Welcome Karen Bells, Vehr's new team member

Please join us in offering a warm welcome to our new team member, Karen Bells. We’re thrilled to add Karen to our team.

Get to know Karen, in her own words:

What are some your favorite activities outside of work?

You’ll often find me attending concerts (at Riverbend, Taft Theater, Fraze, Southgate House Revival, etc.) or hearing favorite local bands. I also love to go out dancing and am one of those people who (usually) doesn’t care if I look like a dork doing so – good thing, as I’m sure I often do. Other favorite activities include spending time with my daughter, 21, and grandson, 8 months, as well as my friends and extended family. I love hiking, traveling, hitting Kings Island, going to festivals and attending high school football games.

What’s your favorite part of Cincinnati?

I’m forever in love with Downtown – its nooks and crannies; its characters; its energy and vibe; its constant evolution; its endless places to visit for food, drinks, history, etc. One of my favorite recent discoveries in the past year has been Top of the Park, the 12^th-floor rooftop bar atop Residence Inn (the old Phelps Apartments building) on Fourth Street, with amazing views of the city and the river. Rhinegeist’s rooftop deck is excellent, too. Also, I try to visit the observation deck on the 49^th floor of Carew Tower at least once or twice a year. I guess I like elevation.

Define PR in your own words.

I stick by the old adage that marketing is what you say about yourself and PR is what you can get others to say about you. By that measure, I define PR as the ongoing effort to influence the story told in the media and social media about a brand, company, nonprofit, event, etc.

What is the most recent book you’ve read or film you’ve seen?

How about a TV series instead? Does anyone still watch movies (besides “Goodfellas,” naturally)? Just finished “Ozark,” starring and directed by Jason Bateman. Next up: “Peaky Blinders.”

Where’d you go to college and what was your major?

I majored in journalism at Kent State University.

What’s your favorite social media channel?

Boring, I know, but Facebook is still my favorite. I love the six-degrees-of-separation revelations.

Any other talents we should know about?

I took piano lessons for 12 years, until I went away to college. And I can parallel park like a boss.

What media outlets do you follow on a regular basis? Why those ones?

Among others locally, I like to keep up via The Cincinnati Enquirer, WCPO.com and Business Courier – I think those are the most robust and interesting local media operations. I check out The Washington Post online and/or daily digital digest for political/government news. I check out Yahoo! News multiple times a day just because it’s easy and sometimes has stories others don’t get. The New York Times … is any explanation needed? I like to listen to NPR and sometimes BBC on the radio. Surprisingly, I get a lot of news and updates by listening to The Howard Stern Show on Sirius/XM radio (don’t judge!).

Have any cause marketing initiatives/PR campaigns/crisis management campaigns caught your eye lately?

Gotta go with the mac-daddy of smart and tasty cause marketing, Ben & Jerry’s (now owned by Unilever). They’ve done tons of cool things over the years to support favorite social causes (climate control, LGBTQ rights, voter education) while also raising awareness of the brand.