. An extremely important part of being a successful business manager is having the realization and understanding that dramatic, strategic, and innovative changes are necessary to get the important end result. The Kansan was struggling before I became business manager, and with strategic changes like hiring fewer, better people and changing and adding special sections to improve the overall quality of our products we were able to stabilize revenue and start a positive upward trend heading into the spring semester.

It’s obviously important to grow and teach the people who are working around me, but it’s just as important for me to make sure I am continually learning throughout this whole process as well. Whether it was simply from the day-to-day tasks or seeking expert advice, it was critical for me to learn and hone my craft as a manager during my time as business manager. Regularly I read articles about being a successful manager, and very often I consulted the Kansan’s Sales and Marketing Adviser and my mentor from my internship at The Virginian-Pilot for advice on solving a client problem, an ethical dilemma, or a personnel issue. I love sales and advertising, and I tried to do anything I could to become better for the good of the Kansan and to make myself more marketable as a college graduate.

By being a proactive leader and constant sales coach, coming up with strategic new ideas to bring in revenue, and constantly observing and learning to better myself as a leader and salesperson, I was able to lead the Kansan to a record-breaking semester. But this isn’t how I’ve measured the success of my semester as business manager. While many business managers measure their success solely on reaching revenue goals, I also measure my success on each individual accomplishment of each individual person. In the end, it doesn’t matter if our revenue goals were met if I have not coached and developed each person to their full potential. It’s not just meeting a revenue goal that excites me.

What excites me as a manager is celebrating with a new account executive when they make their first sale or sell a campaign they’ve been preparing for weeks, congratulating a designer who made a stellar campaign that brought a customer huge results, and being able to stand up at the end of the semester with my team and say “We did something that no other Kansan staff has done for three years.”

APPENDIX

Kyle Hoedl Business Manager of the Year – Job Description The following is the job description of the Kansan’s business manager position: • Coach the entire advertising department on skills, initiatives and products that grow Kansan revenue, develop the staff's abilities, improve the paper's position in the market, and create a positive work environment.

• Implement an initial training program and on going training that focuses on sales and management skills, product knowledge, market knowledge, service/fulfillment, and effective territory management.

• Create an effective and functional rate card and media kit •Track and evaluate the team's performance to quota and budget via monitoring sales reports, regular follow up with managers and staff, and going on sales calls as needed.

• Coach the management team to support their team members and to improve their skills as effective managers.

• Develop and execute on long-term strategies for revenue growth and staff development, including new products, more sales training, new business development, and nontraditional revenue streams.

• Manage the daily business operations of the Kansan, including regular meetings, resolving client concerns/errors, answer or route questions, make ad acceptance decisions, and addressing any other operational issues.

Kyle Hoedl Business Manager of the Year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Productivity Reports In the Fall 2006 semester, the Kansan met its revenue goal for the first time in seven semesters.

The Fall 2006 total revenue exceeded Fall 2005 revenue by over $36,000, exceeding past revenues in every month except September.

Local revenue is the Kansanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest source of income. Total revenue in Fall 2006 exceeded goal by over $16,000.

Fall 2006â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total local revenue exceeded Fall 2005 by over $8,000.

Kyle Hoedl Business Manager of the Year – Other Key Successes of the Fall 2006 Semester Revenue Kansan.com Kansan.com brought in over $12,000 in revenue, establishing it as one of the Kansan’s core products.

Innovation/New Products Winter Job Guide A classified group promotion devoted to students looking for seasonal work Finals Week Edition A first-ever tabloid edition of the Kansan distributed during finals week that brought in over $4000 in revenue Winter Break Series A five-part series created to give students new ideas about what to do over Winter Break that replaced the Kansan’s Winter Break Guide and brought in five times more revenue than the previous section Hawkchalk.com A free online classifieds community for KU students and faculty that dramatically improved the quality of the Kansan’s print classified section and created a new marketplace for students by buy, sell, and trade goods Kansantrivia.com A trivia Web site developed to form a partnership with the KU Endowment Association that built brand awareness for both KUEA and the Kansan.

