Lindsey joined the firm in April 2010 as an account associate, after serving in Linhart PR’s JumpStart internship program. Zimmerman joined the firm in October 2010 as an account executive.

In their new positions, Lindsey and Zimmerman will continue to provide communications counsel and media relations support to several of the firm’s consumer clients.

“We’re pleased to promote two talented professionals in recognition of the great service and results they provide to our clients,” said Sharon H. Linhart, APR, managing partner and founder of Linhart PR. “Anna and Robin are both great advocates for our firm and culture, and we look forward to them continuing to grow their careers with us.”

Prior to joining Linhart PR:

• Lindsey worked as a public relations assistant at Crocs where she was responsible for supporting social media, media relations and internal communications initiatives for the company.  She also held several public relations intern positions for consumer brands including Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Sweet Leaf Tea. Lindsey received her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Texas in Austin.

• Zimmerman was a corporate communications specialist at DISH Network, L.L.C., where she helped supervise the Fortune 200 company’s social media strategy across all departments and supported media relations activities.  Zimmerman received her bachelor’s degree in communications from The Ohio State University.

Historian Ron Chernow, whose biography of Washington won the Pulitzer Prize last year, recently sat down with Brian Bolduc, editorial associate for National Review, to discuss Washington’s leadership style for a column in The Wall Street Journal.

Washington “realized that a leader should be neither too remote nor too familiar,” Chernow said, and that people “don’t need to like you, much less love you, but they do need to respect you.”

Our first president was a complicated man – emotional and highly sensitive to criticism on the inside, with a volatile temper that he worked hard to control, while remaining calm and impassive on the outside, according to Chernow. Washington “had an old-fashioned belief that silence was strength, and that you only very gradually let people enter your private thoughts and emotions.”

Chernow and other historians report Washington had a great sense of stagecraft, usually to enhance the dignity of his office but sometimes, during the Revolutionary War, to conceal from the British the dire situation of the Continental Army. He was meticulous in dress and polite and cordial in conversation.

Because he rarely acted on his emotions, Chernow told the Journal, Washington exercised presidential power wisely. His method was to canvass his Cabinet for opinions, weigh his options carefully, then make a decision. Once he made it, he stuck with it. “There was nothing wishy-washy about Washington,” Chernow said.

As a president and as a military officer, Washington was a hands-on executive who led from the front. Like many great leaders, he also was lucky. In 1755, during the French and Indian War, Washington had two horses shot out from under him during a battle near present-day Pittsburgh, and four musket balls pierced his uniform coat, but he escaped without a scratch.

When the Continental Army was forced to make a perilous retreat across the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan in 1776, with the British Army in hot pursuit, a dense fog settled on New York Harbor and enabled Washington to get all of his men across safely in one night. Later that year, when his army crossed the Delaware River on Christmas Eve for a surprise attack on Trenton, snow and sleet at daybreak helped conceal the Continentals from the garrison of Hessian mercenaries fighting on the British side, leading to their defeat.

What leadership lessons can be drawn from the man whose stoic portrait graces the one-dollar bill? “What Washington’s life shows,” Chernow told the Journal’s Bolduc, “is the importance of clarity of vision, of tenacity of purpose and character, and how much can be accomplished in life if you keep your sights set on your ultimate goals.”

I have always loved writing and editing, and found my way to public relations through a writing internship with a magazine. I worked with many PR companies during my internship that I immediately knew I wanted to work at a PR firm. I have done marketing and communications for a bank and web development for a world conflict organization. The best part about my position with Linhart Public Relations is that I am able to incorporate all of my experience into my daily work.

What brought you to Denver, Colorado?

My parents. I am a proud Colorado native.

Your workday just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?

I get my computer set up, get out my chai, which I bring from my home in Boulder, and grab my notebook to write my daily to-do list.

Name three things you can’t live without.

My “onesie” (it has ducks in a bathtub on it, not a joke), a good book, and some reality TV.

Name some of your favorite things.

One of my favorite things is to make lists…so here is a list of my favorite things:

• Rain. Even though I live in the wrong state for it.
• Frozen yogurt from Ripple, a little place in Boulder. I go probably once a week.
• My rubber band ball. I have been working on it for five years now. It is very large.
• Penguins. I wish I could meet one.
• Reading. I am usually in the middle of a great book.
• Candles. I love the way they light up a room.

Tell us a unique or interesting fact about yourself.

I am partially to blame for the rule that everyone must wear bowling shoes when bowling. When I was little, my parents took me bowling and my feet were too small for the shoes, so the alley let me play in socks. As it was my turn to bowl, my feet slipped out from under me and I cracked my chin open on the ball. To this day, I do not like bowling.

I was fortunate enough to hold several internships during my college career to give me experience in marketing communications, legislative affairs, social media, and non-profit and corporate communications. I earned my undergraduate degree from Colorado State University in journalism and technical communication with a concentration PR. At this point, I figure my minors in business administration and political science helps me be a productive member of society. After graduating, I got my toes wet in agency experience. I’ve fallen in love with agency life because of the range of projects I could be working on in any given day.

