Happy Holidays from Strictly Business!
The holiday season always reminds us to count our blessings, both in our personal and professional lives. It’s a time to look back at all the things we’ve accomplished and endured in the past year, while also looking forward to the opportunities that await us in the year ahead. With a lot of transition and growth at the magazine in the recent months, we are grateful to feel like we have finally established a solid team of people who are all on the same page as we work toward our goal of being Lincoln and Omaha’s most powerful and trusted source of local business news.
The most recent development we had was welcoming Annie Carbutt as writer and co-editor to Hannah Hundley. Annie originally applied for the position of assistant, but our team felt strongly about her experience in English and writing and her all-around curiosity of the world around her. This is what sparked the idea of having Annie come on to take over the majority of press writing and compiling feature stories, allowing Hannah to direct her attention back to the operational duties she enjoyed when she first joined the Strictly Business team as the executive assistant. (Learn more about Annie by reading her press announcement in this issue!) Hannah will continue to oversee major editorial pieces such as Star/River City Sixes, Client Spotlights, Restaurant Exposés, etc., but will now be in charge of coordinating events and sales meetings, carrying out the on-boarding process for new clients, and handling other administrative office duties. Hannah and Annie both work closely with Art Director Katherine Crawford who has excelled in her role since being hired back in April of this year.
Our team is excited about the addition of a handful of new interns as well, though we are harboring some mixed feelings about having to say farewell to long-time employee, Lizzy Werner, who landed her first full-time job as a parent educator for Family, Inc. (Congrats, Lizzy!)
Megan Keyser and Rebecca Boyd recently joined the Strictly Business team as part-time sales interns. Megan and Rebecca have been working closely with Owners Paige and Shayne Zutavern to learn the ins and outs of the magazine and how to present it as a strong advertising tool to local business leaders. They have already had the opportunity to conduct their own sales meetings with potential clients. Both ladies attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Megan is in the College of Business Administration, studying marketing and management. Rebecca attends classes at the College of Journalism as she works toward a degree in advertising and public relations with an emphasis in psychology and minors in English and theatre.
Kadi Carleton, an English major at UNL with minors in biology and women/gender studies, was introduced back in September as a writing intern. Kadi has been a great help to Hannah each month and will now work closely with Annie. Around the same time, Julia Everston was brought on as a creative intern. Julia is an advertising and public relations major at UNL with minors in fashion merchandising and English. She has gained valuable experience designing advertisements and spotlights for clients under the direction of Katherine.
Not only are we thankful for the amazing group of women we have in place at Strictly Business, we also want our clients and readers to know how much we appreciate their support. Everything we do is for you!
From all of us at Strictly Business to you and yours, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Photo by Bradley Jensen. Pictured (L-R): Top Row – Megan Keyser, Annie Carbutt, Rebecca Boyd, Julia Everston; Bottom Row – Lizzy Werner, Hannah Hundley, Paige Zutavern, Katherine Crawford, Kadi Carleton.