Kyle Hoedl

2603 Windsor Place #D304, Lawrence, KS 66049 913.579.9381 kyle.hoedl@gmail.com

Education

The University of Kansas Lawrence, KS Graduation Date: May 2007 Bachelor of Science in Journalism, emphasis in Strategic Communications Minor in Latin American Studies Study Abroad Santiago de Chile May 2005 - August 2005 Studied Chilean cultures at Universidad Nacional Andres Bello

Experience The University Daily Kansan Lawrence, KS January 2005 - Present Zone Manager/Online Convergence Manager, January 2007 - Present • Motivate and mentor a team of six account executives and a creative • Sell advertising to the Kansan’s top accounts • Manage all advertising on Kansan.com and develop new online revenue streams Business Manager, August 2006 - December 2006 • Led, trained, and mentored an advertising staff of 37 to reach a goal of $420,000 • Exceeded previous year’s revenue by over $30,000 • Developed and executed long-term strategies for revenue growth and staff development Zone Manager, December 2005 - May 2006 • Increased top account revenue by as much as 50% • Exceeded semester revenue quota by $6,000, selling $26,200 in advertising • Led zone to exceed semester goal, selling over $83,000 in advertising as a team Senior Account Executive, August 2005 - December 2005 • Collaborated with zone manager to address personal and team sales goals • Created relationships and sold $13,422 in advertising to local and regional accounts • Established eleven new accounts, grossing an additional $4,822 in revenue Account Executive, January 2005 - May 2005 • Exceeded semester revenue quota by over $4,000, selling a total of $13,223 in advertising • Established five new accounts, bringing in an additional $2,600 in revenue PlattForm Advertising Olathe, KS December 2006 - January 2007 Web/Interactive Intern • Compiled key search terms and linkbuilding reports for the Search Engine Optimization team • Prepared a research report on mobile marketing and teen cell phone habits The Virginian-Pilot Norfolk, VA Advertising Sales & Marketing Intern • Completed Professional Selling Skills training course • Established three new retail accounts, bringing in at least $2600

May 2006 - July 2006

Big Brothers Big Sisters Lawrence, KS July 2006 - Present Big Brother • Spend time mentoring Robert, an eight-year-old boy from a single-mother home

Achievements

David Reece Scholarship for Advertising Wendell R. Sullivan Memorial Scholarship for Advertising Manager of the Month, Kansan Senior Account Executive of the Semester, Kansan Account Executive of the Month, Kansan

2006 – 2007 Academic Year 2005 – 2006 Academic Year March 2006 Fall 2005 March 2005

January 15, 2006 Dear CNBAM Judges: Jarod Taylor started his career here at The Pitt News in 2003. He has held the positions of Inside Sales Representative, Inside Sales Manager, and finally Business Manager for 2005-2006. Jarod’s experience here has made it possible for him to examine the organization from several critical vantage points; by the time he became Business Manager, he was already respected by both student and professional staffs, and more importantly, he had several strategic ideas as to how we could improve our image, performance and revenues. It is an honor for me to nominate Jarod for CNBAM’s Business Manager of the Year Award.

The Pitt News has seen increased revenues for three consecutive years, and while that may not seem problematic, each business manager within that timeframe has been in the position of having to find more dollars in an ever-shrinking marketplace. We have nearly saturated our geographic and demographic markets as far as prospecting, so it is increasingly difficult each year to expand our horizons. At the beginning of 2006, we also faced issues with our antiquated billing system, our stale relationships with university and student organizations, our five-year old marketing efforts, our tendency to not change what seemingly had always worked before, our organizational structure from a personnel perspective, our approach to ad design and our incentive plan for sales representatives. Jarod Taylor has changed the face of The Pitt News over the past three years by addressing each aspect of our operation with a rare mix of common sense and vision. Even while he finances his college education independently, he purposefully extended his stay at the University of Pittsburgh for a fifth year in order to serve as our Business Manager. There is not enough space to fully explain his legacy; I regret the brevity of this letter.

Thanks to Jarod, The Pitt News is now focusing on increasing readership and reader participation. After meeting with several university professionals in Student Affairs, we now have a presence at all student events, using the time not only to have fun with our readers, but also to recruit. Jarod organized important trade deals with local vendors which allow us to give away our “We do it Daily” t-shirts and tickets to sports and concert events as reward for readers’ answers to The Pitt News trivia. He also staged the “Get Caught” campaign, where we “catch” someone reading The Pitt News, give them one of our T-shirts and take their photo for a house ad, where that student’s short bio appears. Suddenly we are seeing a lower rate of returns (down 5% from last year), as well as great numbers of students reading The Pitt News all over campus.

