The newsletter bringing you the voice of a nation. April 2011Mother Trucker of the Monthby Ed McClendon

Ever crave all the goodness of Korean food wrapped into a burrito? Next time you’re in the Sunnyvale area, checkout the BBQ Kalbi truck. They strive to combine healthy ingredients into tasty, affordable foods so everyone can enjoy. I recommend the Daejee (Spicy Pork) Burrito. If you’re not in the mood for meat or you’re watch-ing your figure you can go for the Unagi Burrito. Want to kick up the spice? Try adding their special spicy mayo and your mouth will sure to be on fire. Happy eat-ing!Price Range: $2- $7.50Must Try: Daejee (Spicy Pork) BurritoWebsite: http://www.bbqkalbi.com

by Everett Meyers

At 11 years young, Voce Commu-nications continues to grow. It seems hard to believe that just nearly a month ago Voce was a company of only three offices, and now, thanks to Porter Novelli (PN) and the recent acquisition, Voce can claim offices around the world. Within the industry, Voce is known for its tremendous suc-cess with clients and unique company culture, and now that culture is evolv-ing and the team is expanding. For PN, as well, this acquistion is a huge change – one that is being wel-comed by the PN crew. Office Man-ager Brad Kuerbis has been a part of the PN family for the past 15 years and has seen the San Francisco of-fice go through dozens of changes throughout the years. “We used to have a big food prac-tice, bigger than tech,” Kuerbis said. “Hot pockets use to be our client, but we lost everything to Nestle!” PN started its first office in San Francisco in 1998, and over time has moved around throughout the Mis-sion and Financial districts, before finally settling down at their current location of 550 Third Street. When Kuerbis first began his PN career, the office consisted of 12 employees, growing to around 70 at its peak, and in recent years has leveled off at 12 again. Account Supervisor Andrew Hussey

has been at PN for seven years, and has met a lot of great individuals in that time, recalling how much fun it’s been working among so many dif-ferent people and cultures. Hussey is looking forward to this acquisition as he feels it is going to reinvigorate the office, explaining that PN really need-ed this injection of culture. “There was a lot of excitement when we heard we were getting together with Voce,” he said. “You guys have a great reputation.” As Hussey understands it, PN realiz-es that the Bay Area is a critical mar-ket and that representation is needed in this area if you want to be credible in the technology market. There was a time when PN had two offices in the area, and they needed their tech prac-tice to be revamped. “One of the things I think you guys do best is social media,” he said. “It’llContinued on page 3

Porter Novelli welcomed into the Voce Nation—the Novelli story

Vo i c e s o f Vo c e

“I’m a cougar and I’m not even 24. YEAH!” -Dyani

“May I tell June who is calling?” -June

“It’s just work —relax.” -Gallow

a Porter Novelli Company

Employee Spotlightby Janice Vargas

This Month’s Spotlight shines on Lauren “Tweet Queen” Sadelin, who hails to us from the Windy City...and Voce’s newest ACE to have moved up from being a good ol’ Intern!

1. What’s been your favorite part about being a Vocian?This place is different from anywhere else I’ve been and I’m lucky enough to look forward to coming into the office each morning. At the risk of sounding totally cliché, it’s the people here that make Voce what it is and make working here so enjoy-able (and I’ll stand by this even on Richard Cheese days and trips to the Pizza Hut buffet).

2. What’s been one thing that you learned at Voce that you didn’t learn in college?Not that my fabulous alma mater didn’t teach me anything over the four years I spent there (Mom and Dad weren’t so fond about the idea of extending it to five...I tried), but I’ve learned more in my nearly eight months here than I did out of my textbooks and classwork – everything from interacting with clients to just the basic ins-and-outs of the industry.

3. Other than family and friends, what do you get homesick for?Just spending time in the city – walking around Michigan Av-enue, game days in Wrigleyville, the list goes on. Then again, ask me if I still feel that way when it’s below zero and snowing...the answer is most likely going to be “not so much.”

4. What’s the one thing that you can’t live without on a day-to-day basis?Oh man, do I go with coffee or a turkey sandwich? Let’s say cof-fee. I could live without a turkey sandwich, it would just require me learning how to cook (but let’s be honest, those odds aren’t exactly in my favor).

