You might have noticed our new company photo to the right of this blog, if not please afford yourself a moment to gander at our attractive clan.  It is no hard feat for an advertising agency to snap a photo of their team, however, here at Catalyst, we are thorough with even the smallest task.

It all began in our weekly ‘work in progress’ meeting Jill, Catalyst vice president, announced that due to changes in staff, a new company photo was to be commissioned.   She suggested taking the picture on the front steps of the Catalyst building, to which we all agreed.  After the meeting I was given the task of purchasing flowers for the planters out front to replace what was left of the fall greenery.  So, on a very windy day, amidst my own little tornado of dirt, I planted flowers in preparation of our new company photo.  Unfortunately the following day’s weather forecasted a very windy week.  To save us all from the ‘I survived a tornado’ look in our new company picture, we planned to move the photo shoot indoors.

Now that we had decided on where to take the picture we had to decide the color scheme of the picture.  ‘Color scheme?,’ you’re thinking, well of course we need a color scheme, we are artists here at Catalyst and quite detail oriented at that.  We are in the business of making people look good, so why not ourselves?  Jill had made the suggestion to wear tan, white, navy/royal, and a spring color if we chose to, which was over-ruled by Bill, Catalyst’s no-fuss president.  Bill thought we would be better able to express our individuality by choosing our attire without parameters.  Now that all the decisions were made we were all set to take the photo. 

The morning of the photo everyone arrived to work looking their sharpest.  In an effort to look nice for the photo I decided to re-roll my hair, as the style had fallen.  You would have thought I shaved my head bald from the reaction I got when they saw me sitting up at the front desk with rollers in my hair, of which I kind of expected.  To my chagrin, Ed, Catalyst web designer and photographer, snapped a few blackmail shots of me, one of which is posted below (well, don’t scroll down too fast). 

After we all had tucked in our shirts, made the final adjustments to our hair, and applied the final touches to our made up faces, it was finally time to snap the photo.  We positioned ourselves on the first landing of the Catalyst stairs and smiled pretty for numerous shots.   Within a couple of minutes we were done and it was time for Ed to go back to his desk to select and clean the shot that was to be our new company picture.     

The photo turned out great and Ed didn’t even have to Photoshop anyone’s head in from another shot.  All joking aside, I think we make a handsome crew and if you’ll notice we are all pretty sharp dressers too. 

Defeated, I picked up the phone, dialed the number off the website, and held my breath as it rang…

“Catalyst Creative Services, how may I help you?”

“Hi, may I please, speak with Jill Leslie?”

“This is Jill”

“Hi Jill, Renee’ Dennis here”

“Hi, how are you?”

“Not that great…I was laid off today”

“Oh, no, I’m so sorry”

“Thanks, but that’s why I was calling, I really want to work for you and I was hoping you had an open position I could be considered for,”… ‘I will clean your toilets’ I thought.

“Actually, Renee’, I have had you in mind for a position that recently opened up, why don’t you stop by tomorrow at 5 for an interview”

I was speechless, a feeling that rarely happens to one so verbal.  The shock and disappointment of being laid off hadn’t even had a chance to sink in and now the overwhelming joy of the possibility of a new job with fellow artisans birthed a family of butterflies in my belly.

With my ‘jack-of-all-trades’ (master of none) background in the performing arts, occasional experience in marketing, advertising, and public relations, and the fact that I had taken four years out of the work force to start my family,  I was worried that I would not fit the profile they were looking to fill.  So when I handed Bill and Jill Leslie, the father and daughter who lead the Catalyst team, my resume I was hoping they would use their powerfully creative skills to interpret it.   That’s just how it went down, or coinciding with happy hour they had thrown back a few before my interview, because I am very proud to say that I now plant myself every morning at 14 W. 1^st, Catalyst headquarters.

I have always been fascinated with the Ad business and, after graduating from Temple University with a BA from the School of Communications, I had some regret that I chose not to take more classes in advertizing.  All regrets off because now I am getting a crash course in all aspects of the business.  Every morning I wake up with the fervor to go to work and every day is an exciting day at the office.  From learning how to ‘really’ use Google to the erudition of press releases, I am absorbing so much information and having a great time doing it.

I am very grateful for the patience level of everyone here at Catalyst, they have welcomed me with open arms and warm hearts.  I genuinely feel blessed for the opportunity that has been afforded me and strive to live up to the expectations of my mentors and my community.

~Renee’ Dennis, PR Coordinator, Catalyst Creative Services