Board Perspective
Proactive PR: IH on the Air
BY ELIZABETH PULLEN, AIHA® VICE PRESIDENT
For some reason, I’ve always thought
that doing public relations for industrial
hygiene is a difficult thing. We all know
that our profession is not well known,
and we’ve talked about raising awareness of industrial hygiene.
A few months ago, a great PR opportunity fell into my lap. Now I know that
I didn’t have to wait for this chance
event to occur.
Work and Motivation
While attending a play in June, my husband David and I sat next to Mike
Collins, the host of a daily local talk
radio show called “Charlotte Talks” on
WFAE 90.7 FM. Mike asked David what
he does for a living. After telling Mike
about being an electrical engineer, David
turned to me and said, “Why don’t you
tell Mike what you do for a living?” I
started talking about industrial hygiene
and some of the topics we address, such
as lead, asbestos, mold, and nanotechnology. Mike said that he’d never done a
show about occupational health and
asked me if I’d be interested in being on
the show.
I followed up with an e-mail to Mike,
which he forwarded to his producer. His
producer e-mailed back and forth with
me regarding logistics, and I suggested
other industrial hygienists to participate
on the show, including John Henshaw,
Brian Kasher and Carter Ficklen. My goal
was to have a variety of expertise in our
panel.
Preparation
One key piece of preparation for each of
us was to write a brief biography and include several “talking points.” During
the interview, Mike directed questions to
each panelist that referred to our talking
points. I was amazed by how quickly an
hour goes by when you’re on the air! It
was exciting to talk about our work and
our motivations to be in this profession.
I also tried to share information with the
audience that might help them in their
daily lives, such as how to find an
MSDS. (To download a free podcast of
the Aug. 10 show, visit the WFAE website at www.wfae.org.)
I was amazed by how
quickly an hour goes
by when you’re on the
air! It was exciting to
talk about our work
and our motivations to
be in this profession.
I was nervous at first,
but after a few minutes
I calmed down and
really enjoyed the
experience.
AIHA was very helpful in giving me
support for this event. If you have ques-
tions or ideas about public relations,
contact Melissa Hurley Alves, AIHA’s
manager of strategic communications, at
mhurley@aiha.org. Melissa has CDs on
“Educating the Media about Industrial
Hygiene” and an “AIHA Local Action
Media Kit.”
Finally, I thank my colleagues at
Clariant, both in my Toastmasters Club
and in corporate communications, for
helping me prepare for the interview. I
highly recommend Toastmasters to any-
one who would like to become more
comfortable with public speaking. This
skill certainly does not come naturally to
me, and participating in two-minute im-
promptu “table topics” each week has
helped me learn how to think and speak
on my feet and reduced my nervousness
about speaking in front of people. Our
corporate communications director at
Clariant helped me practice handling
possible questions, which made me feel
more assured going into the interview. I
was nervous at first, but after a few min-
utes I calmed down and really enjoyed
the experience.
ElizabethPullen,CIH,isvicepresidentofAIHAand
industrialhygienemanagerforClariantCorporation
in Charlotte, N.C. She can be reached at (704) 331-
7736orelizabeth.pullen@clariant.com.
