What's your job?

Principal in Jo Murray Public Relations, specializing in media relations, newsletter and website writing. Primary service areas are Sun Valley, Boise and San Francisco areas, but I've had clients as far away as Seattle and Washington, D.C.

What do you do for fun?

Ski or hike, depending on the season; read, play and teach duplicate bridge. (Yes, I'm a life master in bridge.)

What was your first "real" job?

Working as a waitress at conferences at a local college.

Awards and accolades?

Professional. Former board member of CCC and of Public Relations Round Table of San Francisco, the nation's oldest public relations organization. Former president of the East Bay chapter (San Francisco area) of the Public Relations Society of America, which won an award as the best chapter of its size in the nation during my presidency. Airports Council International award for public relations and community relations program at Oakland International Airport.

Speaker on public relations before Airports Council International marketing conference, Public Relations Round Table of San Franciso. and seminars sponsored by Idaho Department of Commerce, Idaho Mountain Express newspaper and Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.

Awards for newspaper stories and newspaper editorials from the California Trial Lawyers' Association, the State Bar of California, the Press Club of San Francisco, and Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional Journalists.

Community service. Co-founder and first president of the Wood River Women's Charitable Foundation, which has given more than half a million dollars to local charities in Blaine County, Idaho, and was recognized as one of the charities of the year at the annual Sun Valley Winter Solstice dinner. Former member of the Advisory Council of the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Former board member of Oakland-Nakhodka (Russia) Sister City Association.

Any interesting or milestone projects/experiences you'd like to share?

Ever wonder who selects airline food?

One of my most interesting projects was working with Aeroflot Russian Airlines on the inauguration of nonstop service between Moscow and San Francisco.

The problem was twofold.

1. First, most people had never heard of Aeroflot, and those who had were skeptical. A common perception was the food was bad, the service was unreliable, and the personnel unfriendly.

2. The second challenge was that the majority of people planning international travel book their reservations weeks or months ahead. We needed to get strong news coverage about the service weeks in advance.

We learned that Aeroflot's head chef, trained by Marriott in London, was coming in to taste food selections offered by the local caterer. We send out a press release with the whimsical headline, "Did you ever wonder who picks out the food for airline meals?" We invited the press to come to the food tasting. Stories in newspapers, as well as on radio and television, talked about Aeroflot's new commitment to good service – as well as the fact that service was to begin. There was a load factor of more than 90 percent when flights started. A side note: In case you've every wondered, peas are undesirable on airlines because they tend to roll around.

I also handled emergency communications on Sept. 11, 2001 and the following days for Oakland International Airport.

Details about this and some other clients, ranging from Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus to the Polish consulate in Sun Valley, are on my website at www.JoMurrayPublicRelations.com.

Why CCC?

It's important to keep up with what is going on in the world of communications and meet other professionals who are willing to share advice and to collaborate. The members are nice people, too.