Today we are featuring Dan Weckerly, Communications Manager at the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board. Dan has been with Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board for over three years and he has been a PPRA member for three plus years.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.weckerly
Twitter:@dweck140
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-weckerly

PPRA: Dan, tell us a bit about your background and your current job.

DW: My corporate communications career, including various PR responsibilities, reflects experience across industries that include insurance, tech and financial services. In 2015, I was awarded the Frank X. Long award from PRSA, in recognition of writing excellence. My mainstream career advancement was augmented in 2012 with the publication of my first e-novel, whose sales on outlets that included Amazon generated just enough revenue to fill my car with gas, twice.

PPRA: Who are your clients and what projects are you working on right now?

DW: As part of the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board, I work daily to promote Montgomery County as a leisure and business travel destination. Currently, we are extending our overarching brand to highlight weddings, golf, sports and history, all of which represent economic impact to the county.

PPRA: What is your favorite part about your job?

DW: One of my responsibilities is publication of our weekly blog on valleyforge.org. Called “The Pursuit,” the blog enables me to promote our members through experiential reporting; therefore, I have been ziplining, hot-air ballooning and rock climbing. I’ve paddled a kayak with Governor Corbett, learned how to execute a clean-and-jerk and interviewed the actress who played Zuzu Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I’ve made gnocchi at a culinary school, painted my own version of a Van Gogh, hand-fed a giraffe and sat with the King of Prussia Mall’s Santa Claus.

PPRA: What was your latest and greatest accomplishment at your job?

DW: I work with an incredibly talented and creative team, under a generous and visionary leadership. Our day-to-day work involves collaboration on just about every level, so any “personal” accomplishment would need to be viewed in a group setting. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed. It’s an environment that I’ve come to love.

PPRA: What one piece of advice would you give to your fellow PR pros?

DW: Follow your instincts. Pitch the way you’d like to be pitched to. Kill the bland quotes. Put the stats into a narrative that people can get invested in. Drop the cheesy photo ops. Be creative. Be engaging. Be different.

Also: Read. Read-read-read. Good PR often comes down to good writing, and good writing is the product of good reading. Read everything: the morning paper, a juicy novel, a touching memoir, the back of a cereal box, a challenging poem, a classic play. Read Stephen King. Read Shakespeare. Read Lisa Scottoline. Read the Gospel of St. Luke.

PPRA: What book or movie could you read or watch again and again?

DW: “It’s a Wonderful Life” is my favorite film of all time. I cannot recall when I saw it first, or how many times I’ve seen (and cried) over it, but it must be dozens by this point. There’s something about the story of George Bailey that resonates with me deeply: The fact that one can live a life of self-sacrifice and assume that nobody notices. And then come to the realization that in actuality, EVERYBODY notices. It’s not a perfect film (there are some continuity errors), but it’s a perfect movie, despite the fact that people find it somewhat cheesy.

PPRA: What’s your favorite spot in Philly?

DW: Ummm, my favorite spot in MONTGOMERY COUNTY would be the Bryn Athyn Historic District. I’ve lived in Montco since 1988 and yet, before working for the tourism board, I’d never been there before. I was stunned. And I never tire of going back.

Runners up: Valley Forge National Historical Park, downtown Ambler, Green Lane Park.

PPRA: How do you take your cheesesteak?

DW: Onions, no peppers. Slathered in ketchup.