Our Employment Guide, published every year around the same time in early November, was always a lukewarm edition. Advertising sales would increase because of the “special issue” mention, but the paper never seemed to serve viable purpose. Jarod started meeting with the university’s Career Services department in early summer, working to change not only the timing but also the content of this special edition; we are now coordinated with the university’s bi-annual career fair, publishing two employment issues that focus on incoming corporations and the logistics of the fair itself; editorial fluff has been erased after lengthy but diplomatic meetings with our Editor-in-Chief, and our October Employment Guide saw a 200% increase in advertising revenue after Jarod launched a promotional program to all Human Resources departments of the companies who had booths at the fair. Westinghouse, Pepsi, Coke, Schlumberger and General Electric were some of the full pages we saw in that issue; more importantly, some of those advertisers decided to work

with us on budgeting for the coming months as well. Career Services reports that this year’s fair saw significantly more participants. Everybody won.

Jarod has natural copyright talent and an eye for what works in an advertising campaign. He has studied advertising design and copy on his own time over the years, and takes pains to share his insight with the entire staff on a consistent basis. This year, he designed an entire marketing program for The Pitt News that has brought in nearly $20,000 from new business alone. Jarod wrote the copy, worked with the Photo Editor on postcard covers and designed each piece himself, including complementary fax covers which expose the same images as the postcards. The campaign caught the eyes of 14 new clients in 2006, thanks to Jarod’s new prospecting database. To sweeten the story, mailing and production costs of the new promotional pieces are down $3,800 from 2005 costs.

We have had our share of challenges this year, and Jarod has proven himself to be a level-headed manager. He allows everyone their turn in speaking, weighs his options for action, explains why he’s chosen a particular solution, and then does it. He speaks directly to the issues at hand, doesn’t share with those who need not know and handles problems with an enviable calm. He has proven himself a true leader in the sales field, displaying acute listening skills with our toughest clients and mentoring his staff with their customers; he has found more efficient ways of analyzing our numbers and reporting; he has assisted in placing our ad designers into important local internships to further their careers; he has helped to organize a focus study on our readers by utilizing marketing professionals who sit on our board, thereby saving us thousands of dollars. Advertising revenue is up by 11% over 2005.

Each of these contributions deserves its own paragraph, and I wish again for more space.

Though his job position requires 25 hours per week, Jarod works almost 40, while still maintaining a healthy 3.4 GPA. He is currently earning his certificate in Non-Profit Management, which will enhance his Media Communications/Political Science double major. Jarod’s career goals are centered on managing a non-profit organization, specifically targeted toward grassroots political action for our global warming issues. He is well educated and prepared for his journey.

Producing a daily paper, fighting the inevitable fires of dissatisfied customers, inexperienced sales people and an often uncooperative editor, Jarod is careful to face one problem at a time and deliberate only as long as necessary. Twenty-five years his senior, I have learned lessons from Jarod…lessons in management, sales, marketing, accounting, advertising and life. I am grateful to have known him, and will fiercely miss him next year.

Thank you for considering Jarod Taylor for CNBAM’s Business Manager of the Year.

Sincerely, Laurie Holding Advertising Adviser The Pitt News 412-648-7820

Jarod Taylor Business Manager of the Year Management Philosophy When I tell friends and family about my responsibilities as business manager at a daily college newspaper, they often question the appeal of the job. “Isn’t that a lot of work?

Isn’t it hard managing other students? How do you find time to do that? Aren’t you friends with some of the folks on your staff?” I have gotten accustomed to many of these questions. I love my job. It has become my passion, and I work my class schedule around the best work hours. I respect my staff, and feel that they respect me.

This has been my third year at The Pitt News, and I cannot imagine my college years without the newspaper. I have fallen in love with the job. Committing a great deal of time to a “student organization” requires much effort and time management. For the individuals with whom I have worked in the past three years, I know that we have developed a certain love for the newspaper and have a great amount of pride for the work that we do. The key to managing a successful staff is sharing your passion with them, and training them to take pride in their work.

One of the first steps to selling is knowing your product. In hiring account executives, I look for the desire to learn about the newspaper and its capacity to reach our market, and the ability to sell that to advertisers. Harvey Mackay, entrepreneur and author of Swim with Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, said, “the single greatest mistake a manager can make is a bad hire.” I look for students who are gregarious and goal-oriented, and who can sell themselves to me just as they would sell advertising in the newspaper. A potential account executive must demonstrate these qualities in an interview, and continue to demonstrate them throughout training. If I get the sense after our initial training sessions that a hire is not going to work out, I talk to them again about my expectations of them in the position. This method has resulted in either placing the hire in a different position at the paper that best utilizes their assets- inside sales, classified sales, or design- or encouraging them to apply in the future after reconsidering their desire to work in outside sales.

After recruiting and training a staff, continual training and monitoring progress is key.

