Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Lester.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, with an amazing single father and friends I am still lucky to have today. I treasure those good Midwestern family values.
It was my dream to be a news anchor, so I chose American University in Washington, DC for my college education—because of their journalism program. While I was in DC, I interned for a Congresswoman and a legendary U.S. Senator. I anchored a nationwide college news show and traveled Europe when I spent a semester abroad in Rome.
My first job after college was working at Powell Tate, a public affairs division of Weber-Shandwick. Jody Powell was a former press secretary for Jimmy Carter, and Sheila Tate was a former press secretary for Nancy Regan. Sheila taught me how to conduct media training sessions—and she was fantastic. I still use many of the techniques she taught me today.
Jody Powell was full of little tidbits of advice. One thing I’ll always remember was him saying to a big group of us, “You’ll never get anywhere in life if you think you can work 9-5 and go home. That’s not how the world works. Your effort will eventually pay off.” He also wrote me a kind “going away” note when I landed a job as a news anchor at KXMB 12 (CBS) in Bismarck, North Dakota. He reminded me that my reputation was everything. He was right. It is absolutely the heart of everything I do today—as a human being and as a PR professional, honesty, hard work, and authenticity will get you far.
Being a news anchor was a whirlwind, but I remember those crazy days fondly! Bismarck is the capital city, and the governor was so familiar with the media that he knew my name when we bumped into each other at the local bowling alley. That doesn’t happen in every state!
The warm hometown feel continued in the Quad Cities in Rock Island, IL, where I was an anchor/reporter for WHBF 4 (CBS). Those were the days when stress was on another level. Work will never be more difficult than writing, producing, and anchoring an evening newscast—while managing the entire newsroom staff. That was seriously how short-staffed we were! On top of that, there may be breaking news, and we would have our live truck on the scene. I would be talking to the live truck driver and adjusting the rundown on the fly while trying to remain composed on the news desk. I can’t believe I made it through those days! If you can do that—you can do anything! Despite the chaos, I had a wonderful experience in the Quad Cities, and definitely want to go back and relive some of those memories of baseball games overlooking the river and live music everywhere. I loved attending community events on behalf of the station and meeting the welcoming community.
After a few action-packed years in news, it was back to public relations!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
After gaining invaluable experience at Weber-Shandwick in Minneapolis and The Richards Group in Dallas, I felt confident I could open my own shop. MPL Public Relations was formed in 2009.
Each year, we have grown, and it’s been an exciting adventure filled with some incredible clients.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Here is what most excites me about public relations:
Our clients are innovators, creators, and pioneers. I have a passion for identifying our clients’ unique thoughts and perspectives and creating thought leadership platforms for them to share these ideas with their target audiences.
I also have a passion for connecting my clients’ stories with the right news outlets to earn incredible news stories in print, broadcast, and digital outlets. There is nothing that gets me more jazzed than seeing my clients in the headlines and lighting up the screen with their ideas. This passion for media relations has truly been the bedrock of my career. Media outreach is strategy, matchmaking, and personal contacts. But most of all, those of us who do it well use a little bit of magic.
I am also deeply invested in the way my clients conduct themselves in interviews. The right training can mean the difference between a career-defining Wall Street Journal article or a missed opportunity. Whether their interview is with a network news morning show or digital trade publication, our clients are prepared, trained, and armed with the best tools to knock it out of the park.
Similar training is provided for clients who create internal and external corporate videos. We talk about cadence, body language, gestures, appearance—and tone of voice that often alters with unique audiences. Our training sets our executives up to succeed. And our professional video crew ensures they look and sound their best.
One thing that differentiates my agency is that I am an extremely high-touch consultant. In public relations, we are literally crafting the messaging that builds brands. This is all comes down to trusting me and knowing that my experience in television news and my 20 years of experience in PR and training is going to guide them in exactly the right direction.
One of the biggest client compliments I ever received was a sentiment that I am “in the trenches” with them in hard times. I will answer a client’s phone call at 11 pm when there’s a crisis, and I’ll be with them again at 5 am when we’re preparing for a FOX Business live shot.
I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with many prominent CEOs and leaders in DFW, and I have learned several things. First, they are some of the hardest-working and kindest people you will ever meet. They are inspiring, and this is a big part of what makes them great leaders. They know the power of their team, and they understand they cannot get the job done without their employees. They are exceptionally successful because they say what they mean, and they mean what they say. The best of the best believe in building up those around them and creating a culture of community and collaboration. They both inspire me and motivate me on a daily basis. I am often impressed by how quickly and strategically their minds work and how fast they pick up new material.
I want my clients to be as proud of themselves as I am of them—but universally, they are all extremely humble. The work we do together is essential for their brands and also very personal. I hope someday they will be able to look back on the work we did together and remember it fondly as a fun and exciting time that moved the needle for their business or organization. Some of my clients are growing at warp speed, and I am thrilled to be part of the adventure with them.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
A great PR professional must counsel “no” as much as “yes.” CEOs need honest advice, and their internal team is more likely to say “yes” because it is natural to want to please your boss! Our clients need strategic, honest, and candid counsel more than ever in today’s rapid media environment.
Sometimes a leader makes a public relations suggestion that is not in his/her best interest…or even the best use of their organization’s funds. When you trust your PR team like our clients do, they know we are setting them up for success.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marylittle
Image Credits
Thaddeus Harden
