HJMT BLOG

DATE POSTED: 03/14/2008 • TIME: 21:34 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

HJMT Celebrates 16 Years of Business!
Last night, HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC celebrated our 16th Year of Business by holding a Sweet 16 Party at the Bridgeview Yacht Club for all our clients, friends and family.  More than 100 guests were present.  The four hour party included hors deourvres, cocktails, and lots of great food!  Maximum Entertainment was the DJ for the evening.  We had a video that we created inhouse of our firm.  Kristie Galvani did a great job editing the film and the whole firm was involved!  Special thanks to Christina Heedles for organizing the party.

In addition, we had a traditional candle lighting ceremony, which included the following:

CANDLE 1—
THIS CANDLE IS A PERSONAL CANDLE, IT’S FOR MY CHILDREN WHO GIVE ME INSPIRATION, MY HUSBAND WHO HAS SUPPORTED ME AND FOR MY FAMILY WHO HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR ME EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

CANDLE 2—
CANDLE 2 IS FOR THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, MY HOME AND THE PLACE I STARTED HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC.

CANDLE 3—
THIS IS FOR OUR CURRENT HOMES IN WESTBURY AND MANHATTAN.

CANDLE 4—
THIS CANDLE, LIT BY KRISTIE, IS FOR ALL OUR PAST, CURRENT AND FUTURE CLIENTS FOR BELIEVING IN US AND GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THEM.

CANDLE 5—
THIS CANDLE, LIT BY LISA, IS FOR ALL OF THE MEDIA FOR BEING OUR FRIENDS, AND GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE POSITIVE THINGS OUR CLIENTS DO…

CANDLE 6—
CANDLE 6, LIT BY LORI, GOES TO ALL THE COMPANIES THAT HAVE SPONSORED OUR EVENTS AND PUT THEIR TIME, MONEY AND EFFORTS TOWARD GOOD CAUSES.

CANDLE 7—
CANDLE 7, LIT BY ALLIE, IS FOR NEW MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY FOR HELPING US ADVANCE IN THE ONLINE WORLD THROUGH BLOGS, SOCIAL NETWORKING, PODCASTS AND ONLINE PUBLICATIONS.

CANDLE 8—
THIS CANDLE, LIT BY AARON AND KAYLA, IS FOR OUR FREELANCERS, PART-TIME WORKERS, INTERNS AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HELP US BEHIND THE SCENES GET THE MOST FOR OUR CLIENTS.

CANDLE 9—
CANDLE 9, LIT BY JILLIAN, GOES TO OUR VENDORS WHO PRODUCE QUALITY WORK FOR OUR CLIENTS AND HELP US LOOK GOOD!

CANDLE 10—
THIS CANDLE, LIT BY RICK, GOES TO BRIAN AND DEREK FOR SETTING UP OUR STEREO SYSTEM AND FOR THE HJMT IPOD FOR INSPIRING OUR CREATIVITY AND FOR KARAOKE WHICH HELPS BRING US TOGETHER ☺

CANDLE 11—
CANDLE 11, LIT BY MIKE, IS FOR RED BULL BOTH DIET AND REGULAR FOR KEEPING US AWAKE AND ALERT DURING OUR LONG HOURS.

CANDLE 12—
THIS CANDLE, LIT BY ELLEN, IS FOR FRIENDS OF THE FIRM WHO HAVE GIVEN US REFERRALS AND BEEN THERE FOR US ALONG THE WAY WHEN WE NEEDED THEM.

CANDLE 13 –
ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NO LONGER WITH US AT THE FIRM, CANDLE 13, LIT BY CHRISTINA, GOES TO ALL OUR PAST EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE IMPACTED OUR BUSINESS AND TAKEN US IN NEW DIRECTIONS.

CANDLE 14—
CANDLE 14, LIT BY HOLLY, IS FOR EACH OF OUR FAMILIES FOR DEALING WITH OUR LONG HOURS AND ALWAYS SUPPORTING US…

CANDLE 15—
THIS CANDLE IS FOR MY HJMT FAMILY – THESE ARE THE BEST FRIENDS AND BEST WORKERS ANYONE COULD EVER HAVE.  I LOVE YOU GUYS!


CANDLE 16—
AND CANDLE 16 IS FOR TAKING CHANCES, GOING WITH THE GUT, HAVING FAITH, TRYING TO CREATE GOOD KARMA AND TO MANY MANY MORE SUCCESSFUL YEARS AT HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC.