During our weekly sales meetings, we continue the training process with exercises to teach them to use market research, make presentations, utilize co-op advertising, sell against the competition, create and sell special sections, make cold calls and develop spec ads. The sales manager and I work together to hold bi-weekly one-on-one meetings with each account executive to monitor individual progress toward sales goals and help the sales reps to resolve problems and overcome obstacles with difficult accounts.

It is important to keep in mind that even the most diligent workers at a college newspaper are typically equally as hard-working academically. We are students first; homework and classes take priority over any job. This is one of the toughest obstacles that I face as a manager. Fortunately, it is a problem with which I have experience and can relate. I make exceptions for office hours during exam weeks, but ask that the hours are made up in the weeks before or the weeks after. When it comes to academic concerns and other personal issues, I stress to my staff that my door is always open. At the same time, if it seems as though a member of my staff would prefer to confide in a professional staff member, I make sure to aid in that process as much as necessary. I encourage honesty from my staff, and assure them that I will do what I can to help them work around their problems and still maintain productivity at The Pitt News.

My philosophy for managing a student staff is to maintain a delicate balance of the following: -Work as hard as you want them to work.

-Be honest, but discrete. It is important that your staff trusts you.

-Never put your personal stresses on them, but let them know when you are under stress. It makes you human, and they can relate.

-Avoid excessive flattery, it can lead to laziness. But never, never, never let hard work go unnoticed.

-If someone is working hard but not reaching their goals, keep them motivated by acknowledging their efforts.

-Always be consistent, but use your authority to make exceptions.

-Praise publicly, punish quietly. Unless the staff is being overly confident or boastful, and needs a wake-up call.

- Be humble. Thank people for their work.

Some of those phrases seem contradictory. In many respects, it is difficult to define good management. I see good management as a blend of a countless characteristics and adjectives. Being a good manager requires possessing most of those characteristics and adjectives, then developing your weaknesses. Whatever those adjectives are, your staff will recognize and adopt them, and produce positive results in the end.

Jarod Taylor _____________________________________________________________________________________ 300 North Dithridge Street Apt. 204 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 814.577.1748 jst4@pitt.edu Education:

April

University of Pittsburgh, B.A.: Communications, Political Science, Minor: Nonprofit Management

2007

PA

West Branch Area High School Student Government Vice-President, Treasurer International Club, National Honor Society, School Board Student Representative • Peer Management • Leadership • Supervision Work Experience:

Honors:

• Time Management • Conflict Resolution • Customer Service

Pittsburgh,

May 2002 Morrisdale, PA

• Proficient in Adobe • Proficient in Microsoft Office • Basic in Spanish

The Pitt News Business Manager • Managed business with one million in annual revenue • Supervised and managed 25 business staff members of University of Pittsburgh’s daily college newspaper • Set monthly sales goals for staff of account executives, track current revenues and project future revenues • Increased overall advertising revenue by 9% (to date) • Handle customer complaints and provide solutions in order to maintain positive relationships • Responsible for the continued training and education of the staff

5/06-present Pittsburgh, PA

The Pitt News Inside Sales Manager • Trained and managed staff of six peers for classified and display ad sales • Increased classified ad sales revenue by 11%, university and student group account advertising by 6% • Responsible for handling Student and University display accounts • Oversaw billing for both classified and display advertising • Promoted after one year of advertising staff experience

4/05-4/06 Pittsburgh, PA

Banana Republic Men’s Specialist • Handled customer problems with patience and sensitivity • Assisted in training of sales associates.

• Maintained a friendly, professional sales approach

8/03-4/05 Pittsburgh, PA

Interstate Advertising Manager’s Association • 2006 Scholarship Recipient

April, 2005

THE PITT NEWS: REVENUE GENERATED JULY 06 – DECEMBER 06 COMPARED TO JULY 05 – DECEMBER 05 JULY* AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER*

2005 $20,027 $96,124 $120,536 $113,058 $91,733 $49,096

2006 $16,830 $105,803 $129,661 $139,355 $96,462 $44,278

Variance -$3,197 $9,679 $9,125 $26,297 $4,729 -$4,818

Variance % -16% 10% 8% 23% 5% -10%

TOTAL

$490,574

$532,389

$41,815

9%

*During these months, The Pitt News published one less issue in 2006 than 2005.

