"What is your day job?"


I've done a bit of everything. My corporate experience includes television, radio, newspaper, public relations and freelance writing. For almost 20 years, I have been thrilled to work in the not-for-profit sector, first in education and now for a religious group of Catholic Sisters.

I believe in honesty, openness and being a team player and expect the same from those with whom I work. I LOVE helping an organization with wonderful values and special people to be the best they can be, to share their stories with the world and to help promote the compassionate causes in which they believe. I bring enthusiasm, excellent communication skills and a desire to know at the end of the day I've accomplished something I'm proud of.

To be more specific:

Director of Communications/Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration
This is my day job. The one that allows me to earn money so I can buy our golden retriever enough chewies to keep her in a good mood on a daily basis. No, I’m not Catholic. But some of the Sisters call me Sister Kelley in good-natured fun because I’ve been with them for 15 years. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love my job. I work IN A MONASTERY. Life canNOT get any more peaceful than that. I work with national, regional and local media, write, take photographs, create ads and do a million other things that make each day a little different than the last.

Maryville Forum
I enjoyed a brief stint as managing editor of the Maryville Forum. I led a staff of reporters, photographers and designers to produce an award-winning daily. Unfortunately, a debilitating eye condition meant saying goodbye to the daily grind of proofreading and layout to reduce further deterioration of my vision. The publisher asked that I continue writing my weekly column, “Life Like Mine,” for the paper. Turned out to be a great idea, and it was syndicated in dozens of newspapers across the country for several years.

Media Relations Specialist/Northwest Missouri State University
I worked with reporters, crafted news releases and wrote articles for several publications for my alma mater. I helped plan special events for the Bobby Bearcat kids club, ribbon cuttings and commencement. It was a joy to work with college students each and every day, helping them prepare for their own futures. It also gave me a strong foundation in working within the parameters of our state’s Sunshine Law and began a long association and friendships with the members of our local media - something that will come in handy when serving on a school board.

KMBC-TV/KCWE-TV - Kansas City

This was my first job out of college. It was quite a leap from Northwest Missouri State straight into a Top 32 market! I worked in promotions and programming, did some sports production with the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals, managed the public file, created a ton of reports for the Federal Communications Commission and handled sensitive contract information. If you really want to know how much we paid for “Oprah”…I still can’t tell you.

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