2008 Member of the Year

Congratulations to our 2008 Member of the Year, chapter president Kristen Kaleal!

Conference Call Agenda

AICI OH/PA CHAPTER

CONFERENCE CALL FOR NEW & PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS
January 29, 2008 ~ 8:00pm ET

1. Welcome & Introduction of Chapter Board
2. What is AICI?
3. Chapter Mission Statement
4. Benefits of being a member
5. Our stories
6. What is certification?
7. How to get started in the industry
8. How can you get involved?
9. Coming events
10. Questions

Let us know what we can do for you!

REMINDER: Conference Call & Newsletter Deadline

I have two reminders for you:

1) Conference Call for New & Prospective Members January 29^th at 8pm

We have been fortunate to have an onslaught of interest in our industry and our chapter recently. We have new members and a lot of people who are interested in becoming members.

Let’s chat - about AICI, what we do, where we meet, and how you can get involved.

We’ll address training options, resources, industry trends, career opportunities, and most importantly, figuring out what is right for YOU and YOUR CAREER GOALS.

I have invited the international VP of Membership, Susan Abrams to join us on the call to answer any additional questions you may have.

Please let me know now if you plan to take advantage of this opportunity and I will add you to my list. A call agenda and dial-in number will be sent out a few days before the date.

Read more about the conference call here.

2) Submission Deadline for our Chapter Newsletter is January 31^st.

This is the very first edition of our newsletter and is open to any member of the OH/PA Chapter. Writing for it will make a great addition to your dossier and will provide you with materials to distribute to your own mailing list as well.

In my experience, becoming a prolific writer (even when I didn’t want to be!) has been the single best way to become a known expert in the field. When you have published articles – even in a “trade publication” like this, it establishes you as an authority. And that is something you can’t buy!

(To make it even easier, you can even reuse an old article you’ve written. It’s that simple!)

The first edition is coming out on March 1^st. Please submit your head shot as well as a brief bio, including where you are located and your education and training background.

Read more about the newsletter here.

The Nordstrom Experience

February 19 ~ 7pm ~ Cleveland, OH

Hello Everyone

We have scheduled our tour of the Beachwood, OH Nordstrom for February 19, 2008 at 7:00pm. We will have the opportunity to learn firsthand about how things work at the company, how they consistently delight their customers, and about coming trends for the spring.

We will have the store manager, Fran Broda, facilitating this event.

This event is free to AICI members and $15 for non-members. Everyone must pre-register. Please click here for registration.

This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity – not only if you are in the image industry, but if you are in any type of customer-oriented field. Nordstrom literally wrote the book on customer satisfaction.

Professional head shots with Eric Mull (Cleveland-area opportunity)

Need a New Head Shot?

I do! I no longer look like my old pics from last January and this is a problem for my business! It made me start thinking….

I know a lot of us have old pictures of ourselves that we have on our web sites or submit whenever we need to use a professional portrait for some purpose.

Take a good look at your current head shot.

· Do you have one? I hope so. Every professional should.

· Does it present you the way you look right now? If it was taken five years ago and you look completely different now, it could be giving the public the equivalent of deceptive advertising.

· If you have a very formal picture and your business is a little less formal, your head shot should reflect a little less formal tone. And vice versa.

· Are you just getting started in your business or still very new? A professional head shot makes you look more established – instantly!

· Are you just not happy with your current picture for any reason? Was your hair, makeup or clothing just not quite right? These are all are factors in making or breaking the photo! You deserve a picture you are happy with!

THE EVENT

I am joining with photographer Eric Mull (he does a lot of work for Cleveland Magazine), my favorite makeup artist, the fabulous Wendy Fitos and excellent hairstylist Julia Niedzialek to offer a special event to everyone in my community.

Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Time: Morning appointments

Services & Pricing:

PHOTOGRAPHY - $100

Includes several shots and one selected pose as a digital file. Eric will clean up any blemishes, soften wrinkles, etc.)

This is an exceptional price for the caliber of work he does!

Extra shots will also be available for purchase. If you are interested in more than one outfit (an extra sitting), that will also be available for an additional fee.

MAKEUP & HAIR

$20 for makeup, $20 for hair styling (no cutting or coloring)

Both are optional, but highly recommended. If you’ve ever had a picture with flyaway hair or flat hair or haven’t worn enough makeup (and looked washed out) or wore too much makeup (and looked like a clown – I’ve been at both ends of the spectrum!) you can’t afford to miss this opportunity to have both done by professionals.

***

Please let me know if this is something you would be interested in. And please spread the word around to your friends and colleagues who may need this service.

Remember, it’s all about image!!! Your professional head shot sets the tone for your business persona. Is yours accurately representing all that you do???

Stay warm, everyone!

Kristen

Kristen Kaleal
President, AICI OH/PA Chapter

p 440.742.0385
f 440.579.0100
kristen@kkimagedesign.com

IF YOU WISH TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THIS EVENT, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

The Nordstrom Customer Service Experience

A Cleveland-Area Event

Ladies & Gentlemen –

If someone asked us who has a challenge with working one-on-one with clients, I would be the first to raise my hand. It’s just not my favorite part of what I do. I bet that a couple of you feel that way too. Sometimes I don’t feel like I give a 100% customer-centric experience and that bothers me.

But every time I go shopping on my own or take a client to one particular store, I have an amazing experience. It’s probably no surprise that it’s Nordstrom. They go above and beyond to accommodate my clients and me each and every time.

I have asked the store manager of the only Cleveland-area location if they would be willing to have a group of us come in to tour the store and learn about how they impart top-notch customer service skills to their employees and how that leads to greater sales and return customers.

Hey, we may not all own retail establishments, but isn’t that what we want too??

We are planning this event for early-to-mid February on a Mon, Tues, Weds or Thurs evening. It would be free to AICI members and $15 for non-members.

If it’s a success, then we could coordinate the same sort of mini-events for Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Columbus.

If you are in Cleveland, please let me know which of the aforementioned days works for you.

Warmest regards -

(literally! It's freezing here!!)

Kristen Kaleal
President
AICI OH/PA Chapter
kkaleal@aol.com
(440) 742-0385