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Chris Kuhn

Editor, skirt! Tampa Bay

I'm an outspoken thirtysomething who has lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1992, full of useless facts on just about every facet of pop culture. I'm passionate about vegetarianism without passing judgment. I love to laugh. If we can't talk politics, music, movies, sports, TV or current events, you'...

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Media Musical Chairs

Chris, Editor for skirt! Tampa Bay

I just had the wonderful opportunity to mix and chat with more than 75 local PR and publicity professionals in the Tampa Bay area at the Media Roundtable Breakfast hosted by the local chapters of FPRA and PRSA and held in the auditorium of the Tampa Tribune. I and fellow media colleagues from Tampa Bay Metro, Tampa Bay Illustrated, 97X Radio, the St. Pete Times and the Tampa Tribune jetted from table to table chatting about our respective medium and how we could work together in the community. All in about 8 minutes per table...it was fun and challenging, and I’ll admit I’m a little hoarse, since this mild-mannered writer doesn’t normally speak that much at any one time or for that long. Ricola is my best friend right about now...

I felt a real kinship with the folks I met today because it wasn’t that long ago that I was standing in their shoes. When I graduated from college with my degree in media communications, I thought the doors would swing right open in radio, my medium of choice at the time. When that didn’t happen, I did what most communications graduates do – moved into a marketing track. For over seven years, I built a successful career in marketing communications management in the healthcare IT industry. But I always had the itch to work in media directly. I hung up my professional PR and marketer hat to move to promotional writing with the Tribune and later to conduct interviews and develop full-scale articles on local personalities and professional athletes. This just fueled the fire in my belly even greater. So I couldn’t wait to jump into the editor seat here at skirt! earlier this year and though I definitely miss some aspects of life in the PR world, I think this skirt’s a better fit for me, you know?

Anyway, just wanted to pass along my kudos to both PR organizations for putting on such a great event and a personal thanks for letting skirt! Tampa Bay be a part of it. It was encouraging to hear from marketing professionals in the Bay area who had seen the bright green racks and even perused the magazine already and loved its unique take on life.

Whether you’re a PR person, a business owner, a writer or just a fan, you really should check out  our skirt! founder and publisher Nikki Hardin’s own personal story at the national skirt! site. If you haven’t read it already, you should. It’s incredibly inspiring and no quick retelling of it can do it proper justice. Just click here to check out the skirt! magazine “herstory.” I think you too will find it fascinating. Part 2 of the story continues here. It truly is a story to motivate any of us to do everything we can to make our dreams happen and hold the reins of our own future.

So happy reading...and may you be inspired, too!