Shelley Powers

Résumé

ACTIVITIES AND HONORS

• Parkway Hills United Methodist Church

  • Yarn Ministry, Coordinator 2012-Present

  • Staff-Parish Relations Council 2015-2020

  • Restructured and redesigned church website 2018

  • Media Ministry, Member 2014, 2018

  • Bridges Sunday School Class, Teacher 2014-2018

  • Lay Leader January 2015-December 2017

  • Women's Retreat, Committee Member 2014, 2015

  • SpringFest, Publicity Coordinator 2014

• Public Relations Association of Mississippi, Member 2009-Present

• Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi

  • Executive Staff Member, 2019-Present

  • Employee of the Quarter 2011

  • Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure Campaign Co-Chairman 2011

  • Biggest Loser Competition, Coordinator 2011

  • Performance Leadership Understanding and Service Leadership Initiative, Completed 2010

  • Benevolent Fund Executive Committee, Vice President 2010

• McLeod Neighborhood Association Newsletter, Editor 2005-2006

• Broadmeadow Neighborhood Association Newsletter and Website, Designer 2002-2010

• Professional Writer’s Group, Member 2002

• Mississippi Chapter of International Association of Personnel in Employment Security (IAPES) Performance Award 2002

• Basic Supervisory Training, Completed 2000-2002

• Mississippi Chapter of IAPES, Communications Chairperson 2000

• Mississippi Employment Security Commission

  • United Way Coordinator 1999

  • American Heart Association HeartWalk Campaign Coordinator 1999

• National IAPES Conference Awards, Newsletter/Media Category, Third Place 1998-1999

• Biloxi Tricentennial Publishing Committee, Co-Chairperson 1997-1998

• Biloxi High School Class of 1988 10-Year Reunion Committee, Newsletter/Program Coordinator 1997-1998

• Suzuki Violin, Teacher 1993-2004

• Mississippi Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, Violin 1988-1998

• Society of Professional Journalists, MSU Chapter, Vice President/ Secretary

• Mississippi Press Association Better Newspaper Contest Best Feature Story, Second Place in Student Division

EXPERIENCE

Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS)
429 Mississippi Street, Jackson, MS 39201
November 2008 - Present, Communications Director, Executive Team Member

Hired to develop a Communications Department and revise the look for the agency. Designed agency logo and wrote the PERS Communications and Style Guide, as well as the PERS Communications Department Standard Operating Procedures Manual. Applying new look, I redesigned and edited all agency printed and online media (i.e., handbooks, newsletters, forms, letterhead, brochures, reports, PowerPoint presentations, guides, charts and signs). On-going responsibilities include serving as a member of the Executive Team; managing the agency website; managing and creating content for agency intranet; coordinating and announcing all board meetings and workshops; writing and publishing minutes for all board and committee meetings; creating and publishing to board portal using Nasdaq Boardvantage; managing stock of all agency letterhead, stationary, guides and handbooks; writing and/or editing executive correspondence; e-mailing news alerts and press releases; handling all media inquiries; tracking all media coverage with Google News Alerts and daily online checks; writing and publishing quarterly media summary reports and writing talking points for and articles and messages from the executive director. Take and edit candid and formal photographs of employees, board members and events. Coordinate and publish the annual Facts & Figures, a book of charts and graphs designed for the general public, legislators and media. Implemented agency email updates where I write and send e-mailed news alerts using Constant Contact to a subscriber list I have grown organically from 1,100 to nearly 15,000. Instituted sending text alerts as needed to staff using Mozeo during emergency situations. Create new media (e.g., retirement guides and special publications) to educate membership and the public about system processes, stability and security. Designed and manage agency intranet, INSIDE PERS, using Microsoft Sharepoint, writing or editing all content to keep staff up to date on agency news. Instituted digital signage in agency lobby and manage all content using Enplug. Developed, wrote and manage Board and Committee Meeting Coordination Standard Operating Procedures Manual. Develop and oversee coordination of staff development and morale-boosting events like staff meetings, annual agency walking challenge and Discussions with the Director. Named by executive director in 2019 as part of the seven-member Executive Team that leads the agency. Supervise one employee. Work with Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Stream, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, Acrobat Pro, Constant Contact, MailChimp, Enplug, Nasdaq Boardvantage and Mozeo.

Ada’s Garden Diner
AdasGardenDiner.wordpress.com
January 30, 2018 - April 2, 2018; December 31, 2020 - Blogger, Editor in Chief

Created a blog to honor my great-aunt, Ada K. (Powers) Bullock, who had always dreamed of opening a diner. With the nearly 700-recipe collection left to me from my aunt’s estate, I attempt to cook, bake, sauté and broil my way through her recipes and write what I learn about cooking and about myself. Though I took a sabbatical from publishing in April 2018 to tackle some personal change and challenges in my life, I enjoyed the blog so much that I returned to it in December 2020. While the renewed blog is still in its infancy, my original musings, artwork and photographs have captured the attention of more than 175 dedicated followers and show promise of growing the audience further. Work with Adobe Photoshop, Instagram, Facebook and Wordpress.

Sunnyhuckle Magazine
Sunnyhuckle.com
September 2014 - September 2015, Editor in Chief

Created a free online magazine that was focused on the positive stories, insights, ideas, thoughts, perspectives and inspirations of everyday people. Publishing every Sunday morning from September 2014 to September 2015, Sunnyhuckle.com featured original works, either assigned by me or written by me. While posts are no longer published regularly, the site is still live and sits at the ready to share any new articles that may need sharing. To curate content for the site, I sought out writers via social media and word of mouth. Along with developing and editing all written content, I created original video files and customized artwork (sourced from my own image files, participating writers or royalty-free stock photography websites). In its year of weekly activity, the site generated more than 46,000 hits (averaging 126 views a day and leading to more than 7,000 shares on Facebook) and featured original works by more than 30 contributors (all without pay). Worked with Adobe Photoshop, PicMonkey, Apple iMovie, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Wordpress.

