Intern Experience

 

This week’s blog post comes from our intern Marina and our co-op CJ. They have been asked to share their experiences during their stay at Huntington.

Marina Mehaffie

Hello everyone. I’m Huntington’s marketing intern for this summer and my time here has come to a close. Spoiler alert, this isn’t my first article. In fact, I’ve written every blog post since May, and even did a few last December. Blogs have become a big part of my summer. When I first met Jena, VP of Sales, she told me for any marketing job, you MUST have good writing skills. She was not kidding. The written word is the key to unlocking infinite doors, especially in this digital age.

Apart from writing I got to learn the entire billboard process from beginning to end. I was in contact with all forms of the company; sales, design, building, installation, and clientele. It has been great getting to see how every part of the business fits and works together to master a job well done.

Of all the skills I learned over the summer, the most valuable was one that can’t quite be measured. I had so many people invest their time, energy, and money into helping me learn and grow over the summer. I got to know everyone so well they became like family. I realized the importance of investing in others and helping the next generation grow, because that is exactly what I experienced this summer.

Too often today, my generation is focused on ourselves, how to expand our career, how to make more money, how to be more successful and so on. I had a client once say to me, “We can’t accomplish anything unless we help each other out.” It is so true. Huntington is in the billboard business to see communities thrive and help one another. This is why we have billboards within communities and advertise for small businesses.

That skill takes more than just intuitive and innovative thinking, but a giving heart. A special thank you to Justin, CEO, and Jena, VP of Sales, for allowing me to have this opportunity and learn from such great minds and hearts!

CJ Tassell

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this internship when I started. I joined in early January 2018 when Huntington had around 300 faces and some distinct availability to fill. Now as I’m leaving, we have just reached the 400 face mark and are continuing to grow. In total, the occupancy on the 300 faces that were here when I started has increased by around 17%!

Working for Huntington has taught me a lot about business, teamwork, and about living in small town America. Selling billboard space is an interesting job that puts you in interaction with many different types of people. It amazes me how people in different positions interact with a sales-person, from receptionists to marketing managers, to owners they rarely act the same. It can be somewhat of a toss up when you walk into a business or organization, but that makes it fun. Huntington has a great team that feels more like family especially because half of the company is actually related to each other. I have made friendships working at Huntington that will last for ages and working with these people has taught me so much.

Another interesting thing about Huntington is where I got to live and work. I moved from Cincinnati to around Arcanum and my office was in Greenville. Compared to living in the city attending the University of CIncinnati, things seem to move at slightly slower pace. It was amazing getting to know new people out here and being able to see them even as I go to the local coffee shop. The “quick” coffee trip can becomes a thirty minute chat because of the people you run into on the way. Even seeing local business owners I’ve worked with around town is a great experience. Overall, I am very thankful for the opportunity I have had in working for Huntington over the past 8 months and look forward to seeing how this company grows and thrives!

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Huntington has been very fortunate to have these two for the time that we did. They influenced our company and contributed to ultimate growth. Both Cj and Marina were correct in say they have become like family and will be greatly missed! We are very thankful for all their hard work and look forward to seeing what they accomplish in the coming years.