So, I know I said I was going to retire from PR on January first, but a girl (of 68) can change her mind, right? I wrote about a half dozen revisions of my retirement blog, but it turns out that I’m not quite ready to be put out to pasture yet. Maybe that’s why I never got around to posting any of them.
What brought me back from the brink? An “emergency” PR call for help from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra back in September, just as their 2021-22 Season was opening. I agreed to fill in for a few months, then through their 2022-23 Season Announcement this February, and now through the end of the current season in June. Sally Cohen PR had been the publicist for the orchestra from 2012-2018, but that ended when the organization decided to bring PR back in-house.
Now, with an almost entirely new team, I’m enjoying the experience more than I would have believed possible. Don’t get me wrong: work is work. But feeling valued and being part of a team are things I’ve been missing for a few years now. The pandemic had a lot to do with my original retirement decision too, but maybe – just maybe – the memory of those months of unemployment, uncertainty, and isolation is starting to recede. I have a good understanding, though, of why so many Americans left their jobs during that time.
Regretfully, I need to cut back on working with longtime PR clients and friends PUSH Physical Theatre, Airigami, Rochester Fringe Festival and others, and I’ll likely retire from PR altogether this summer (unless I change my mind again). I’m really looking forward to actually enjoying summer for the first time in 10 years!
My lovely retirement flowers from Rochester Fringe Festival
After that? I’m honestly not sure. Convincing people to see the value of art has been pretty much a lifelong mission for me – first as an artist, then as an arts/entertainment journalist, and finally as a publicist for the arts. I don’t have a plan and need time to figure it out. I still want to be useful, and yet I would like to do something creative that’s just for me before, well, you know.
Thanks for listening and here’s to finding your paths forward too!
Best,