JBHM Education Group (Now Generation Ready)
October 2005 - November 2008, Editor/Graphic Designer

Edited and laid out original science, reading, math, ACT and English curriculum. Worked with curriculum developers and printers to have text completed by deadline and ready for each new school grading period. Conceived, wrote, edited and designed company marketing materials and other printed media, including brochures, pamphlets, reports, PowerPoint presentations, maps, guides, invoices, charts, signs, displays and rack cards. Took photographs of employees and events. Updated and managed the company website. Was responsible during spring and summer 2007 for gathering information, writing, editing, designing and distributing the company’s weekly internal electronic newsletter, Friday Facts. Designed the look and helped establish the workflow and function of a revolutionary new website for monitoring and improving school performance. This website, ILeRT, was to feature my original concepts and drawings of icons that represented tools within the site. Created a video presentation of the company president for the website. Worked with Quark, Microsoft Word, Dreamweaver, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple iMovie, Apple GarageBand, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop and Acrobat Distiller.

Monkbot Talk
Monkbot.wordpress.com
June 2006 - June 2007, Blogger

Wrote a daily blog covering pop culture and personal topics. Along with daily writings, uploaded original sound and video files. Applying strong management of public comments, created an environment of good humor, friendship, teamwork, creativity and spirited discussions while maintaining order in this social media among a daily audience of approximately 200 regular visitors (and sometimes upward of 700 visitors) from around the world. Instituted various projects to promote audience camaraderie. One such project was a progressive fictional story, where participants added chapters and an ending to my original fiction story introduction. One of the most popular projects was the Traveling Monkbot, a wind-up toy monkey that traveled more than 25,000 miles via the postal service from Mississippi to England, Scotland, Canada, New York, California and 11 other states before arriving safely back in Mississippi after more than two years. At each stop, recipients of the toy took it to various locations to be photographed for documentation on the blog. Monkbot.wordpress.com is still online and still receives occasional site visits. Worked with Adobe Photoshop, Acrobat Distiller, Apple GarageBand, Apple iMovie, YouTube, Google Videos, Sitemeter, Feedburner, Wordpress and Blogger.

Mississippi Arts Commission
501 North West St., Suite 701B, Jackson, MS 39201
June 2002 - October 2005, Public Relations Director

Agency liaison with media around the state and nation. Wrote and distributed news releases. Maintained agency website. Developed, implemented and maintained a monthly e-newsletter to constituents and legislators. Developed, implemented and maintained the agency’s Online Calendar. Assigned articles, wrote, edited, laid out and supervised the production of agency newsletter. Agency’s primary photographer. Used both manual SRL and digital cameras. Project coordinator for annual Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. As coordinator of this event, I wrote contracts and supervised the fulfillment of said contracts by various agents. Helped coordinate the annual Day the Capitol, where I took photos of constituents and legislators to send to local newspapers. Assisted with planning of marketing campaign for agency’s new logo and slogan. Operated from and maintained the Public Relations and Governor’s Awards budgets to procure equipment, supplies, printing and hire contract workers. Worked with QuarkXPress, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Express, Microsoft FrontPage, Adobe Photoshop and Acrobat Distiller.

Mississippi Employment Security Commission (MESC, now Mississippi Department of Employment Security)
P.O. Box 1699, Jackson, MS 39215
October 1998 - June 2002, Communications Specialist/Newsletter Editor

Designed, assigned articles, edited and wrote copy for the monthly agency newsletter. Supervised the newsletter pre-press and printing. Coordinated agency programs, events, fund-raisers and informational presentations. Worked with other departments to coordinate, write, create and disseminate internal and public information such as flyers, pamphlets, signs, programs and news releases. Agency’s primary photographer for candid and formal pictures (including serving as primary photographer for Mississippi State Personnel Board’s Certified Public Manager graduations). Designed and edited annual report. Helped organize annual capitol rotunda display, where I would photograph MESC employees and legislators to send to local newspapers. Assisted the media in obtaining accurate information about the agency via news releases, press conferences and telephone calls. Worked with Adobe PageMaker, Microsoft Word and Adobe PhotoShop.

Coast Magazine/Coast Business Journal (Now defunct)
April 1996 - August 1998, Assistant Editor of both publications

Generated ideas for, researched and wrote news, feature and department stories for both publications. Gathered, wrote and designed news briefs, On the Record, Art Coast and the calendar for the biweekly business journal. Gathered and wrote the Datebook section of the bimonthly magazine. Interviewed business and community leaders, as well as city and state officials and the public in general. Took photographs and copy-edited all text in both publications. Worked with QuarkXPress and Microsoft Word.

The Mississippi Press
P.O. Box 849, Pascagoula, MS 39568-0849
August 1992 - April 1996, Staff Writer for West Jackson County Bureau

Wrote news and feature articles. Copy-edited text. Interviewed city and state officials, school administrators, military personnel and the public in general for news and feature stories. Took photographs for feature and news stories. Worked under daily deadlines. Worked with Quark and Microsoft Word.

The Reflector
Mississippi State University, MSU, MS 38762
January 1992 - April 1992, Managing Editor
August 1988 - April 1992, Staff Writer

Edited and laid out the comics, Campus Calendar and classified advertisements. Wrote and copy-edited news and feature stories. Assisted the editor in deciding content and style. Advised and assisted other staffers on questions of style, technique and ethics. Worked with Microsoft Word and Aldus PageMaker.

References available upon request.