Dear PW friends and potential clients,

 

Growing up in Rock, Kansas, I never thought my journey would take me to Washington, DC. After working in the world of national trade associations, agricultural public affairs, and tourism promotions for over a decade, I saw the impact that good communications have in creating change and how well-organized events raise money and awareness. So, in 2007, I started my company, PlanIt World.

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We have grown over the last fifteen years.  We love the energy of the nation's capital, and our headquarters, located three blocks from the White House on K Street, is surrounded by politicos, think tanks, lobbyists, and lawyers.  It's fascinating stuff creating change and shaping policies with effective communications, and we love it! 

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In 2016, we opened our Mid-Atlantic office to better serve our event clients. In addition to expanding our footprint, this location in West Virginia is centered in a HUB Zone. It allowed us to expand our event operations to include decor and audio-visual rental, add client file storage, and discover some amazing team members who call WV home. We've been lucky enough to develop several tourism events in rural Appalachia. These events create tax revenue, benefit nonprofits, draw in tourists, and provide community growth. We are thrilled to create measurable economic impacts in rural areas that need a boost, and we've met the most amazing people.

 

Fast forward to 2020. After several successful years of building a business and becoming a mom to Kate, the Great, the COVID-19 pandemic happened. We had to reset how we connected with people. Covid canceled 14 conventions from our books in '20-21, state legislatures put a moratorium on non-emergency legislation, and tourism events shut down. The future was uncertain.

 

The idea of PW PROjects was born when I had the opportunity to reconnect with my roots in rural Kansas during this challenging time. This time also allowed me to recharge in socially distant middle America, and I remembered why I love what I do. Without question, effective communications, PR, and marketing makes a difference in the lives of people and changes places for the better... and this is especially true in the small towns of rural America.

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The silver lining of Covid is that I had extra time to support some small political campaigns, help friends who were laid off with reimagined resumes, and grow some nonprofit organizations with operational consulting advice. I met some amazingly talented women who were also growing families and side hustles in the Heartland and found a historic building that needed some love and paint.

 

A passion project plan was hatched. Using my 20+ years of experience in running associations, managing nonprofits, directing public affairs projects, campaign consulting, promoting advocacy issues, and planning conventions to drive the idea, I've now built a talented Midwestern team, and we are launching a new (ad)venture in summer 2023 — PW PROjects!

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We have high hopes that PW PROjects will also allow us to have fun collaborating with smaller communities, promoting nonprofits, and getting to know go-getters. We now have the capacity to take on smaller projects and "do good work," such as applying for grants, organizing small business operations, promoting solo entrepreneurs, managing effective social media, building smaller budget websites, writing/distributing press releases, coaching individuals to grow their career, and even supporting local campaigns.

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We also hope to use our extra space in our "new-to-us" building to encourage people to think bigger, accomplish more, and grow (personally & professionally) with classes, community clubs, and more! We know that big dreams become bold realities; if you work a lot, pray hard, fail a little, and learn from your mistakes.

 

To borrow from a favorite movie quote about building visionary things in the Midwest, "if you build it, they will come."  PW PROjects, metaphorically speaking, is my Field of Dreams in my hometown, and I'm so excited to see where this sojourn goes! Do you have other ideas for PW PROjects? Send us a note, and let's chat!  Sidebar: If you are a fan of old buildings or HGTV... check out the Before & After Gallery on our renovation.

Let's do good stuff together! 

Andrea Ball

PW PROjects CEO

a division of PlanIt World, llc