NEWS

02/12/07: First Experience Communications’ client, HABCO, featured in the Hartford Courant

HABCO’s new tire cage gets press in the Hartford Courant. Read the article >

12/21/06: First Experience Communications Announces its Top 10 Accomplishments for 2006

1. Assisted Connecticut Primary Care Association in securing $28 million in state bonding, adding capacity to the 13 community health centers to serve 85,000 new patients with primary and specialized health care.
2. Ten-year anniversary for creating ads, collateral material and marketing strategy for Open Solutions Inc., Connecticut’s largest and fastest growing software technology company.
3. HABCO, Inc. President, Kristin Muschett was selected as an official “Women of Innovation” finalist by the Connecticut Technology Council for 2006. First Experience Communications submitted her nomination.
4. Oak Hill, VNA Healthcare, Premise and the Greater Hartford Museum Consortium retained First Experience Communications for marketing communication services.
5. Ira Yellen, president of First Experience Communications, was elected to the Public Relations Society of America College of Fellows, a select group of public relations professionals who have contributed to the profession.
6. Ira Yellen, president of First Experience Communications, was elected to the Public Relations Society of America Counselors Academy Executive Committee, a group that represents over 500 agencies throughout the United States and Canada.
7. Glastonbury Education Foundation, chaired by Ira Yellen, raised over $230,000 for educational programs and a state-of-the-art digital sound and visual studio for Glastonbury High School and the Glastonbury community.
8. Ira Yellen presented 5 seminars and workshops for the Public Relations Society of America during 2006.
9. First Experience Communications received Best in Show and Gold Awards at the Southern New England PRSA Mercury Awards ceremony in June for a community college marketing campaign.
10. First Experience Communications earned national and regional awards from: Connecticut Art Directors Club for the 2005 Holiday Recipe Booklet, The Web Marketing Association for work on Open Solutions and Community Partners in Action Websites, and the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations for work on Connecticut Community Colleges’ CD-ROM Video promoting community colleges in Connecticut.

12/21/06: First Experience Communications hosted its annual holiday Open House on Thursday, December 21, 2006

See photos below for highlights.

Clients enjoying the delicious spread of food.

Matthew Nemerson, President & CEO of Connecticut Technology Council,
displays his specialty – overcooked stuffed cabbage!

12/1/06: First Experience Communications’ Client Selected as Finalist for "Women of Innovation"

Kristin Muschett, CEO of HABCO, Inc. here in Glastonbury has been selected as an official “Women of Innovation” Finalist for 2007. This selection is a result of First Experience Communications’ nomination.

Click here to read more about Kristin and her company, HABCO, Inc. in CT Business Magazine.

The second annual Women of Innovation awards dinner will be held on January 25, 2007 at the Waterview in Monroe, CT from 5 to 9 p.m. where all the finalists will be presented to the attending members of the Connecticut technology community. For more information, please visit the Connecticut Technology Council’s Website at www.ct.org.

11/30/06: Annual Fundraiser Held for the Glastonbury Education Foundation

The Glastonbury Education Foundation held their annual fundraiser on Tuesday, November 29th at the Hilton Garden Inn where they raised over $130,000. $90,000 will go toward Phase 2 to finish equipping the TV studio at Glastonbury High School. Phase 1 of the project is complete and construction on the studio has begun. $70,000 has been allocated to purchase enough equipment for a club and for use by January 2007. The studio will be ready for community use and high school classes by next fall. Read Chairman’s Letter >

Dick Katz, auctioneer for the 2006 fundraiser event

For more information about the Glastonbury Education Foundation or to become a donor, visit their website www.glastonburyeducationfoundation.org

10/19/06: First Experience Communications Wins Two Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Website Development

The agency’s web design and implementation team earned a “Financial Services Standard of Excellence” award for its Open Solutions website development and an “Outstanding Website” award for its development of a new site for Community Partners in Action. Open Solutions Inc., www.opensolutions.com, integrates a full suite of banking and credit union products and services with core data processing technologies for financial institutions around the world. Community Partners in Action,  www.cpa-ct.org, one of the nation's oldest nonprofit agencies, began in 1875 as the Friends of Prisoners Society working in the field of criminal rehabilitation.

According to the Web Marketing Association, www.webaward.org, “The international Web Award Competition is the premier Web site award program” today. The 2006 Web Awards named outstanding and best Websites in 96 industry categories. Each site was judged on seven criteria, including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use.

8/30/06: PRSA Teleseminar Sponsored by the Independent Practitioners Alliance on October 4, 2006

Planning Your Way to Success: Creating and Sustaining an Effective Business Plan

An effective business plan provides direction and benchmarks for measuring growth and profitability, but developing one for your practice can be challenging. Public relations practitioners must adapt to changes in the ever-demanding business world while striving to achieve the results they desire: client and personal satisfaction, strategic growth and greater profits. This teleseminar offers practical tips for using proven principles to develop a plan for managing and marketing your practice.

Those who attended learned how to:

• Develop a business plan that's the right fit for your practice
• Identify your business priorities
• Establish marketing goals and criteria to measure your success and profitability
• Run your business while managing your career

PANEL

This 90-minute interactive teleseminar featured two PR professionals who have used strategic business planning to build their practices:

Ira Yellen, APR, Fellow PRSA is president/CEO of First Experience Communications in Connecticut, where he oversees a wide range of marketing and communications projects and provides strategic counsel for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofit organizations.

