Laer Pearce
Founder and President, Laer Pearce & Associates
THE EARLY YEARS
Hometown: Oakland, CA
High School: The American School in Japan
College: Honors A.B. in Journalism,
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
FIRST JOB
Bus boy at Yokosuka U.S. Navy Base officer's club. Paid 35 cents an hour.
FIRST PR JOB
Assistant account executive at The Wenz-Neely Company, Louisville, KY.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Serves on the 1999 PRSA National Conference Committee, the Public Affairs Committee of the California Building Industry Association, the Executive Committee of the Counselors Academy, and several Orange County associations.
LAST MOVIE I SAW
"Professor Gadget" with my four-year-old daughter, Brookie.
AWARDS
1989 PRSA Distinguished Service Award, plus 36 awards for various PR projects and campaigns.
HOW I KEEP PACE WITH CHANGES IN THE PR INDUSTRY
Primarily by networking through the Counselors Academy, reading trade media and talking with my staff - who go to conferences, talk to friends, and stay plugged in.
CAREER MISTAKE (MISSTEP) I WISH I NEVER MADE, BUT LEARNED FROM
Leaving PR for two years to work in sales with my father. Fortunately when I returned to PR I had a much better understanding of business and how business people think.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN PR TODAY
To not become "commoditized." If we allow ourselves to compete with each other on press releases and special events, creativity will wane and mass production will rule. We need to become more strategic, more problem-solving oriented, more indispensable.
Pearce can be reached at 22892 Mill Creek Dr., Laguna Hills, CA 92653; [email protected]