What brought you to Denver, Colorado?

As a Colorado native, I can never be too far from a view of the mountains. I moved to Denver because of the culture, especially in downtown Denver.

Your workday just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?

Log onto my computer and open Outlook. Then grab some coffee or tea while everything is loading.

Name three things on your desk right now or three things you can’t live without.

My cell phone, sticky notes, and coffee.

Tell us a unique or interesting fact about yourself.

I have a crazy fascination over Lady Gaga and would have to call myself a Little Monster. You might recognize me from a photo that was on the cover of The Denver Post’s Denver and the West section after Lady Gaga’s Denver 2010 performance—one of my proudest moments.

PRSA Colorado hosted a luncheon on Feb. 15 featuring roundtable discussions with members of the media, from bloggers to newsroom producers to radio personalities. Attendees went from table to table, where they got tips of the trade from these professionals on how to effectively get your story heard and told.

Several Linhart Public Relations team members returned from the event with the following 10 tips that the media shared:

• Tip 1: Read previous posts or stories from the reporter you are reaching out to. Learn what they find interesting and modify your pitch to fit his or her style.  Know what they have latched onto in the past and look for any common themes they write about.
• Tip 2: Always tell the reporter what you are asking of them or what you need. Don’t just invite them to an event; tell them why they would be a good person to come and what they could focus on at the event.
• Tip 3: Make the subject line of your emails direct. For example, the subject line “Please join us on Friday” most likely will not get opened. Tell them in the subject what you’re pitching.
• Tip 4: Keep your pitches short, sweet and interesting. A woman from Denver’s 9News online team said, “Tell us the good stuff first.” She said she wants the “headline” in bold at the top of the email and all of the important details in bullets right underneath. Put the boring stuff at the end. If they are interested, they will get down to the nitty-gritty.
• Tip 5: Always share how this story would relate to the outlet’s audience. Don’t send the same pitch to every media source. Personalize it to tell them why that specific news person should care about this story.
• Tip 6: Send pictures and video. Include them so that the reporter can see the story quickly. Don’t send high resolution photos, as they will clog up the inbox. Even if the reporter can’t join you at the event, sending a follow up with pictures or video might get the story covered.
• Tip 7: Know when the outlets’ editorial meetings are and prepare to contact them in advance. Then, they’ll have the story idea going into the meeting so they can talk about it with their team.
• Tip 8: Each month, send a list of 10 things that the outlet might find interesting to cover. If they are having a slow day, they can turn to this email for some ideas.
• Tip 9: If they are a local publication, pitch local stories. Don’t send a story about a walk in Nevada to a Colorado publication. However, if you can find a local hook to a national story, it often works well.
• Tip 10: Use standard, basic fonts in your emails, in font sizes 11 or 12 and in black. Reporters don’t want to receive pitches in pink script that takes up the entire page because you bolded and enlarged everything.

Friendship has, um, evolved, so why don’t we give that maxim another shot? How about, “You can tell a lot about a person by the blogs he reads”?

Better? I think so.

In the interest of full disclosure, then, here’s my list. (Freudian slip—I just typed “my life.”) These are the 11 blogs I’m reading at least once a week, probably more often in most cases.

What are your favorites?

The Atlantic Wire – The best news round-up on the web, updated continuously. The writing’s sharp, often witty and always on target. It’s a little light on sports news but makes up for it with great headlines like this one, “While Rumormongering a Reuters-Financial Times Deal, Watch Your Pronouns”

The Daily Snow – Everything a skier or snowboarder needs to find the next powder day in Colorado. Thanks, Joel Gratz!

Denver Infill/Denver Urbanism – Everything you need to know about what’s happening in urban planning and development in Denver, from new bike paths to condo projects. Spend five minutes here and you’ll realize just how amazing and dynamic a city Denver is.

Marginal Revolution – One of the top economics blogs around, and surprisingly accessible for humanities majors. Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, econ professors at George Mason University (GMU) in Virginia, discuss policy, life, literature and—really—how the world works.

Apartment Therapy – I’m probably one of only three men who reads this interior design blog, but hey, it’s awesome for city-dwellers.

Overcoming Bias – It’s another GMU professor’s blog, this time examining how people operate from an economist’s perspective. So you get stuff like this, “In my culture, most stories are not about work life, and the few stories that are focus on a narrow set of unusual jobs like soldier, detective, politician, artist, doctor, lawyer, or teacher. Why?”

Powerline – Too much politics and too little policy but still one of the better articulations of the conservative viewpoint around.

Will Wilkinson – Definitely the best political philosophy blogger in Des Moines.

The Denver PR Blog – Thanks, Jeremy, for keeping us up to date on everything PR-related in Denver.

