Government affairs, corporate public relations, nonprofit community relations…the list of public relations career tracks goes on and on…and on. Ever wonder what someone else does in their PR role? This new series will spotlight our members’ roles to give you a better idea what their “9 to 5” looks like. Interested in sharing about your job? Email us!
Name: Brad Ruhmann
Job Title: Marketing Director
Company/Organization: Crews Banking Corporation
City: Wauchula
Industry: Finance
Age: 34
Before we jump into your current role, tell us a little about your PR background. As a new college student at Polk Community College, My first job in PR was with The Mosaic Company in their Public Affairs department. I fell in love with the PR profession and changed my field of study from general business (I had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up) to Mass Communications. After getting my AA, I transferred to Florida Southern College where I earned my BS in Public Relations. During college I was very involved in FPRA and took several internships as a result of the relationships and networking of the Chapter. These internships and relationships contributed greatly to my career path and landing jobs at the W.S Badcock Corp., The Polk County BoCC, and with the Workforce Development Board.
What’s your morning routine? My “office” is in Wauchula, but I have the privilege of working from home a couple of days a week. These are typically my most productive workdays. Since we have banks from Winter Haven to Englewood, my morning routine depends on where I am working that day. The time varies, but it almost always starts with rolling out of bed, starting my coffee, getting in the shower.
At 9:00 a.m. I am… Every morning at 8:50 I have a call with my Marketing Managers. We discuss issues from the day before and anything that we need each other’s help with for that day. After that, I will work through outstanding items in my email or in our project management system.
At 11:00 a.m. I am… I typically have other meetings scheduled between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for marketing projects, campaigns or other bank projects that marketing is involved in.
For lunch I… Work. I usually get caught up on emails while everyone is eating lunch.
At 3:00 p.m. I am… Since I am usually in meeting from 11 – 2, I block off the end of my day to catch up on emails and needed direction to team on our items.
I wrap up my day with… I have a pretty lengthy drive home no matter which office I am working from. I use this time to unwind, listen to podcasts, or talk to my mom on the phone. If it’s not on my calendar, it doesn’t get done. That is why I have a recurring appointment to buy my wife flowers once a month on my way home.
What do you think other PR Pros would find most surprising or interesting about your PR role? Our seven-person marketing team operates as an in-house agency for our four-bank holding company. Essentially, everything we do, we do four separate times. I have the privilege of working closely with our executives to both strategize and execute high-level projects and initiatives for our family of banks.
My evening routine is… Rebel Ice Cream (low carb) and binge-watch The Office.