{"id":32,"date":"2022-07-25T20:24:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T20:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tops.org\/tops-of-mind\/?p=32"},"modified":"2022-08-01T17:08:31","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T17:08:31","slug":"first-things-first-an-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tops.org\/tops-of-mind\/first-things-first-an-introduction\/","title":{"rendered":"First things first: An introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Michelle<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Hi, TOPS friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I won\u2019t start out each and every blog that follows just like an email, but really \u2013 since we\u2019re just now getting acquainted, it only feels right to jump in with a greeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of you (hopefully all of you!) received our \u201cwelcome\u201d email in late June, which is an initiative that we just launched. I think it\u2019s incredibly important to have one easy way to communicate with all of our TOPS members and friends, so I wanted to thank you for helping us get that email off the ground. SO many of you opened it, interacted with those links and even took the time to respond to me personally, which was honestly the warmest welcome I could have anticipated! I\u2019m so happy to meet you and step into this new role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, who is this new person talking to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you missed that first \u201cCommunity Corner\u201d message in your inbox, or even if you\u2019d just like a refresher, my name is Michelle Ganley, and I\u2019m the new communications director at TOPS. I\u2019ve worked in similar roles twice previously: Once at another nonprofit, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, all the way out in Colorado Springs \u2013 it was wild, by the way; I got to live at Olympic headquarters! \u2013 and my other especially relevant job was at VSP Vision Care, a company many people are familiar with because VSP offers eye\/vision insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps most notably though, I\u2019ve been in the news business for the better part of 14 years. I earned my journalism degree from Michigan State (I remain a BIG fan, when it comes to college sports!), and outside of those two stints in marketing\/communications, I\u2019ve worked within TV and digital news organizations. Connecting with my audience, trying to get your eyes on our message, determining what will get you online and keep you online \u2013 those are all things I\u2019m very<\/em> familiar with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news industry even introduced me to my husband, as we met in the newsroom of our NBC affiliate in Sacramento, California, and we\u2019ve bounced around together (location-wise) quite a bit ever since. We now have two children who we adore; Analisa is 6 and Robby is 4. Many of you even noticed that I used a photo of myself and my son, in that first email newsletter. I agree with your assessments, by the way (says this biased mom, lol). Robby is very cute indeed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our family is now in the Milwaukee area, which makes sense, considering that\u2019s where TOPS headquarters is located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now you know everything!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to the relevant stuff: As the new communications director, I have quite a few goals, or things on my radar for the future and near-future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n