The Washington Post’s Wonkblog – Domestic policy, and lots of it.

Dot Earth – The New York Times’ environmental blog dedicated to figuring out how to fit nine billion people on one earth.

Krista's (almost) winning bacon mustache - Bar-S Bacon Mustache Facebook Contest

I received a degree in public relations from Colorado State University (CSU) with the intention of conquering the PR world. While residing in Vermont (yup, Vermont. Skip ahead to question #2), I bought my first website domain name, started a blog about bacon, and then convinced myself that I was going to conquer the social media world. My first corporate social media introduction was during my time at ServiceMagic.com. I learned the guts of creating and launching social media strategies, and how to effectively maintain online reputation. This now brings me to today, where I am thrilled to work with a wonderful Linhart PR team!

On a personal note, I recently became engaged this winter, and I’m very excited for my wedding later this year! I have to include a quick shout-out to my fiancé, Matt Gregg, because he puts up with a lot of my nonsense and I love him for it!

What brought you to Denver, Colorado?

I’m from Littleton, Colo., and graduated from CSU. I dreamt about leaving Colorado for bright lights and big cities, but after college I found myself moving to Montpelier, Vt., for my first job. After about a year in New England I grew tired of the rainy days, I missed close friends, and I REALLY longed for shopping at Target (the closest store was three hours away). I decided it was time to pack up my bags and hit the road back to Colorado.

Your workday just started. What’s the FIRST thing you do?

The first thing I do when I arrive at Linhart PR is make a cup of Celestial Seasonings tea. I am not a coffee drinker, but a cup of tea helps me fire up the hamster running in my head.

Name three things on your desk right now or three things you can’t live without.

1.       My phone – I think my life would immediately be in ruins without it

2.       A bacon action figure from some amazing Linhart PR peeps

3.       An App of the Day calendar

Today’s app is: Memorize Pattern – Strengthen your memory with this app. Memorize a variety of patterns from more than 10,000 options, including seven musical instruments.

Name some of your favorite things.

I am obsessed with “The Big Bang Theory” (here’s one of my favorite clips), “New Girl,” and “The Voice.” I dread going to the gym, but I love the feeling after a good workout. When it comes to food I am usually craving bacon, sour cream and onion chips, and Oreos. In my spare time I like reading, spending time with friends, shopping, and pretending like I can get down with Dance Central on Kinect.

Tell us some unique or interesting facts about yourself.

• I have a black cat named Soot that loves to play fetch.
• I was on an intense Dance Central kick last spring and injured myself with a thoracic sprain. Not many people can say that!

Each month, Linhart PR holds Inside Scoop, an opportunity for you to come into our office and learn more about public relations careers, the Denver PR market and our firm. This month, we’re meeting on Feb. 15 from 4-5 p.m. at our office in downtown Denver.

We provide tasty ice cream (from Liks) and great PR advice, directly from senior vice president and partner, Paul Raab.  On Wednesday, Paul will be leading this discussion along with Chandra Brin and intern Kelly Williams.

Here are the details:

• When: Feb. 15
• Where: the Linhart PR office
• 1514 Curtis St, Suite 200
• Denver, CO 80202
• Time: 4-5 p.m.
• How to register: go to the Contact Us page on our website.
• What to bring: yourself, your resume and your sweet tooth.

Can’t come this week? Don’t worry. We have Inside Scoop every month on the third Wednesday.

Hope to see you there!

Paula will be covering how savvy companies are incorporating social media to effectively engage and educate employees on everything from innovation and internal knowledge sharing to revenue generation and customer relations.

Program participants will learn about:

• Incorporating social media in the workplace successfully
• Convincing IT, legal and HR executives that social media can work
• Creating a solid social media policy (what to include and what to leave out)

A light lunch will be served.

Location:

• University of Denver, University Hall, Room 306.

Advance registration deadline is noon on Thursday, Feb. 16.

Advance Cost:

• Members: $30
• Non-members: $45
• University Faculty, Staff and Students: $25

Late registrations made after advance registration deadline and walk-ins will pay an additional $5 (lunch not guaranteed without advance registration).

Visit the event’s website to register and learn more.

Social media has grown up in the last three years, and it’s now part of everyday life. At this conference, which takes place Feb. 14-16, attendees will hear from leading experts and learn how to engage customers, employees and media in the digital world.

During Paula’s presentation on Feb. 16, she’ll share how to balance the risks and rewards of social media in the workplace. Surprisingly, 54 percent of U.S. companies have banned workers from using social networking sites on the job. While some companies have an amazing online presence, others refuse or are apprehensive to join the conversation. Paula will discuss social media uses and best practices in the workplace, as well as how to create a solid social media policy that helps employers and employees participate in online discussions in the best way possible for their organization.

To sign up to attend the event, click here. If you are unable to make it to Las Vegas for the week, sign up for the live broadcast so you can be a part of the action. Go to Ragan’s website to learn how.