2017: 3Points’ Year in Review
Now that 2017 is coming to a close, our team is taking some time to reflect on the year, as we did last year. You’ll see some new names among our team this year, which is part of what made 2017 so memorable. [Editor’s note: in a funny coincidence, all five are at the top of the below list alphabetically.] While we still faced challenges, particularly those that come along with an expanding company, we are leaving 2017 in a much better state than when we entered. Now, without further ado, hear from each 3Points team member about what made their year so memorable.
Anna Bradley — Social Media Specialist
Joining the 3Points team was the biggest highlight of my year. As I prepare to graduate from Notre Dame in May, I’ve enjoyed the flexibility and freedom the team has given me to explore every aspect of the business. This has enabled me to discover what skills I can pursue while still in school, and use those skills to help the team (for example, I’ve started doing graphic design projects). Other notable highlights are all the times I had the opportunity to hang out with the team outside of work. That allowed me to see another side of my coworkers and develop personal — not just professional — relationships with them.
Fabiola Camacho — Account Director
The highlight of 2017 for me was becoming a 3Pointer and immersing myself in the business and culture. I knew I was joining a company that values hard work and produces great results for our clients, but I’ve since come to realize that it’s also a team of people who genuinely care about each other! 3Points fosters an environment that truly pushes you forward as a professional, builds up your confidence like no place I’ve been before, and supports you as needed along the way.
Mike Cavanaugh — Business Development Consultant
There were so many highlights in 2017 that it’s hard to single out just one. One day with the 3Points team that was really memorable for me was our celebration of Drew’s birthday, when we stormed into the Native Foods cafe in our matching 3Points tee shirts, and topped it all off with a group photo in the Bueller courtyard [Federal Plaza].
Christopher Crisanti — Analyst
Joining the 3Points team over the summer was the highlight of my 2017. I’ve been able to put my analytics skills to use, as well as get more experience with email marketing and other typical PR tasks. I also really enjoyed my first T4Youth tournament — it was a great opportunity to network and see what the cause is all about while spending a night out with the 3Points team!
One other memory that sticks out is when I beat Will in our Super Smash Bros. tournament. He talked a good game, but in the end my technique was superior.
Katie Huffaker — Account Director
Since becoming a 3Pointer in the spring, I’ve gotten to experience firsthand the exciting and monumental growth the company has seen the last few months. There’s something new happening every week — new ideas, new clients, new goals for the company. Little did I know when I took the job that I’d get to not only grow in my career, but also grow with a company that’s soaring to new heights.
I enjoyed being a part of the biggest (and my first) T4Youth yet! It was a lot of fun being part of the social team and getting the word out about an event that supports such a wonderful cause.
One specific memory that sticks out is traveling with the 3Points team to Milwaukee to pitch to a potential client. This was my first time to the city and I got to see “the Fonz” up close and personal. We’re serious about our jobs, but it never hurts to throw a little fun into the mix!
Lorna Kiewert — Account Director
Being at 3Points 5+ years, I’m continually being challenged and learning new skills. A moment that sticks out this year is the telephone press conference we hosted for a client’s major announcement. I had previous experience managing in-person press conferences, but a virtual one presented its own set of challenges — yet that didn’t hold us back. We conducted messaging around the announcement, put together pitches, notified the media, and hosted a well-attended telephone press conference that resulted in several earned media pieces on behalf of our client.
Drew Mauck — Founder & Principal
T4Youth was my highlight, since everyone in the firm worked smart to bring it together. I also enjoyed crushing the #2 player from GrubHub. And Anna drove up from Notre Dame to enjoy with us!
Katie O’Shea — Content Strategist
This was a really exciting year — new space, new friends, new 3Pointers, and new 3Pointer nicknames (e.g., “Country Katie” and “City Katie” [guess which Katie is which], “CryptoChris,” and “Fabz”), to name just a few. One of my favorite experiences was getting more involved with and telling more people about Chi Hack Night, a weekly event that I’ve been participating in for two years. It’s been awesome having the chance to spread the word about this great event. I especially liked getting to write about it for the 3Points blog (and getting a plug for the article from Chicago Inno was pretty cool too!).
Will Ruben — Account Director
The highlight for me in 2017 was moving into our new office. It feels like ever since Truss helped us find our improved, more modern space, there’s been better camaraderie amongst the team, and it’s really improved our output and performance.
Sam Svoboda — Content & Analytics Director
In terms of client projects, I’m proud of what we’ve done on the Chicago Stock Exchange blog. The 135-year-old exchange had never blogged before, but after getting them up and running on Medium in February, we’ve published a steady stream of diverse content. The best example is the “Women in Finance” spotlight series we co-developed, profiling different members of CHX’s Women’s Forum. The posts cover an important topic, and they’ve been embraced both internally and externally, averaging the highest number of views on the CHX Medium page.
There were a lot of internal highlights in 2017 as well. We grew a lot as we revamped our internal structure and started analyzing company data, which I very much enjoyed being a part of. But because I don’t want to nerd out too much, I’ll also give a shout-out to one of the (many) fun memories of 2017: our team outing to Cafe Prague in October. I’ve been telling my fellow 3Pointers (probably too frequently) about this Czech restaurant for the past few years, so it was a lot of fun to finally go there with the team.
With our new and improved infrastructure coming together nicely, we are very pleased with the progress we made in 2017, and we feel confident that 2018 is going to be another big year for us. Until we meet again in the new year, we wish you all a happy and safe holiday season!
