Welcome to the first official blog here at BannonCommunications.com.  Looking ahead, I’ll use this space to share thoughts about the practice of public relations – what works, what doesn’t and what’s new in the field.  And, hopefully, you’ll share your thoughts with me because, after all, public relations and communications are all about dialogue and building relationships.

For this blog entry, though, I wanted to just say how excited I am to have officially launched Bannon Communications.  Two months ago, I found myself a casualty of the economy and wondering what would be the next step in my career.  But I’m a firm believer that adversity breeds opportunity, and I recognized immediately that I suddenly had a chance to begin a grand new adventure.

I signed my first client – the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership – before I’d even had a chance to print business cards.  For those of you who aren’t aware, President Obama has invited the G-20 to come to Pittsburgh in late September, and the Partnership is a host committee comprising a long list of heavyweight civic, community and business leaders.  We’re working to leverage the media exposure that the summit brings to tell the story of Pittsburgh’s economic and quality-of-life transformation over the last 30 years.

It’s an exciting opportunity for my hometown and for me both personally and professionally.  Pittsburgh’s got a great story to tell, and I’m enjoying the chance to work with so many members of the national and foreign press.  I’m working with a lot of my friends and peers at companies throughout the Pittsburgh region to position local CEOs in the international press.  I’m having fun working with a terrific writer and one of my favorite Web designers on the upkeep of the Partnership Web site.  And I continue to have a great time as one of the producers of “Our Region’s Business,” a terrific and unique regional business affairs television program with which I’ve been involved for about three and a half years.

I’m enjoying the work.  And really, that’s the whole reason I launched Bannon Communications.  I want to work with good people – people I believe in, people I sincerely hope will succeed.  I want to help them tell great stories to the right audiences in a way that helps to ensure their success.  And I want to have fun doing it.  Time will tell what the future holds for my new business, but I have faith that I’m on the road I’m meant to travel, and I can’t wait to find out what comes next. 

Thanks for visiting.  Stay tuned for updates about what’s new at Bannon Communications.  And please let me know what you think as I begin to blog about the practice of public relations and strategic communications.