Start spreadin' the News...I'm leavin' today.

Today is my last day at News America Marketing. It is the end of an era.

First and Last Sales Summit.

I have worked at News America since September 11, 2006. I remember driving into the office on my first day and listening to 9/11 memorial coverage and crying….no surprise, I was also running late. I am sure I made quite the first impression. 

Most people think that my time at News was spent as a slave to Dollar General and Walgreens. And while that was certainly true on some days, there were times that the hardest part of my day was deciding between which two pairs of boots to buy (odds are I bought both) or choosing where to go to lunch (so many options in the pedway). But regardless, it balanced itself to be all-in-all a pretty good gig.

MCo - My bestie and fave NAMer of all time.

But the thing about News that I thankful for is the friends I have met while I was here. Some of my very best friends I have met through News and I will thank Uncle Rup for that every day. Actually, I should probably thank Melissa Cohen, without whom I would NEVER have gotten this (or maybe any) job after college. “I’m so good at interviewing” was one of my fave lines in college. Guess what? I was not.   

I am totes obsessed with these girls.

I realized today that I have spent more time with in my NAM chapter than with any other chapter in my life. More time than college, more than high school. And I learned a lot here…Maybe more than college, more than high school…nevermind, that’s a ridiculous statement.

But really, News has been a great first chapter in my life and I am walking away with few bad things to say and plenty of great memories. Cheers to the next chapter! 

This is when I made Alaina drive 10 hours to Memphis with me.
Have you ever heard of a little account called Pictsweet?

Another sales summit - these girls were some of my favorites in Atlanta

NAMers love festivals - Nadine and Nick and me!

We started and ended our time at NAM within weeks of each other. 

Sarah - not a long time NAMer, but always made us laugh! 

Christmas Party in NYC - back when Rup spoiled us. 

Another Christmas party - only one of these girls still works at NAM. Woa.

This is a terrible picture, but I had to put it in. Trade Rally-ers.

Concert at Lakewood, likely about an hour before blacking out.

These guys....I have no words. 

One of my favorite people ever.
This girl has as much love for others as she has holes in her clothes. 

NAMers at festivals - per the us.

My going away party to Chicago. Who would I miss?? That girl!

If I have to walk 60 miles, I am glad I got to do it with this gem.

Oh, just another Chicago team event that ended in blacking out.

Ride the Rail....nothing else to say.

One of my fave ACs ever.
She even came to one of my parties, which is more than I can say for any other NAMers.

Look at these girls!! After my sake-bomb going away party.
I went out with a bomb.

PITA spelled backwards is A TIP

Picture this: A bright-eyed 18 year old girl, sitting in a big auditorium in the middle of campus learning the Greek alphabet. This mid-western girl was wearing her cutest Old Navy shorts and tee and looked into a sea of blonde hair and beach tans wondering what sorority she would join and hoping to make at least one friend in the process. As people grouped with their Bright Future friends to discuss their favorite houses, she looked to her only friends (the Pi Chis) for a sense of direction, leaning on them for survival tips in Gainesville.  

• What to wear – Reefs are appropriate for Round 1, but not Rounds 2, 3 or Prefs. Sidebar: Reefs are not the same as Old Navy flip flops.  
• Things to do – If you love Country music then you have to go dancing at :08.  
• Where to eat – Swamp is a great place to go with your family, but for a great sandwich-type spot try Pita Pit.

Ok – you got me. This mid-western girl with no friends was ME! And I listened to anything the ladies in the orange hats told me to do. So that week, I only wore flip flops to Round 1, I went dancing at :08, and I tried Pita Pit.

I had no idea at the time what a difference the week of rush Recruitment would have on my 4 years at UF. I hurried through orientations and chose Advertising as a major, enthusiastically joined Pi Beta Phi and met some nice girls on the bus to the Pink Palace, and had my very first Pita Pit Experience. Since that week, I have considered myself a bit of a Pita Freak Connoisseur. 

A few Pita Pit facts about me:

See? Healthy!

• My freshman year I tried to get a job at Pita Pit as a cashier and made up that I was my class treasurer in efforts to try and impress the potheads that work there.
• I have been to at least 13 different locations (Rankings available upon request). 
• I once asked a friend’s parent to invest in me opening my own franchise location.
• When I studied in Mexico, Pita Pit honey mustard was on my Top 5 list of things I missed.
• I once drove almost 2 hours while hungover to Athens for a pita, only to find they were closed on Sundays.
• I have written a letter of complaint on the Pita Pit website that the Honey Mustard in Chicago is not the “real Pita Pit honey mustard.”
• Despite my feelings on the PPHM in Chicago, I still have drunkenly ordered 2 pitas by myself in order to meet the minimum price for an “out-of-area delivery.”

Ok, this guy is kinda a Baldwin

I know this sounds really sad….wow, this actually sounds REALLY sad, but I think part of the reason I love this place so much is that it takes me back to college. Back to a time where you couldn't afford the Chicken Caesar pita, so you sneakily ordered a Chicken pita and just added Caesar dressing. A time where I can meet my best friends for lunch between classes, or at 3am in the Pi Phi kitchen. It reminds me of sunny days, sleeping in, advertising campaigns and late nights at Gator City. 

But what really changed my life that week was not trying Pita Pit, but actually joining Pi Phi and studying Advertising…they took me from being the girl with no friends in the auditorium, to having some of the best friends in the world. And that trumps a Pita any day.    

You know what goes great with a Pita? BFFs.