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The Chronicles of a Coffee Runner: The Focal Point Summer Intern Series

by | Jun 15, 2016 | News

  PART I: TIGHT QUARTERS & COFFEE ORDERS So it’s week two of my three-month internship, and by now, I think I’ve seen it all. First day on the job, I walk in at 8:30AM on a Monday to witness each team member giving status updates on their laundry list of open projects, a ritual […]

coffeerunner blog header - The Chronicles of a Coffee Runner: The Focal Point Summer Intern Series

 

PART I: TIGHT QUARTERS & COFFEE ORDERS

So it’s week two of my three-month internship, and by now, I think I’ve seen it all.

First day on the job, I walk in at 8:30AM on a Monday to witness each team member giving status updates on their laundry list of open projects, a ritual that has come to be known as the Monday Morning Meeting. I listen intently while I brace myself for whatever it was I signed up for these next few months. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to do more than just sit in my tiny workspace, make copies and coffee runs, organize file cabinets and take out the trash.

Back at the meeting, each FPM team-member reports on their current summer wave of marketing and advertising projects when I am given my first assignment — write the summer blog post series about my experiences here at FPM. I warned the FPM team to expect unfiltered, honest, recounts of my experience.

Well, here I am, two weeks later and I’ve already checked off every responsibility listed on my summer internship verification letter. I’ve fully embraced the busy-bee environment along with the go-getter mentality that makes Focal Point so successful, not to mention the propensity for Friday-morning sweets during the team’s sometimes-whacky creative meetings. All of that leaves me wondering: “what doesn’t this team do well?” This team seems to run full circle.

Speaking of circles, well-rounded is exactly how I would describe the FPM crew. Though small in numbers, the team is definitely not lacking in characters. Their actions speak louder than the words in their website bios, and their personalities are enough to constantly keep things interesting. “An accomplished collection of creative misfits” — I couldn’t have said it better myself. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve learned about them so far:

Prestigious Partners

Mitch and Theresa, the elder statespeople and unofficial mom and pop of the shop started FPM back in 2010, and are quite clearly the vision behind it all. Their decades of experience in marketing and multimedia help bring order to the chaos, and act like the glue that holds it all together. Their coffee orders are fairly simple — Theresa takes a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher , and Mitch is just an OJ guy (the juice not THE Juice).

Kickin’ Cameraman

Accompanying Mitch in the multimedia department is Eric. At any point in time, Eric can be anywhere, shooting video on location (where I’ve had the pleasure of helping act as a grip), snapping photos in Cambodia (of which he has received recent acclaim) or putting in long hours in the studio. His versatile talents keep him constantly busy, which is why he takes a hot triple grande soy white mocha.

Multitasking Mastermind

Then there’s Kati, she’s my internship supervisor. Her smile is always the first I see every morning entering the office, wind, rain or shine, Monday through Friday. She is THE multitasking queen, scheduling meetings, video and photo shoots, coordinating talent, and corresponding with clients. She makes sure to keep me busy with a whole litany of tasks. Kati takes her lattes hot with non-fat milk and sugar-free hazelnut

Computational Crazy-Guy

The office’s web developer/designer/in-house IT guy/director-of-all-things-digital, is an honor that can only be bestowed to Derek. His talent? He’s arguably fluent in two languages — English and more impressively, computer. Sometimes he just speaks in a series of beeps and boops, which is okay because even when he’s speaking in English, we don’t know what he’s talking about. Derek prefers his coffee as a quad espresso over ice in a 16oz cup. Add a drizzle of caramel and a dash of half-and-half and he’s back to the keyboard, tapping away. Bless his heart; he’s the one responsible for revising my rough drafts for these blog posts.

Creative Chief

With his basketball-hoop garbage can well within Derek’s paper-wad range sits Thomas, the Creative Maestro. Like Mitch and Theresa, Thomas has been around since the beginning, channeling his immense creative talent into award-winning work that has come to define Focal Point. Thomas’ leadership ensures that the team’s creative visions hit their mark, which is why he always takes his coffee blended with mocha. He says it helps him keep his cool.

The Do-it-all Dude

The remaining member of the creative 3 Musketeers is Steve. Like me, Steve was once an intern here at FPM, which means I have some big shoes to fill. Though Steve may be the resident goofball, his project list includes a little something from almost every department: digital ad placement and production, web design, print design, the occasional studio grip, social media, and digital content production. Thank goodness for his youthful energy and willingness to take whatever’s thrown at him, because he certainly has his hands full, which is why he takes an Iced venti Americano.

Facilitating Fashionista

The resident facilitator of all of the office’s hard work is the job of Kari, the digital marketing and media strategist. Beyond being the most fashion-forward of the bunch, it’s Kari’s job to make sure all of the creative projects get placed in their appropriate channels (digital, TV, radio, etc.) and then reports on the effectiveness of a given campaign. Kari and I share the “Ballroom,” an area where our coolness is demonstrated by our use of inflated rubber sitting balls instead of office chairs, and where you can often hear her providing advice on dressing to keep my A-game and filling me in on what I missed on the Bachelorette. We bond over shoes, wedding plans and whatever else is trending in pop culture. Kari takes her lattes iced with vanilla.

Focus Forward

So there you have it, my initial response to my first couple of weeks here at FPM. So far, it’s been an interesting mix of tasks that’s provided me the opportunity to get to know everybody a little bit. I’m looking forward to getting to gaining some invaluable experience working in a real agency. Stay tuned for more stories as I continue to recount my FPM experience!

 About Laurenlauren

Lauren Perry is Focal Point’s summer 2016 intern. Originally from Richland, Lauren attends the University of Florida as a junior where she’s majoring in Business and Spanish. Her talents include coffee-running (a truly unique talent), running (she’s a track and field athlete at UF), writing, a willingness to take on anything we throw at her, and baking (her FPM sugar cookies were an exquisite delight). Lauren has been an excellent team player, and a welcome member to the FPM team for the summer.

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thomas

thomas

Thomas Manley has been crafting successful brands for over fifteen years, specializing in art direction, brand development and strategy, copywriting, and graphic and web design. He combines strategy, creativity, and design savvy to provide high-impact solutions that meet client objectives. His work has been known to have clients high-fiving and chest-bumping when all was said and done.

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The Chronicles of a Coffee Runner: The Focal Point Summer Intern Series

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