Often, it is hard to pinpoint the exact qualities that comprise truly great leadership. One might say that leadership involves taking charge, accomplishing the task at hand, and setting an example for others to follow. Over the past year, I have had the privilege of working with someone who embodies all of these qualities as well as many more: The Pitt News’ Business Manager, Jarod Taylor. Jarod has shown everyone at our newspaper what great leadership is all about. During his tenure as the Business Manager, Jarod has brought back a “spark” to the sales staff at our newspaper. Through the use of both old-fashioned techniques and his outstanding creativity, as well as his motivational skills, Jarod has served as a catalyst for sweeping changes in the business department, which have led to increased revenue, greater public interest in the paper, and an unparalleled camaraderie amongst the business staff members.

Jarod developed a creative management strategy that has propelled our business staff into producing one of our most successful years in the history of The Pitt News.

The basis of his management techniques clearly lies in ensuring that everyone in the business department is always on the same page, and that everyone is aware of both our short-term and long-term goals for The Pitt News. This has helped facilitate a strong team environment at the paper, with everyone working together to achieve group goals, as well as helping one another achieve individual goals. Jarod has reserved a portion of our weekly sales meetings for role-playing activities in which we help each other solve problems and improve our sales presentation skills. Additionally, Jarod has kept the business staff focused on their goals through sales contests and other friendly competitions throughout the year. He has implemented an ongoing team game, plus additional individual incentive programs, which have kept the staff motivated throughout the year.

Despite all of the work Jarod does “on the clock”, his dedication to his job does not stop at 5pm every day. He clearly understands that going beyond what is required of him directly benefits The Pitt News. Though he is a full-time student, financing his own education, Jarod has been known to return to the office on some evenings and work in our production lab on ads or othis administrative items. Additionally, he has organized a number of functions for the business staff, which take place outside of work. On various occasions, he has arranged for us all to go out to local restaurants after work or a local club to blow off steam together. This has helped our staff to bond on so many different levels and see each other as great friends rather than just co-workers. Our great camaraderie can be witnessed each day in the office, as everyone is always willing to help each other on an account, do extra work when someone is ill, and share advice on dealing with a difficult client. As a direct result of Jarod’s efforts, we have all become more productive and our office is truly a wonderful environment in which to work.

Jarod’s greatest strength by far is his approach to his job as the Business Manager.

He approaches his job with an open mind, which is crucial when working with college students, while maintaining the utmost level of professionalism. Jarod has gained the respect of the sales staff by making it clear that he is their friend and supporter, not simply their superior. Anyone working under Jarod knows that he can be approached with problems or suggestions and will not be criticized because he can relate to them.

Jarod is never too busy to help a member of our sales staff in whatever capacity he can, whether it is helping them with an ad or just driving them to a sales call. On some days, it seems that Jarod is out of the office all day going on sales calls all around Pittsburgh with the ad reps. At the same time, however, he is not afraid to vocalize his opinion when he feels that someone needs to pick up the slack. He is always the first one to let the staff know when they are falling short of his expectations. When Jarod makes a request, everyone is quick and wiling to respond because we know that we are not only helping our boss, but our friend as well. I am constantly amazed by the degree to which he perfectly balances his relationships with his employees, with his role as the Business Manager; concurrently gaining his employees’ friendship and respect.

Jarod Taylor is truly a rarity in his field. He is a Business Manager who has gained the trust and respect of every single person who works with him at The Pitt News.

He has done this by going above and beyond what is required of his job and has shown his employees that he is willing to work as hard, if not harder, than them in order to get the job done. The example that he has set for his staff has led everyone to constantly strive to do their best and has led The Pitt News to reap the benefits day after day. I cannot think of anyone who is more deserving of recognition for his hard work and outstanding performance in a managerial role. The contributions that Jarod has singlehandedly made to our student-run newspaper are truly astounding, and I feel honored and privileged to nominate his as CNBAM Business Manager of the Year.

Sincerely, Jeremy Burke Account Executive The Pitt News University of Pittsburgh

Customer service is always number one. This is the attitude that I have always managed to uphold when dealing with clients whether it was being an account executive in previous years or now as the marketing director, leading a strong, motivated team of individuals. My goal of providing excellent customer service to clients is the first concept that I teach to new sales staff and reinforce with returning staff. From the first day of training, I am a vessel for displaying and instilling the concepts of customer satisfaction into my team.

I want my team to understand that in order to be the best sales executive, they must first understand how to effectively provide excellent customer service and maintain an open, strong line of communication with their clients.