DATE POSTED: 01/31/2008 • TIME: 22:40 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

HJMT Loves Our Clients!
When you hire HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, you don't just hire a PR firm, you hire a firm that becomes part of your marketing department.  A firm that is totally committed to you and seeing that your business gets maximum exposure and visibility. 

Our PR department has an excellent group of writers, publicists and marketers who are available to perform a wide range of services.  We are not only reactive, we are very much proactive!   Led by Lisa Gordon, the group is dynamic and attentive to the client's every needs.

We have a long lasting relationship with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and really feel very close with the people involved there.  And the best part, we have helped them get amazing placements throughout the area!

We recently established a new division, the new media division.  It's been holding it's own.  Clients, from the book publishing business to new product launches, have reaped the benefits of this new division.  Allie Herzog is heading it up and she's already placed clients on blogs, social media sites and online publications that really help get the big results!  One of our clients had more than 30 orders as a result of her efforts.

The event department is very active as well.  We are organizing and promoting events from golf outings to black tie galas!  We have an event almost every month and we're right there for our clients!  Today, we met with the folks at SBPLI.  What a wonderful group!  They are organizing a 60 Over 60 event (celebrating the accomplishments of 60 people over the age of 60).  And our team, headed up by Lori Alexy is right there with them -- every step of the way!

I'm proud to say that our design department is fully fuctional and doing some amazing designs!  They just pumped out two newsletters for the schools we represent and I was so proud of them.  Not only was the copy right on target but the design made you want to read the publication!  Jillian Beroza is doing an amazing job!  She is such a welcomed addition to our dedicated staff.

So, if you are looking to hire a PR firm, search around first.  If you are looking for a PR firm that really cares and becomes part of your business or organization, then consider HJMT COMMUNICATIONS.  We really do get our clients big results!

DATE POSTED: 01/26/2008 • TIME: 22:11 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

HJMT Has The Best Staff Ever!
Like most businesses, we've had our share of turnover.  Every time we have new people on board, it changes the whole dynamics of the firm.  Within the last couple of months, we had a bunch of new people come on board -- a new executive assistant, new graphic designer, new publicist, new writer and new event planner!  That's a lot of new people....

It makes me feel so good to know that they are so exceptional.  They are so committed to our clients and have helped our clients get BIG results.  For example, we recently helped LIFT with a new ad campaign.  We placed stories in major publications including Parenting Magazine, Q104 FM and Newsday.  We've been organizing and coordinating a bunch of new events and most importantly for me, my calendar is pretty organized!  This makes it easier for me to meet with more people!

The HJMT team is really special.  We care about each other, we care about the clients and we go that extra mile for each of our clients so that they can succeed! 

DATE POSTED: 12/21/2007 • TIME: 22:27 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

The 2008 Holiday Party
We had our Holiday party last night at the Glen Cove Mansion.  I originally signed us up for a "big little" party but apparently the Mansion couldn't get the people there and we ended up having a private party up in the loft/bar.  The Mansion did a nice job accommodating us.  We had a nice dinner buffet, Karaoke, dancing and lot's of fun.  Since we had recently hired a bunch of new people, it gave us an opportunity to bond as a group.  We are definitely motivated to giving our clients as much exposure and visibility possible in 2008 and look forward to further growth and expansion!  Have a happy New Year!

DATE POSTED: 12/02/2007 • TIME: 00:18 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

The last days of 2007....
It's the beginning of December and the holidays are only weeks away!  2008 will be here before we know it . At this time of the year,  I always find it the time to reflect on the year that just passed.  2007 was a roller coaster for HJMT.  We had great growth but with growth, we also had some staff turnover.  Many of the staff people who left us this year, made a impact on our business and on our lives and we will miss them! 

On a positive note, we won some amazing pieces of business and it's exciting to look forward to the opportunities to come.  We also retained the key people who have worked really hard to make things happen for HJMT.  I really want to acknowledge Kristie Galvani, Lori Alexy, Lisa Gordon and Allie Herzog for all of their hard work and devotion this year. 

I'm excited that we launched a new division, called New Media.  Allie Herzog is running this division and I know she'll do a great job!  She will be focusing on getting our clients into blogs, social networking sites and in online publications to stregthen their market share.  We've already seen results.  One of our clients was placed on a blog and he had more than 30 orders in less than an hour!

