On Thursday Feb. 27, PRSSA was honored to hold our meeting at Sacramento Republic Headquarters, where we were joined by the soccer team’s communications and public relations duo, John Jacobs and Will Strome. Members were also thrilled to be briefly joined by the president and COO of Sac Republic, Ben Gumpert, who kicked off the meeting with an inspiring message: “We are building a stadium, but we are also building culture.”
To begin, John Jacobs, a Sacramento State alumnus, and Will Strome spoke about how they ended up as the two-person team for the Republic. Jacobs explained how he had started in advertising sales, a job he came to despise. His real passion was in sports, and so he pursued a communications career at the Sacramento Kings, gaining enough experience to take charge at Sac Republic. Strome spoke about his work in sports writing, tedious free-lance work that eventually led to communications roles at Fox and the LA Galaxy. Strome then went out on a limb to come work at Sac Republic, a city and team he has since grown to love.
Jacobs offered our members some extremely valuable advice, exclaiming that we must “Kick in your own doors!”, encouraging us to not let anything hold us back from our dreams! Both Jacobs and Strome also emphasized the importance of forming professional relationships, especially in an industry as tight-knit as sports communication. He even cited PRSSA as a great start for building connections and taking initiative. Furthermore, he assured us that a positive attitude will take us far in life!
To conclude, Jacobs and Strome highlighted the significance of our position as students, explaining that now is the time for our members to be searching for ways to get our feet in the door. Whether it is a blind email to a large corporation or a conversation with one of PRSSA’s guest speakers, Sac Republic urges our members to “Shoot your shot!” We offer many thanks to Sac Republic for inviting us to have a look around the headquarters and for providing insight into the many aspects of communications and public relations.
To begin, John Jacobs, a Sacramento State alumnus, and Will Strome spoke about how they ended up as the two-person team for the Republic. Jacobs explained how he had started in advertising sales, a job he came to despise. His real passion was in sports, and so he pursued a communications career at the Sacramento Kings, gaining enough experience to take charge at Sac Republic. Strome spoke about his work in sports writing, tedious free-lance work that eventually led to communications roles at Fox and the LA Galaxy. Strome then went out on a limb to come work at Sac Republic, a city and team he has since grown to love.
Jacobs offered our members some extremely valuable advice, exclaiming that we must “Kick in your own doors!”, encouraging us to not let anything hold us back from our dreams! Both Jacobs and Strome also emphasized the importance of forming professional relationships, especially in an industry as tight-knit as sports communication. He even cited PRSSA as a great start for building connections and taking initiative. Furthermore, he assured us that a positive attitude will take us far in life!
To conclude, Jacobs and Strome highlighted the significance of our position as students, explaining that now is the time for our members to be searching for ways to get our feet in the door. Whether it is a blind email to a large corporation or a conversation with one of PRSSA’s guest speakers, Sac Republic urges our members to “Shoot your shot!” We offer many thanks to Sac Republic for inviting us to have a look around the headquarters and for providing insight into the many aspects of communications and public relations.