It is very important to me that we go above and beyond the call of duty to exemplify excellent customer service by â&#x20AC;&#x153;being thereâ&#x20AC;? for the client. As a manager, I instill in the team that they as individuals have to treat a client who places a classified ad with the same passion, tenacity and respect as the client who sets up a $5,000 contract. Providing mediocre service not only means a loss of potential revenue for our newspaper, but also a loss of trust and confidence between the client and the account executive. Every time account executives meet with their clients, I encourage them to build rapport with the client by using probing questions, if possible, to learn, expand or explain in more detail something new about the client. I often try to accompany the account executives on their calls to give them the support necessary in order to succeed. It is important to build upon the relationship often in order to maintain an open line of communication.

From the first interaction on the phone, or their first contact through a face-to-face meeting to the last time the account executive steps foot in the office for the year, the team knows that we must provide the best service that a client has ever seen. By providing this topnotch customer service, we as a college newspaper are highly valued by the client. However, it all starts from the first contact, and by accompanying sales executives on sales calls, I am

able to provide constructive criticism to the account executive, as well as receive constructive criticism from them. This allows us to improve and build our skills.

Through continuous efforts of motivational tactics, teaching of concepts and perseverance, my sales team is ready to handle the ups and downs of the advertising industry, in particular, meeting clients needs and helping them to achieve their goals. It is important for account executives to be able to use such communication techniques as showing empathy to the client â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as we are all consumers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and showing a clear understanding to what the client is expressing as his or her needs. The object is to have a win-win situation for the newspaper and the client. To have such an outcome, I must show the team that they must invest time and effort in finding solutions to the clients needs since it does not happen overnight.

My sales philosophy is not only about customer service, but also about building relationships. Building relationships is the key to maintaining clients and exceeding their expectations. I teach my account executives that timeliness; trust and a positive attitude produce positive results and a content client.

At the end of the day when I get a call from a client who praises the quality service they received from their account executive, I get an overwhelming feeling of self satisfaction in knowing that the account executive has mastered his or her first task in their daily requirements - providing excellent customer service. As the client makes a second call to me, I know that the account executive has mastered another vital skill â&#x20AC;&#x201C; building relationships.

JOB DESCRIPTION Spring 2007 MARKETING DIRECTOR Student Media Marketing The Director shall oversee all components – production, sales, promotion, and circulation – of Student Media Marketing.

Distinguishing Features of the Job: The Director will handle all national advertising. He/she shall also handle all communications, rate changes, billing, etc. concerning ACM, American Passage, and CASS, and shall oversee circulation and placement of newspaper boxes, which will be placed both on and off campus (within a ten-mile radius). The Director will be the representative from Student Media Marketing on the Media Board. The Director is responsible for generating revenues that meet or exceed budgeted expectations.

Responsibilities and Duties within Student Media • Lead by example by maintaining 20 posted office hours weekly between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; if unable to attend work she/he must notify the Marketing Advisor • Hire Creative Director, Sales Manager and Circulation Manager • Proactively assess working environment to determine need and/or coordinate with the sales team extra training or development needed • Meets with the production and sales staff in order to make announcements and work out any problems that may arise • Attends weekly meetings with sales and production staffs to discuss problems and make suggestions • Meets weekly with the Sales Manager to discuss sales performances, problems, and operations o Will enforce deadlines and clarify policies o Will make sure call sheets are turned in to the Sales Manager • Meets weekly with the Media Advisor to report performance of department and discuss staff ideas • Serves as liaison to publication staffs concerning ad placement, deadlines, and problems with space • Works with Advertising Sales Manager and Marketing Advisor to determine makegoods • Makes sure marketing staff payroll is finalized by last day of the month • Work with Marketing Advisor to establish using approved rate card • Monitor circulation and evaluate effectiveness • Works with Creative staff to develop and coordinate publicity, special events promotions, etc.

• Maintains high professional standards and high profile • Works at festivals, award ceremonies, parties; stimulates interest in Media Marketing in particular and Student Media in general.

• Make decisions on controversial ads • Monitors and services Trade agreements with Marketing Advisor to promote UTimes • Coordinate sponsorship /partnerships with campus groups, advertisers, and community Responsibilities and Duties in Training • Responsible for training incoming Marketing Director and preparing the department prior to school starting; • Conducts training sessions and workshops. These will be held at the beginning of each semester unless otherwise scheduled by the Director • Oversees training and development programs of Media Marketing managers and staff Responsibilities and Duties in Training • Serve on Student Media Board as Marketing Department Rep • Determines any departmental policy changes to be presented to Media Board • Develops the budget for Student Media Marketing Required Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Abilities: • Knowledge of policies and procedures of SM Marketing and Student Media Board Constitutions; • Knowledge of sales methods, rate structures and budget reports; • Skills in sales, production, financing and managing department; • Ability to work well with and direct activities of others; • Ability to prepare and present comprehensive reports on the workings of the Marketing Department.