We had an amazing staff retreat in the Northfork of Long Island this summer.  We were there for three days and toured many vineyards, played golf and really got to know each other.  One of the most important things to me is that we trust and respect each other.  And I think this was accomplished as a result of the retreat. 

My new Executive Assistant/Office Manager, Christina Heedles is great! She really has stepped up to the plate and has taken on a lot of projects and I know she will help us grow even more in 2008!

We also just hired a slew of new folks and I'm really excited to have them on board.  We're having our holiday party within the next several weeks.  It's another overnighter and I'm sure it will help us all become a stronger team and be able to generate positive results for our clients!  That's why we're here.... to help our clients get the most exposure and visibility possible!

Have a great holiday!

DATE POSTED: 11/11/2007 • TIME: 22:11 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

Last Event of 2007....
On Friday, November 9, we organized and coordinated our last event in 2007 for the Hispanic Counseling Center at Carlyle on the Green in Bethpage.  I must say, it was probably the best event of the season!  We really ended the year on a high note!  Kudos to Lori Alexy and Kristie Galvani for  taking the lead in this event.  Now, we're going to gear up for all the events in 2008!

DATE POSTED: 10/01/2007 • TIME: 21:53 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

WHAT A SUMMER/FALL!
I was going to use the headline, "What a fall!" but my son reminded me that we're only a few days into fall!

So far, this fall, we completed a successful golf outing at Eisenhower Park, a sold out New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards Event in NYC, and we're organizing three more events within the next six weeks -- LI Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Adelante of Suffolk County and the Hispanic Counseling Center.  The three upcoming events are all black-tie galas! 

In addition to our events department being really busy, our PR department is just as busy.  Between covering the first days of school to organizing restaurant openings and other media opportunities, our publicists are on the phone constantly pitching the media and they are getting results!

As busy as events and publicity are, the design department hasn't been able to miss a beat!  They need to keep right with both of these busy departments.  Three journals, invitations, programs and more, the design department hasn't stopped.

I'm really proud of my dedicated staff for being there for our clients and being there for me!  Kudos to Kristie Galvani, Lori Alexy, Lisa Gordon, Allie Herzog, Mike Loughran, Christine McColgan, Dorothy Cardi, Aaron Weiss, Kayla Hills, Tim Tripp, Kaitlin Brownyard and Holly Toy!

DATE POSTED: 09/22/2007 • TIME: 22:38 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

Published Chapter in PR Book....
When Aspatore Books asked me to write a chapter in their PR book entitled, "Achieving Customer Mindshare Through Public Relations," I was a little skeptical. I wasn't really sure if it was a real publishing house and wasn't quite sure if I would have the time to put the materials together.  After careful due diligence, I found that Aspatore was a real house and had published a series of professional books sold in colleges and universities and also at major bookstores across the country. 

I decided to "go for it." It took a long time researching and preparing the materials.  When I finally wrote the chapter and it was approved for publication, I was thrilled.  My first chapter in a book!  I really felt like I accomplished a lot and had so much fun doing it, I decided sometime in the near future, I would write a full book!

After the book was published, Aspatore Books sent me a copy for my bookshelf.  I wanted to see if it was listed on Amazon too, so I went online to Amazon and typed in my name, Hilary JM Topper.  Interestingly enough, another book came up in addition to the Aspatore Book.  This book was called, "Keep Your Paycheck, Live Your Passion -- How to Fulfill your Dreams without having to Quit your Day Job."

I never wrote anything for that book, I thought.... So, I decided to buy it.  When it came in, I flipped to my section and apparently a reporter friend of mine, who had interviewed me a while back, decided to use a something I said during an interview.  It made me feel good to know that something that I thought was an interesting way to stand out, the writer also thought the same thing.... 

Now I can say I was published in two books -- books for thought!

DATE POSTED: 08/19/2007 • TIME: 21:04 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

Pollo Campero GOP
Tim Tripp and Aaron Weiss were great sports this week.  They both dressed as big chickens and went around with Lisa Gordon and Allie Herzog to the media delivering Pollo Campero chicken.  The staff visited News12 LI, Newsday, Channel 55 and a host of radio stations on Long Island.  The media loved the chicken! Pollo Campero is located in Hempstead and will soon be opening in Freeport within the next month.