5. How much did you like counting 3000 tweets on “Stats Monday”... tell me how you really feel?I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything, but if I had to rank my tweet-counting skills on a scale from 1 to 10, let’s just say it would be at an 11...pre-abacus. I’ve gotta say, the abacus has really helped me set the bar unfairly high (thanks, Platforms team).

BOOM—the Voce Nation expands by fourteenby Samantha Gasper

Most would agree that it is a bit scary when the time comes to kick their baby bird out of the nest — but the time is now, and it’s time that Voce spreads its wings and takes flight. Being acquired by a global company such as Porter Novelli (PN) has raised questions and concerns, but it has mostly created promise and a great deal of opportu-nity for Voce’s future. A common theme of this big-time acquisition is the challenges that are sure to come with it. Vice President Dave Black believes that with challenge comes opportuni-ty. “Voce has been like a baby to me for the past 12 years,” he said. “There was going to be a challenge if we didn’t take this route. There’s no reason to get out of bed in the morning without challenge. Own it and make it yours — that is why we come to work and part of what drives us in our careers.” Vice President of Operations Mike Gallow sees a lot of promise in the acquisition, especially after having worked with CEO Gary Stockman more than 10 years ago while Stockman served as director for Copithorne & Bellows. A Voce employee for 10 years and counting, Gallow likes the idea of something new. “I’m looking forward to the integration and some transitioning activities, and having a new challenge,” he said. “There haven’t been any projects like this since I’ve been here — being able to roll our in-frastructure into a new one. It’s going to be a lot of work, but there might be something fun in that.” A common concern for Vocians has been how PN would adapt to the Voce culture. Gallow is optimistic and said, “The Voce culture breeds an attitude of openness and will-ingness to get people involved. The PN’s seem very simi-lar to us, and over time we’ll develop our own set of inside jokes—especially in the SF office.” Black wants to see it through that Voce maintains what got us here and really makes an impact on the business of Porter Novelli. “Can we imprint our DNA throughout the organization, or will they imprint theirs onto us? I think we can do it, and I like our odds. It’s really going to take every single person to carry over our legacy.” Black explains how he hopes Voce will pass on that leg-acy and what Vocians are best known for—their outgoing personalities and hard work. “People want to be around a fun vibe, and it’s infectious. When people start to get too serious, it makes it a place I wouldn’t want to be a part Continued on page 4

VOCE NATION

Continued from page 1 be great to have resources here in this office.” Merging two companies can often times bring many chal-lenges for the employees, but PN has been handling the transition quite smoothly, though the mass volume of Voce-Everyone emails has been a bit intimidating (Tip: set up a rule and folder for those emails – it may change your life). “From my perspective I don’t think it has been very chal-lenging,” said Senior Account Executive Keira FitzGibbon. “I love having more people in the office and I think [Vo-cians] are a great addition.” FitzGibbon has been at PN for two years, landing a job in the SF office right out of college, and has become accustom to working in a larger agency. She is looking forward to the new work experience, friends and colleagues, and already feels like PN is evolving into something better.

“To be honest we don’t have that many traditions, which is why I am looking forward to having you here with such a great culture already,” she said. And PN employees also look forward to having a lot to offer Voce as well. “I hope that I can be a positive presence in the office, and somebody people can go to for advice on different cli-ents and experiences,” FitzGibbon said. “I also hope PN of-fers Voce a big support team when we are going into global pitches…” All in all, PN is very excited about the acquisition and all the great new things to come from it. Hussey notes that it goes without saying that Voce and PN coming together is one of the greatest mergers in history, and it’s up there with Red Bull and Jaeger, rice and beans, and of course, “Back-street Boys and New Kids on the Block.”

