About that job hunt...

Well, in case you haven't heard, yours truly is the newest member of the Public Affairs team for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. It's been a long road, but the end result is a good one.

One thing I love about public relations is learning new information about things that I thought I already knew about. Transportation is a perfect example. Since coming on board I've learned about traffic patterns, bridges, funding sources, weather advisories, safe driving programs, and the connection between transportation and economic development. It's actually pretty interesting stuff.

Last week we launched a new campaign called #DriveSmartMS all about driving safer and cutting down on the number of accidents and fatalities in Mississippi. Great info, some obvious (don't text and drive, wear your seatbelt), some not (what is a "diverging diamond," why are roundabouts safer). I had the opportunity to go on both WXXV and WLOX to let people know about the campaign (and the new website: www.GoMDOT.com/DriveSmartMS). It was great and felt good to get back in the swing of things with media interviews.

I also got the chance to meet and talk with Jay Hughes, House Rep from District 12. Great conversation. It's always fun when a politician will speak openly and give real opinions. We talked about #DriveSmartMS, need for infrastructure funding, education, autism, and general Mississippi politics. Fun time. He's also a pretty heavy social media user, so of course we talked about that.

Anyway, I think things are off to a great start at MDOT and I will keep you posted as things keep rolling along!