DATE POSTED: 08/06/2007 • TIME: 22:00 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

Riodizio's White Party organized by HJMT....
Last Thursday night, we organized a "White Party" for Riodizio Churrascaria in Roslyn. The owners, who are also owners of my favorite restaurant in NYC -- Churrascaria Plataforma, opened the Long Island restaurant nearly a year ago and wanted to introduce the restaurant to the LI business community. Riodizio offers a lunch special for $19.95 and a great all-you-can-eat dinner.

The party was a huge success! Organized by our publicity department, we had more than 200 people registered and nearly 175 people showed up all in white. (There were a few rebels but we let them in anyway!)

Riodizio provided all the food and drink and we made sure the right people were in the room....

BTW, if you haven't checked out the restaurant, you really should.... The food is "totally awesome!"

DATE POSTED: 07/10/2007 • TIME: 03:50 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

Ode to Marilyn... Ode to Olan...
I met Olan a year ago.  It was a hot summer evening last summer when my family and I were walking by the Ward-Nasse Gallery on Prince Street in NYC.  We saw a big commotion and decided to go in.  What we saw was some of the most interesting pop art we had seen in a long time.

Olan likes to focus on faces.  (In his spare time, he’s also a make up artist and fashion coordinator.) He is a photographer and really captures the human spirit in his paintings.  After he photographs a person, he superimposes the image on canvas and then uses brush strokes to touch it up his way.  Some think he’s a reincarnation of Andy Warhol.  I think he just has a unique style.

Instead of buying one of his original paintings, I decided to commission him to make a painting of me.  If you come into my office, you will see four faces of “Hilary” on the wall in my conference room.  Each one has a different color schemes and although the images look different, they are all one.

About a month ago, Olan hired my firm to help him promote this show.  In addition to the usual – press releases, media alerts, pitch letters, direct mail, email blasts, etc. – we also were used to hand out postcards and posters on the streets of Manhattan.

To attract attention, he had a vision to have four “Marilyn Monroe’s” running out of limos.  He hired two professional models and asked two of my staff people to dress up like Marilyn.   At first, I had mixed emotions.  On one hand, I thought it would be fun and would really gain attention and on the other hand, I didn’t want my staff to feel like I was taking advantage of them for the gain of someone else.

Lisa Gordon and Allie Herzog were great sports.  They really played the part for the day and in my book should have won an award for their performance!  Aaron Weiss was surprisingly good gaining attention in the streets of NYC.  Although he didn’t dress up like Marilyn, he wore a pink t-shirt with her image on it and held up signs promoting the show.

Although I was completely exhausted at the end of the day, it was a great day and a great success.  The next evening, there were more than 1000 people who viewed Olan’s artwork at the opening.  I wish Olan a lot of success and hope that those reading this will check out the gallery.  (He always has something there!)

DATE POSTED: 06/10/2007 • TIME: 19:45 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

Helen's Walk...
At HJMT, we have an amazing staff.  I'm not just saying this because I'm the boss.... I really mean it!  Today, a group of staffers volunteered to walk in Helen's Walk, benefiting the Helen Keller National Center in Sands Point. 

This was our second year working with the group to get as much exposure and visibility for the walk as possible.  We were very successful.  The walk appeared in all of the local papers, including the pennysavers, Newsday, Long Island Business News, News 12 and more.  We even had a Newsday reporter walk with us today!

We were hired to help HKNC with publicity.  Today, we walked because we believe in the organization and the wonderful work that they do to help people who are blind and deaf.  We also walked to support each other.  It was really nice to see so many of our staff members showed up at 9 am on a Sunday morning to support our client. 

I find that we do that all the time and that's why I'm saying we have an amazing staff.   We always try to go above and beyond with our clients to make sure that we really have a partnership.  I just hope that our clients appreciate us, because we certainly appreciate them!

DATE POSTED: 05/19/2007 • TIME: 17:53 • POSTED BY: Hilary JM Topper

WHAT A SPRING!
The last few weeks have been incredibly hectic in each department...

Our event department is in high gear.  We just completed two very successful events including the American Lung Association Asthma Walks in three different areas around the state and the Lymphatic Research Foundation's first inaugural gala. Each ALA Asthma Walk exceeded expectations, raising money and awareness for asthma research.  HJMT had a different role this year than in prior years.  In prior years, we actually coordinated the entire event, working with vendors, entertaiment, team captains, etc.  This year, we consulted with the walk coordinators to make sure their events were an enormous success.  The Lymphatic Research Foundation Gala exceeded expectations.  HJMT organized the event from conception to completion.  With the hard work of the HJMT team, the gala raised more than $500,000 in the first year! 

