Ashley Sinclair

(A note from director Janna Bass: I am excited to let the Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce intern contribute to Chamber Chat this week. Ashley Sinclair is a junior at Clinton High School and was selected in February to be the Chamber’s first intern to gain experience in public relations, marketing and community engagement. I am so proud of all that Ashley has accomplished.)

From Ashley:

“Intrigued by my love for marketing and public relations, throughout the past 10 weeks I have had an amazing experience through an internship with the Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce. Prompted by an e-mail request for an intern, my marketing teacher at Clinton High School, Mrs. Venetia Mann, immediately asked if I would be available after school and if I was interested. After an interview with Janna Bass, Executive Director of the Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce, I was offered an opportunity to gain valuable experience.

Coming into the internship, Mrs. Janna and I spoke about my goals and what I would like to gain from this experience. I mentioned I hoped to gain knowledge and experience in public relations, public speaking, overall non-profit/Chamber policies and functions, community engagement, event planning and marketing.

My first experience was at the 45th Annual Chamber Celebration as I assisted in the greeting of guests and discovered event execution. From visiting members to discovering the importance of networking through my attendance at the April Business after Hours hosted by The Ashford Inn, I have gained valuable public relation skills.

I have also assisted in Chamber projects including the creation of two logo options for the Business Showcase taking place in September, along with a proposed budget and event logistics targeting my internship goal of branding and event planning. I’ve explored overall social media marketing strategies for the Chamber, in which I have updated their google presence, social media accounts and created the Chamber’s new Twitter account. Also with the social media marketing, I’ve reviewed the Chamber website we are in the process of developing a new site.

From networking to developing social media marketing strategies to creating branding initiatives, this has been such an amazing experience. While I hate to see such an amazing opportunity come to a close on May 14th, I am looking forward to using my gained knowledge and skills in my future endeavors. “