Martha Stewart

Last week was crazy! My week started Monday morning at 9 a.m. for a logistics meeting regarding Martha Stewart's visit. People from event services, public relations and food/dining all gathered to make sure everything was in place for Martha's book signing. The Georgia Aquarium was selling two of Martha's cookbooks for her to sign. We ran through the schedule of events and discussed what each team needed to do. The rest of the day was spent doing any necessary tasks in preparation for her arrival.

Tuesday morning started bright and early at 6:30 a.m. with the arrival of the production crew. The other members of the PR department as well as myself divided among the crew and helped them with anything they needed. We started in the Aquarium ballroom where Martha had her book signing, so the production crew could set up the proper lighting. At 10:30 a.m., I went with one of the camera men into the Aquarium kitchen to film one of our chefs making cookies that would be passed out with milk to people waiting in line. Martha arrived to the Aquarium at 11:00 a.m. and had interviews with WXIA 11 Alive News, WXIA Atlanta & Company and the AJC. I thought she was skinnier in person.

The book signing went very well. We believe more than 500 people attended, and two women who worked for Martha said this was one of the best book signings they have ever had! The signing lasted around three hours, so Martha was very tired by the end of the event. I helped with crowd control as well as media who came to the event.

After the book signing, Martha filmed an interview at the Ocean Voyager wall with Billy Hurley. There was also a diver in the Ocean Voyager exhibit, so Martha could ask questions about the fish. I had a very important role in this interview because Martha asked a question, which I heard from a speaker at the top of the exhibit. I then asked the diver in the water Martha's question through a special radio, and he answered her question under water. That was an exciting experience I had never done before! Martha finished her day at the Aquarium helping the trainers with a beluga whale feed.

We were supposed to film a few more feedings; however, we ran out of time because Martha had a dinner to attend. We helped the crew store their equipment because we had additional footage to shoot in the morning. After a long day, I feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Wednesday morning was not as early, but we had to arrive by 8 a.m. The camera crew was filming additional footage for Martha to use on her show, which airs March 5. We filmed animals in the Aquarium as well as different feedings, including whale sharks, alligators, penguins and sea otters.

Those three days were hectic. I was so tired by the end of each day. I had never done a filming like this before, but I really enjoyed the experience. It was great meeting Martha and her staff!

Another Exciting Week

On Monday, I attended the public relations and the communications weekly meetings to talk about upcoming events for the week. This week was not as busy as the previous weeks because the team was getting everything ready for Martha Stewart next Tuesday!!

Monday afternoon, a group from Brazil, Paradise Tourismo, came to visit the Aquarium. The Atlanta airport just started a one-way flight from Atlanta to Brazil, so Paradise Tourismo came to tour Atlanta. The purpose of the groups trip was to film their adventures showing other Brazilians what Atlanta has to offer. The group interviewed one of our volunteers from Brazil, and I took them on a tour of the Aquarium. They did not speak English very well, so it was very hard to explain the history of the exhibits.

Wednesday, I drafted a press release for Camp H2O. The Aquarium offers a camp for kids three times a year: summer, spring break and winter. The press release included dates and cost of the camp as well as a list of activities offered.

We also released two new animals into the Aquarium. I'm not going to share with you just yet what they are, but we watched the animals in their new habitat. The new animals were very territorial and chased the old one. He was not very happy. I will tell you what the new animal is soon....


On Friday, I participated in another Fish Wish with 11 Alive News. Ashlynn was diagnosed with a heart disease several hours after she was born. This five-year-old girl had so much energy! Looking at her, you never would have known she had a heart problem. Ashlynn's wish was to feed the 15 baby Wobbes. She was a little hesitant during the first feed, but after the first one, she did not want to stop! We then took Ashlynn to see her favorite animal, which were the penguins. Her mom told us that Ashlynn cried the last time they were at the Aquarium because she did not get to see the penguins. This special day for Ashlynn is one she will always remember. To check out her story, click here: http://www.11alive.com/rss/rss_story.aspx?storyid=127219

Wrap up of Week 3

I can not believe it is already February. Time sure is flying by which means less time for me to find a job...ahhh!!!

This week at the Aquarium, I worked on a variety of projects (thats what I like so much about the Aquarium, everyday is different!!) I sent pictures to media outlets who request photos for their Web site or magazine. I set up a photo opportunity for a man who wants to shoot an educational video about fish. I also set up a behind the scenes tour for Xue Xiao, also known as "Coke boy." Xue, a high school students, was rescued from an earthquake in Sichuan in May of 2008. After he was placed on the stretcher, his first words were "Uncle, I want to have a coke, an iced cold one!" Coca-Cola has paid for him to have a trip to Disney World as well as Atlanta to visit the Coke Museum. The Georgia Aquarium has also agreed to give him and some Chinese media a behind the scenes tour.

I also attended a meeting regarding the Luckie Marietta District. The Luckie Marietta District includes business, restaurants and hotels like Phillips Arena, Georgia Aquarium, CNN, National Museum of Patriotism, Image It-Children's, Museum, Omni Hotel, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Johnny Rockets, STATS and much much more. This district has just created a new Web site: luckiemariettadistrict.com to promote the area, which has district character that is unique to Atlanta.

Cartoon Network also came for a walk through of the Aquarium. They are creating a new action movie and using the atrium of the Aquarium as the headquarters in the film. Several men from Cartoon Network came to shoot photos and measure some of the areas they are interesting in filming. They spoke about logistics of the project and certain amenities they will need. This is the second crew I have worked with so far at the Aquarium. It was very interesting to see how different the dynamics were between this crew compared to Ghost Hunters. The two crews had very different objectives, so it was cool to see them interact and converse about how they were going to achieve their goals.

P.S- For those of you who are fans of the Aquarium on Face book and/or Twitter, we wanted to say thank you, so you can receive a $15 ticket to the Aquarium. Check the Face book or Twitter page for more information!!!

Week 2

During the second week of my internship, I continued learning about my team and daily task I would conducted. On Monday morning, the public relations team met and talked about upcoming events we had for the week. On Monday afternoon, the whole communications department met and discussed what was going on at the Aquarium for the week.

I drafted a pitch letter for a yoga event the Aquarium will hold every Sunday. The Georgia Aquarium partnered with Bell Well Atlanta to host a yoga session in its ballroom. Just imagine being in the downward facing dog position, looking up and seeing a whale shark swimming in the tank right next to you. This peaceful environment would be just what I need on a Sunday morning!

The Georgia Aquarium also has an internal newsletter they send out once a month. I learned about the program they use to format the document. I do not know as much as I would like about social media, so Michaelanne showed me how the program works.

ABC News also came to film a segment about virtual schools. Students who participate in this type of schooling receive online learning from home. This program allows students the opportunity to work from their home and learn at their own pace. The teacher also has a more hands on relationship with her students and can show them the attention they need. The virtual school has at least two field trips a year where all the students come together to learn and meet one another. The school decided on the Georgia Aquarium as one of their trips, so ABC News came to film the school trip to use as a feature story. I will post the link once the story airs.