Our publicity department is also rocking!  We've been publicizing products, services, public affairs issues, and even a potential Broadway show!  Our recent placements include:  The Atlanta Journal Constitution, New York Times, Fox 5, NBC News, Newsday, CNN Radio, Joey Reynolds Show (WOR Radio) and more! 

The design division has been pumping out some beautiful layouts for upcoming galas, golf outings and we're even working on a new branding campaign for a major accounting firm!  The Boulder Ridge at Mt. Snow luxury condominium campaign is still underway.  We produced teaser brochures, upscale real estate brochures, direct mail postcards, html emails and more.... We're told that many of the units are already sold as a result of our marketing communications efforts.

DATE POSTED: 03/02/2007 • TIME: 1:30 PM • POSTED BY: Hilary

Welcome to the new HJMT web site.....
2007 marks our 15th year in business and to celebrate our achievements, we decided to update our web site. It’s funny to think that 15 years ago, I started this business out of my one bedroom apartment overlooking the ocean in Long Beach. My daughter was just a little baby and she was my inspiration to get started.

I had always thought about opening my own shop, even when I was in college. I went to school full-time in the evenings and worked full time during the day. I worked at a music PR firm, called Public I Publicity, where we represented acts like “MeatLoaf” and “Man-O-War.” I also worked at Clairol in their PR department.

I had a lot of great mentors along the way including: Ellen Schaplowsky who was my boss at Ogilvy & Mather, Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopolus/PR and at Ruder Finn/PR. She really taught me the business of PR. I remember one day she asked me if I really liked the business and what I liked about it..... And I said, “I love helping companies get exposure and visibility for their products or services. It just makes me feel great to get a good placement!”

I started at the bottom and tried to learn everything I could from her and from others in the organization. When I joined the staff at two non-profit organizations in NYC, I had another mentor, Pat Molino. She taught me the technical aspects of the business, how to write bylined articles and how to produce newsletters and brochures. She also helped me learn about non-profit organizations and their structure.

In 1991, I went back to school for my master’s degree in public administration. I worked full-time and went to school on the weekends. At the time of graduation, I knew the time was right to open the business. At first I toyed with the name and thought I would go with “Mass Communications,” because my maiden name was “Mass.” But, then when I really thought about it HJMT (my initials) made the most sense. And that’s how HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC got its start.

But it wasn’t all me. I had and have great people who surround me. It wasn’t always like that and in the beginning I had a lot of difficult staffing issues. Nearly six years ago, I was at my lowest in terms of staffing. My entire staff walked out prior to a big event and I was devastated. But I had a couple of key part-timers and interns who helped me pull off the event and it was a great success despite the fact.

Right after that, an amazing person entered my life, Kristie Koppe Galvani. She was young, ambitious and a hard worker. We were working at the Long Beach office at the time and she was the only other full-time employee. We had two part-timers and some interns. Within a year, we doubled the staff and a few years later after the lease was up, we decided as a group to move to Westbury.

Today, we have a great group of people working at HJMT and each is more dedicated and devoted than the next. We also have five part-time/freelancers who are also a very special group. I want to introduce you to them: Kristie is the Vice President of Client Services now. She overseas the staff and coordinates with clients. Tim Tripp is the Office Manager. He helps Kristie and me make sure the work is getting done and takes care of traffic. Then, there is Lori Alexy, Senior Events Coordinator, Elisa Gerber, Senior Graphic Designer, and Lisa Gordon, Senior Publicist. The seniors are an amazing group. They really work hard and care about our clients and the outcomes. Jen Chory, Event Coordinator, and Jenny Pryer, Event Coordinator and Allie Herzog, Assistant Account Executive, are our newest members of the team. They are very strong with what they do and I know they will grow with the firm! I can’t forget about our graphics people too — Dorothy Cardi who is an amazing designer and I have personally known for the last 15 years and Alison Stevens who is our graphics assistant.

We are currently looking at steps to broaden the scope of the business. To that end, we are seeking additional office space in Manhattan so that we can better serve our Manhattan clients. I can assure you that we will always have our main base on Long Island because Long Island is our home!

Since this is my first blog, I thought I would tell you a little bit about me and about my staff. In future blogs, I will talk about trends in the industry, tips and strategies and things that I come across in daily living that I find funny or interesting.

I also would love feedback. You can always email me at hilary@hjmt.com. Thanks to all our clients, friends and families for their support along the way..... Hilary