Once again I have the privilege of announcing a great addition to the ELEVATE crew. I’ve said it before and you’re about to hear it again, we’re all about bringing the right people to the table, and Bill Black is another perfect example.

I’ve known Bill as a friend, adversary, colleague, and all-around stand-up individual for almost ten years. That’s why I know he’s the perfect fit as ELEVATE’s new Director of Business. Sure, he has the sort of professional experience any agency would want – roles in all areas of advertising, marketing and operations management; clients spanning finance, retail, hospitality and more; and critical account management and leadership skills. But more than that, he understands our culture, our passion, our values and the way we and I work (not an easy task).

Here’s the technical mumbo jumbo for what he’ll be doing at ELEVATE: Bill will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and helping manage day-to-day operations for the group. Along with developing new business relationships, he will also provide tactical direction across all client accounts.

What that means is Bill will be digging into projects and delivering results. I’ve seen him engage clients, involve them in the creative process and earn their trust. And I’m excited to watch him build on our recent growth and help take ELEVATE to the next level.

Welcome, Bill – we’re glad you’re here.

Learn more about Bill, his family and his incredible community involvement on twitter @jasperblack.

To read the “official” release –> click here

What started as a hunt for the most perfect, brilliant writer ever ended with ELEVATE bagging 183 pounds of free-ranging advertising man-monkey commonly known as Mike Rehfus.

Native to the wilds of Detroit, but well-acclimated to Columbus, Mike brings fierce brand, retail, promo and b2b chops to the crew along with vast experience with clients the likes of Coke, Blockbuster, UPS Store, Canadian Tire, Chase Bank, Eli Lilly and your Columbus Crew (to name a scant few).

Add to that a background in design and mix in hours (and hours) of stories from his former lives as a touring musician and owner of a coffeehouse, and it’s clear: Mike’s one of the most dangerous writers in Columbus and we’re damn proud to have him.

Give the man-monkey a follow on twitter @mike_rehfus – if you dare.

Now enjoy a little taste of the gun show!

Long story short: ELEVATE is growing and we need another brilliant writer who can keep up with Darren (good luck with that). Someone who can think on their feet, generate great ideas and make concepts real – sometimes with a deadline looming closer than you’d like. I won’t lie, it’s not an easy job. But you will be surrounded by a great group of people helping you do it – while having a blast.

So take a look around our site. If you think that you and your writing talent would be a good fit… then why haven’t we heard from you yet?

Send your resume and samples to writer@elevatethining.com.

What are you waiting for? Go! Go! Go!

This is a post I’ve wanted to write for more than a year. When I finally could, client meetings, workload – the usual stuff – pushed it back a couple more weeks. After all the delays, I’m excited to say that Heidi Kahrl has joined us as the studio director at ELEVATE.

I could talk all day about her talent and experience. Blah blah blah. But what’s really important is how rare it is to find people who “get it.” Heidi is one of those people. She’s in perfect alignment with ELEVATE’s philosophy, has an unbelievable work ethic and is dependable to a fault.

I worked with Heidi for several years prior to forming ELEVATE and I consider her a good friend that I hold in high regard. I know her ability to plan, organize and flat out get things done is going to be a benefit to our crew and clients. Add that to her personality, and she fits right in with the way we work.

Heidi will be challenged with keeping me on task (good luck), enabling Kim and her account team to focus on client relations, helping Darren prioritize and chasing Jared among many other things. It’s more than a full-time job, but she just has this way of making it look easy.

Get to know Heidi, learn about her upcoming wedding to the “stud” known as Ed and what’s happening with her house hunting explorations by giving her a follow on twitter @HK02.

Welcome Heidi.

I’m excited to welcome Amanda Parker to the studio. Her design skillz, talent and easy-going personality make her a perfect fit. And in her first few weeks, she wasn’t offended by Darren a single time – which is quite an accomplishment.

Before joining ELEVATE, Amanda was a web designer at Abercrombie. Along with her e-commerce projects there, she kept busy as a freelance designer. Her portfolio includes work for academic, fashion, fitness, music, theater, architecture and community service clients. After developing complete marketing systems for many of her clients, she’s comfortable designing and producing a variety of elements – from internal communications to print and outdoor advertising. This versatility comes in handy at ELEVATE, where she’s already shown her ability to jump into a variety of projects and help produce great work.

We’re focused on finding the right people to add to the dynamic here at ELEVATE. Amanda has the energy, attitude and hard-working ethic that matches our personality. Plus she brings a fully loaded music collection to add to the studio’s soundtrack.

Learn more about Amanda, her passion for design and what’s currently on her playlist by following her on twitter @aparkerdesign

I’m excited to announce and welcome Darren Kautz to the group. Darren brings with him a decade of writing and creative experience. More than that, he brings a firmly established reputation as “that guy.”

Bringing Darren on board really highlights the ELEVATE philosophy of who we want to work with. It’s all about relationships. Sure, Darren is skilled at writing all sorts of communications from brochures and direct mail to print and broadcast. But he’s also someone I’ve now worked with at three organizations. His resume shows the talent, but my experience with him shows that he has a personality that fits our style.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of working with and being entertained by Darren, you should know that his background includes concepting and writing for clients in healthcare, automotive, retail and public service to name a few. His big ideas and well-crafted words will be put to good use, helping our clients deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time. In the studio he will be a source of entertainment and a catalyst for lively discussions that will most likely stay within these walls.

Learn more about Darren and discover why he’s “that guy,” give him a follow on twitter @dubledex

Adena Health System, headquartered in Chillicothe, Ohio has signed a three year contract with ELEVATE to serve as their agency of record. We’re excited about the partnership and look forward to providing Adena with strategy, brand implementation, advertising, media buying, public relations support, marketing and communication support.

Adena’s commitment to quality and affordable healthcare provided by community based physicians and nurses is unmatched. Our goal is to share this message and confidence with the residents of the 32 counties Adena serves.

Adena Health System is a fully accredited, acute care, not-for-profit hospital serving more than 160,000 people in 32 towns in Ross and 10 contiguous counties. The Adena Medical Group, comprised of more than 150 physicians, includes primary care, surgery and internal medicine specialists. With five Centers of Excellence and the mission of ‘To Heal. To Educate. To Care.’ Adena works to raise the healthcare bar of southern Ohio.

We’ll continue to share our growth with Adena as we identify the audience segments, how best to connect with those audiences and the best messages to truly engage those audiences.

We are thrilled to announce and welcome Kim Miller as director of client services. Kim brings more than nine years of experience developing, leading and executing public relations, marketing, community relations and corporate communication programs. Her intense passion for the business and down to earth mind set truly makes her a natural fit within our group.

The addition of Kim allows us to extend our current offering to better serve our clients. She will be responsible for client satisfaction serving in an account management role and heading up public relations and communication programs.

Kim’s versatile background includes work in the healthcare, food and public service industries, as well as profit, nonprofit and agency work spanning from one of Columbus’ largest healthcare systems to a leading quick-casual bakery and bistro. Her roles included government relations strategist, crisis communication manager, internal and external communication campaign developer, community engagement specialist and more.

Kim’s strategic thinking and leadership will be key to the growth and development of ELEVATE. Her talent will continue to introduce us to new opportunities and we look forward to growing this entity of our business to better engage consumers and excite clients. To learn more about Kim and connect with her, follow her on twitter @kjlmiller