Suzanne Jackson Henry leads the team at Four Leaf PR, a virtual boutique agency based in Virginia. For two decades, she has helped companies and organizations increase visibility and expand their spheres of influence using proven strategies that generate results.

Kristie Aylett, APR, of The KARD Group, a PR/marketing consulting firm based on the Mississippi coast, will moderate this teleseminar.

8/1/06: Three New Clients Have Retained the Marketing Communication Services of First Experience Communications

They are:

• Premise USA, Farmington, CT – Design and Execution of Client Support Web Portal
• Farmington Public Schools, Farmington, CT – Education Workshop and Strategic Marketing Counseling Services
• New Milford Public Schools , Winsted, CT – Education Workshop and Strategic Marketing Counseling Services

6/20/06: Agency Earns an Excellence Award at the 31st Annual CADC Awards Show

First Experience Communications earned an Excellence award at the 31st Annual Connecticut Art Directors Club Awards Show held at St. Clements Castle in Portland, Conn. on June 20, 2006. The award was for their 2005 Holiday Souvenir Recipe Book that was created to differentiate the agency’s approach to the holiday season. The recipe book called First Experience, An Exploration, was a memorable holiday gift and an invitation to a holiday open house. It also highlighted the company’s vision and staff histories, as well as encouraged the agency’s audiences to explore their own family heritage in our diverse society.

6/8/06: Agency Awarded Best In Show for Major Community College Campaign

First Experience Communications earned “Best In Show” at the 2006 Public Relations Society of America Mercury Awards for the integrated communications campaign it developed for Springfield Technical Community College. The campaign generated a 1.3% increase in new student enrollment and a 2.1% increase in inner city/urban student enrollment for the fall 2005 semester. Applications increased 10% over the previous semester.
    Read the Case Study >
    Read the Press Release (PDF, 126K) >

6/8/06: First Experience Communications Wins Mercury Award for Community Health Care Video

In the tactical component of the 2006 PRSA Mercury Awards competition, First Experience Communications earned an award for the video it produced for Connecticut Primary Care Association and the nonprofit community health centers it represents. During late 2005 legislative budget hearings, CPCA’s director showed the 13-minute video as part of her testimony, which was recorded and aired several times on the Government cable access channel.

6/1/06: Four New Clients Have Retained the Marketing Communication Services of First Experience Communications

They are:

• Oak Hill, Hartford, CT ( The Connecticut Institute for the Blind) –
  Market Research and Strategic Planning
• VNA Healthcare, Hartford, CT –
  Market Research and Strategic Planning, Internet and Creative Services
• The Gilbert School, Winsted, CT –
  Community Public Relations
• Hartford Area Museums Consortium –
  (Wadsworth Atheneum, Mark Twain House and Museum, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Real Art Ways, The Connecticut Historical Society and Museum, The Children’s Museum, Hillstead Museum, The Antiquarian & Landmarks Society, and the State of Connecticut Library and Museum) – Market Research and Strategic Planning

5/21/06: PRSA Pre-conference Training to Feature Ira Yellen

The 2006 Spring Conference of the Public Relations Society of America will feature a pre-conference program by First Experience Communications founder and CEO, Ira Yellen. The hands-on workshop will teach public relations professionals to adapt their businesses to the challenges of running an independent agency.

5/10/06: Statewide Branding Campaign for Community College System Continues with First Experience Communications

Connecticut Community Colleges has selected First Experience Communications to assist with the continued branding and marketing of its critical role in the state. Since 2000, FEC has worked with the system and several of its individual colleges on many projects. The system continues to be recognized as one of the key drivers of economic development in the state.

5/9/06: Hartford Area Museums Select First Experience Communications to Develop Promotional Strategy

A consortium of nine museums in the Greater Hartford Area has selected FEC to assist it with raising awareness of its unique role in the cultural heritage of the region. The consortium includes the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, the Connecticut Historical Society Museum, the Connecticut State Library/Museum of Connecticut History, the Hill-Stead Museum, the Mark Twain House, Real Art Ways, the Children’s Museum, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

5/1/06: HABCO Inc. Featured in Hartford Business Journal

The Hartford Business Journal featured HABCO, Inc. CEO Kristin Muschett on the cover of its May 1, 2006 issue. HABCO has been a client of FEC since January of 2006. The Connecticut aerospace manufacturer has used marketing and communications to gain awareness among new industries, greatly increase traffic to its web site, establish a publicly recognized role in aircraft safety, and strengthen relationships with its existing customers. Read the article (PDF, 154K) >

4/21/06: Doris Kearns Goodwin Joins Agency CEO at National Leadership Conference

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin joined First Experience Communications founder and CEO, Ira Yellen at the Community Leadership Association’s annual conference this year in Hartford, CT. More than one thousand community leaders from around the country attended the main event in Hartford and several hundred more came to see her at Glastonbury High School later in the day. Kearns Goodwin shared her knowledge of the life of Abraham Lincoln and his diverse team of advisors.