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| CRBJ Home > November 2006 | ||||||
PR pro aims to help young womenJames Edward Mills
"There are a lot more opportunities today than when I started," Collins said. "But young women can still benefit from mentoring and encouragement to achieve their goals." When she started as a PR agent in the 1960s, Collins was fresh out of college with very little practical experience. "I didn't know what I was doing," she said. "I didn't have a business plan, a to-do list, nothing. I just set a goal and I did it." With the money she has made available, Collins hopes that she can make it possible for young women just starting out to avoid some of the difficulties she experienced when she started her own business. She hopes she can pass along some of the lessons she learned along her career path. "The thing to do is find out if there's a need. If you really have something unique, you can see it's something of value," Collins said. "That's how most businesses start. It's fulfilling a niche. Second you have to be passionate about it. And third, you have to work like hell." The importance of hard work is one things Collins hopes young people will pick up on. "You'll spend a lot of sleepless night worrying about your business," she said. "But in the long run it will be worth it, because then you'll control your own destiny." At 65, Collins says she's as vital today as she was when she was 35. She plays tennis 5 days a week and rides her bicycle to most of her professional meetings. She said staying healthy and energetic is the most important factor in running a successful business. "You can't be sick. There's no time to be sick," she said. "My big thing is you have to get exercise and you have to do your thing every day." Through perseverance and insatiable energy, Collins has established a reputation as an aggressive advocate for clients that include Lake Geneva Cruise Line, Great Wisconsin Credit Union, Parfitt Facial Cosmetic Surgery Center and the Racine County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Harold Freistad, general manager of Lake Geneva Cruise Line, said Collins has been instrumental in creating some of his company's most successful publicity campaigns for over 20 years. "One of our most successful ventures: She and I thought up the idea of having try-outs for mail-jumpers on our mail boats," Freistad said. "Last year she succeeded in getting the guys from CBS to come and tell the story." Mail-jumpers are a novelty tourist attraction on the Lake Geneva mail tour. Young college students deliver mail and newspapers to more than 60 homes along the lakeshore after making a dramatic leap from the dock to the boat. They also provide the narration of the lake community's history along the way. Collins also promoted the first running of the American Birke-beiner cross-country ski race for the Telemark Resort in Cable, Wisconsin. Today the Birkie is an international event that draws tens of thousands to the area every year. "I just really enjoy promoting things that I love," Collins said. "And the Birkie was just so much fun." In addition to boosting the cause of each client, Collins said it's also important to help out in the community whenever possible. Just as she has pledged to celebrate her 40th anniversary in business with a charitable donation, she hopes to encourage her clients to do the same. "Anniversaries are great times for philanthropy," she said. "Usually people throw a party or give gifts to their customers. But who needs another pen set? I hope that others will follow my example and give back to community." Collins said the $40,000 fund will be distributed in eight grants of $5,000 each. Interested organizations should contact Tom Linfield, vice president of grant making and community relationships at the Madison Community Foundation. Send a letter (no more than two pages) stating how the funds would be used, via e-mail to tlinfield@madisoncommunityfoundation.org by December 8. Funds will be distributed by December 31, 2006. James Edward Mills is a State Journal reporter. jmills@madison.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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