• Must be a student currently enrolled at UNC Charlotte; • Must possess and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5; • Must be in good disciplinary and academic standing with UNC Charlotte • Must have been an employee of Student Media Marketing the semester prior to, as well as the semester of selection; • Must secure nomination of Media Adviser and majority approval of the Student Media Board to serve in accordance with procedures developed for operation of the Media Marketing Dept.

The Marketing Director reports to the Student Media Board. Questions about this position and its responsibilities should be directed to your supervisor. Grievances may be taken to the Student Media Board and/or Student Media Marketing Adviser.

For further information, contact: Kelly Merges, Student Media Marketing Adviser, Cone University Center, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001. Phone 704/687-2663 The University of North Carolina is composed of the 16 public senior institutions in North Carolina An equal opportunity employer

By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read and understand the above job description which outlines the responsibilities as well as qualifications for the position stated. I also understand that by not fulfilling the responsibilities listed above, I can face termination from the position stated. _____________________________________________

_________________________________________

January 18, 2007 CNBAM Award Selection Committee: It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Sarah Peifer the Business Manager of the Year award given by CNBAM to honor outstanding student achievement.

Ms. Peifer was a member of our team long before I arrived in 2004. She joined Student Media as an account executive, while also working as an office assistant. As I joined the team, I witnessed Ms. Peifer’s strong work ethic – she was eager to assist clients in achieving their goals, always displaying a positive attitude.

In spring of 2004, Ms. Peifer was elected as Marketing Director for the 2005-2006 year. I knew she would be very successful, although she had to relinquish the position due to registration issues and financial hardship. She overcame this, as her peers elected her again, but to serve as Marketing Director for the 2006-2007 year. Ms. Peifer had a hard road ahead, as the previous director was not so savvy with the numbers. She had to start from square one to build the department to where it is today.

Ms. Peifer worked the entire summer alone, as other students were unable to fill the positions of sales representative and circulation assistant. Ms. Peifer sold for the Survival Guide, our second-largest publication of the year, as well as all four summer issues and our Welcome Back issue. In between making sales, she was also delivering papers. No matter what she did, she always wore a smile – and surpassed the goal set for the summer.

During the fall semester, she welcomed her sales, production and circulation staffs and immediately made efficiency and timeliness her number one priority as she streamlined the sales and production processes. She proved that with dedication and hard work, anything can be accomplished.

Ms. Peifer has continued to take our department to new heights in creativity and effectiveness. In addition to her responsibilities as Marketing Director, she also serves as the Marketing Department’s representative on the Student Media Board and as Student Media’s representative on the Student Activities Fees and Commission. This is in addition to numerous other student organizations.

I hope you will consider honoring Ms. Peifer for her ongoing, outstanding contributions to not only Student Media Marketing, but Student Media as an entity. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Brittany S.S. Hardin Sales Manager

Student Media Marketing

1335 Legacy Walk Lane Apt. #303 Charlotte, NC 28213

Cell: (704) 763-0847 E-mail: smpeifer@uncc.edu

SARAH M. PEIFER OBJECTIVE_______________________________________________________________________________ To work with a professional marketing team that displays enthusiasm and customer service.

EDUCATION______________________________________________________________________________ May 2007 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC  B.A. Business Administration  Concentration in Marketing (GPA 3.43) WORK EXPERIENCE_______________________________________________________________________ Aug. 2003 – Present Student Media Productions Charlotte, NC Marketing Director/ Sales Representative/ Promotions Assistant  Devise marketing campaigns to generate 35% of new revenue for newspaper  Handle all national advertising and rate changes while overseeing circulation  Sell advertisements and exceeded goal for University Times in summer issues  Plan training sessions and devised recruitment plan that retained 84% of staff Nov. 2005 – Sept. 2006 Dassault Systemés ENOVIA Corporation Charlotte, NC Marketing Assistant  Updated all marketing plans, events, and campaigns for North America region  Proposed and planned marketing activities for INTEL, DELL, HP, and AMD  Kept track of all partners and noted current courses of action on conference calls Sept. 2005 – May 2006 Legacy Retail Marketing Charlotte, NC Marketing Field Representative  Worked with R.J. Reynolds and local gas stations to promote new Camel products  Converted 20% of adult smokers under 30 who smoked competitive brands to Camel  Conducted and completed marketing surveys only to adults that qualify  Distributed coupons for free packs of Camel to adult smokers Oct. 2004 – April 2005 Charlotte Checkers Charlotte, NC Game Day Operations Intern  Coordinated 3 special theme nights for various promotions  Prepared for game day events and on-ice events  Spoke with over 10 corporate sponsors to ensure promotion execution  Motivated crowd while interacting with more than 5,000 fans CAMPUS LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS_______________________________________________________ Aug. 2004 – Present Leadership Education and Development Training Team (LEAD) Aug. 2005 – Present Pi Sigma Epsilon Business Fraternity & Omicron Delta Kappa Aug. 2004 – Sept. 2005 Sports Marketing Association (SMA): Vice-President Sept. 2003 – May 2004 Emerging Leaders Program: Graduate COMPUTER SKILLS __________________________________________________________________________ Excellent and proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Adobe Photoshop, and Mac OS

