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Best Advice I Ever Got: Noelle Fox, APR

Posted on Jan. 25, 2024  /  Member News  /  Subscribe 0

Pictured: Noelle Fox, APR

"Best Advice I Ever Got" recognizes the role that senior public relations practitioners play in shaping our careers as well as the opportunity that each of us has to shape the careers of the next generation of public relations professionals. In this profile, Noelle Fox, APR, shares her story.

1. What's the best public relations advice you ever got? 
Join the Public Relations Society of America and get involved in the local chapter. You’ll get out of it what you put into it.

2. Who gave you this advice? 
Alicia Argiz-Lyons was, at the time, my direct supervisor when we both worked at the Shriners International Headquarters in Tampa. It was very early on in my career (around 2006), and although I had already joined PRSA, it was a game-changer to feel supported and encouraged by a seasoned PR professional and past PRSA Tampa Bay president – who was also my boss – and to spend time attending PRSA events and volunteering in leadership capacities.

3. What's an example of how you've applied this advice? 
I think receiving the support and time to get involved in PRSA early in my career resulted in me setting an expectation for myself to continuously explore ways to serve the chapter, association, and profession, knowing that I would also benefit from relationship building, skill development as a PR professional and leader, and personal enrichment. As such, over the past 17 years, I’ve served in over a dozen official leadership roles for the chapter and statewide Sunshine District, including a couple that the chapter graciously allowed me to revive or launch, such as the Mentoring Program Committee.

4. How has this advice influenced the way you’ve continued to grow as a professional? 
The Mentoring Program Committee matches seasoned PRSA members with newer PR professionals and PR students at the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa. By facilitating these one-on-one mentoring relationships, we aim to support and encourage the next generation of PR professionals and encourage their participation in PRSA, as Alicia did with me so many years ago.

Noelle Fox, APR, is president and chief strategist of True Blue Communications, based in Tampa. She’s also a registered yoga teacher and owner of Ground to Grow, which offers yoga-themed workplace wellness programs.

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