Okay it’s a little bit more than that. Eat, Drink & Be Voce (EDBV) first started in 2007, following the opening of the SF office. The purpose was to bring together employees from both Bay Area offices. The inaugural event was held at a Vietnamese restaurant, in San Francisco, called Bong Su. Organized by C&C (Culture and Community), EDBV has always been strategically placed in the first half of the year. Mike Gallow, vice president of operations said, “This was done because the summer months bring the Voce Retreat and later in the year is the holiday party.” The 2009 EDBV saw the Voce Nation takeover the Silver Cloud Restaurant & Bar. When the Silver Cloud invested in a karaoke system they did not foresee a show stopper, such as Dave Black, grace their stage. Dave rocked out to Billy Idol – More More More – as loyal Voce fans cheered in the background. Not all of the fun was kept inside of the restaurant. Doug Madey, senior client executive said, “The funniest moment was when Moesch jumped onto a fork lift/tractor that was parked outside on the street. I’m pretty sure someone has a picture of that.”

Last year’s EDBV saw the Voce staff survive the ele-ments as they attended a San Francisco Giants night game. Thankfully Giants Snuggies were given away to add a lit-tle warmth. The event also brought the first introduction of Stephen Lynch to the Voce Nation. “My favorite moments would be drinks at Public House with all the Voce crew, specifically participating in some “shenanigans” with Katie Watson. Another would be spitting sunflower seeds all over the place with Podboy,” said Client Executive Paul Doherty. Did you know EDBV has also made its way to the East Coast? The Florida office, also hosts a yearly event, with last year’s EDBV – FL Edition including dinner and drinks at Tanners Pub in good ol’Winter Haven. This year’s Flori-da’s event is still in the works, so stay tuned! This year’s EDBV west coast event will be on May 6th. With a return to AT&T Park, the Voce Nation will get rowdy as they cheer on the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. It’s sure to be a night of fun and lots of memorable stories!

Eat, Drink and Be Voce: A culture explainedby Ed McClendon

What is Eat, Drink & Be Voce? Think of it as it reads. Eat - To take in and absorb as food. Drink - To take liquid (probably alcoholic) in from the mouth and swallow. Be Voce – To be a talented, awesome, fun person.

VOCE NATION

Candid Photo Captions

Janice Vargas Kevin Wetzler Chazlee Rivera Ed McClendon Sam Gasper Everett Meyers

Thoughts from a peonby Kevin Wetzler

One of the first things I noticed when I started at Voce, besides the fact that I was the only one wearing a suit and tie, was the atmosphere in the room. Everyone was incredibly focused on the tasks at hand, and normally this means that people are too busy to engage with or talk to others around them. This howev-er, was not the case. People at Voce joke with each other, play pranks with one another and send out all-staff emails, which frankly still blow my mind. Since I’ve started, I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the Voce culture, and when I first thought about what that meant I associated it with the jokes, emails and other shenanigans that take place around the office. However, this understanding quickly changed once things started to heat up for me on my accounts. Watching my team-mates hit high gears through highly publicized acquisitions, partnership announcements and industry events made me see the other side of the Voce culture. And the truth is, when Voce isn’t joking around and laughing, the Nation is impressing clients, meeting deadlines and just plain winning. It’s amaz-ing to watch, and even better to be involved in. Though the life of an intern might be less than glamorous, knowing that I’m involved with a culture that’s making huge headlines is an awesome feeling and something that I love about doing PR at Voce.

Email us your candid captions for Ed’s desk and we will post our favorites in next months edition of the Voce Nation. (voce-internship@vocecomm.com)

Continued from page 2of. The Voce way is to have fun and do great work. Hopefully the traditions we’ve created are carried through, and we’re do-ing something that actually makes an impact.” Many are excited about the dynamic of this year’s annual retreat in Lake Tahoe. “Hazing is always a threatened idea to anyone new on the retreat,” Gallow said. “But I think just be-ing a part of it for the first time is hazing enough. There’s so much hype. Once you’re there and take part, just going through it is the ultimate initiation to Voce.”

VOCE NATION

“What... All I said was I have a tent-pole idea to discuss.” -Matt Podboy “Maybe I shouldn’t have told her what Cleavland Steamer really meant.” -Amy Wall “I farted.” -Angela Asche “The end of this flower just punctured my nipple.” -Chris Thilk “I’D BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR!” -Sean O’Shaughnessy