January 19, 2007

CNBAM Award Selection Committee: I am writing to recommend Sarah Peifer for the Business Manager of the Year award given

by CNBAM to honor outstanding student achievement.

I have directly advised Ms. Peifer since August 2004 when she held the position of account executive. She joined the sales staff in August 2003. As a new adviser at that time, immediately I knew Ms. Peifer would have a dramatic impact on our operation. She is enthusiastic, very intelligent, personable and professional. It is rare you find those qualities in college students, let alone in a sophomore who is involved with several other student organizations and in the Business Honors Program.

Because of the outstanding achievements and stellar performance in previous years, Ms. Peifer was selected as the marketing director for this year. She observed the routine, sought training and formed her own management style, helping to commandeer a new sense of responsibility and pride in our publications. She made customer service and building relationships her focus and has reaped the benefits since.

As Marketing Director, Ms. Peifer’s first task was to work the entire summer to sell the Survival Guide (our biggest publication of the year), as well as our summer issues. In addition to the responsibility of sales, she spent numerous hours planning for the upcoming year. When fall arrived, her first priority was to not only welcome returning staff, but to recruit and train new account executives. Many of these executives were hired through the extensive three-day Fall Workshops in which Ms. Peifer led and/or attended all of the Marketing Sessions. She recruited eager, energized and hard-working account executives and spent countless hours training them through our intense, four-day Student Media Marketing Training Program. They are now confident and competent account executives.

In between running the Marketing Department and corresponding with clients, she was able to implement a sales incentive program called the “Race to CNBAM ” to encourage students to make sales and be rewarded with a trip to this year’s conference. Ms. Peifer has been faced with a difficult year with declining local ad sales, but has done an unbelievable job with keeping the sales staff motivated and minimizing operational impact.

Not only does Ms. Peifer excel in our office, but she excels outside as well. She is involved with our Center for Leadership Development, Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Fraternity, Pi Sigma Epsilon Business Fraternity, College of Business Peer Advisor for Freshmen, serves on the Week of Welcome (WOW!) committee, and carries a 3.4 GPA. She is a champion for our program and a role model for new students new to our operation.

And Ms. Peiferâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Her peers have honored her for her accomplishments, being named Employee of the Month through the Student Media Awards of Excellence Program. She also currently serves as the Marketing Representative on the Student Media Board, and she serves as the Student Media Representative for the Student Activities Fees Commission. In addition, she has attended numerous business meetings and conventions for such organizations as CNBAM and SUN. I hope you will consider honoring Ms. Peifer for her outstanding contributions in increasing our advertising and marketing divisions of Student Media. Thank you for your consideration.

With common interest,

Kelly MergeĹĄ Student Media Marketing Adviser

Summer 06 Sales

$26,379.82 $27,000

$26,000

$25,000

$24,000

$23,000

$23,000

$22,000

$21,000 Summer 06 Goal

Summer 06 Actual

Survival Guide Comparison

$23,449.49 $25,000.00

$20,000.00

$21,655.82

2005 Survival Guide

2006 TOTAL Parent's Survival Guide plus Survival Guide

$16,359.16

$15,000.00 2006 Survival Guide $10,000.00 $5,296.66

$5,000.00

$0.00

2006 Parent's Survival Guide

Welcome Back 2006 Progress Chart $20,000.00

Goal: $13,000: Final Status - $15,106.16!

Good Job, Sarah! We made Goal!!!

$15,000.00

Welcome Back 2005 $18,409.50 Goal 2006 $13,000

Welcome Back 2006 $15,106.16

$10,000.00

$5,000.00

Difference $3,303.34

Gain 2006 $2,106.16

$0.00 1

1/17/07

Macintosh HD:Users:klmerges:Desktop:Welcome Back 2006 Progress Chart (display).xls

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