Interns@AutoCom

Dear Friends: Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria...Four years in Germany. I have lived in different cities and esperienced different cultures, now I have spent one year in the U.S.! I am very thankful for the chance to obtain a good personal and professional experience. I will always remember my interview with Larry over one year ago in the lobby of the Sheraton hotel in Frankfut-am-Main, Germany. It was a milestone! I am a completely different person since that time. I will miss all my colleagues from AutoCom very much! In the USA you better understand that we are truly leaving in a globalized world, more than anywhere else in the world! Today is my last day by AutoCom. How do I feel about it? The time has come to close all open chapters and back-up the good times. For now I am planning to go to New York! I am looking forward for a world of new possibilities and challenges…season ended. To be continued. I wish you all Happy Holidays! Frohe Weihnachten und

Summer at AutoCom came and went quickly but it was quite eventful. I had the opportunity to get heavily involved in parts one and two of Tech Crawl 2010 and in the 2010 Traverse City CAR’s Management Briefing Seminars events. My responsibilities included creating welcome letters for press kits, writing and sending media invitations, media and client RSVPs and much more. AutoCom worked extremely hard in preparing our summer client events. I had the chance to work at the July 14 Tech Crawl, it was really cool to witness how my contributions helped make the event what it was – a success. On a personal level, I had a great summer in Metro Detroit. I barbequed a lot and I discovered that I can make one heck of a chicken kabob. I also had the chance to explore the area’s dining scene and I’m thrilled to report that there are a ton of good ‘eats’ here. My favorite is Oishi Japanese Restaurant Sushi & Bar in Novi. In between eating and working I managed to experience Michigan’s great outdo

I am Anna Schuhmacher and I am the second of the two new interns at AutoCom Associates. I am from Germany and next year I plan to graduate with a B.A. in international business with focus on marketing at the University of Technology and Business (HTW) in Aalen, Germany. I am 25 years old and live in Schwaebisch Hall, Germany. Prior to studying at HTW Aalen I was certified as an industrial business management assistant by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Stuttgart, after having completed a 2.5-year apprenticeship in January 2008 in Winnenden, Germany. It’s my first time in the U.S. and I am very happy to be here. It has always been my dream to live here for a long period of time. To me, the most impressive thing in America are the Americans themselves. They are always very nice and helpful. They also have huge cars, which you hardly see in Germany. Due to organizational obligations, my first week went by very quickly. Meanwhile, I am already feeling very comfortable in the U.S.

Hi everyone, I have been working as an intern at AutoCom for six months and now it is time to say goodbye. I am always going to remember the fun I had working and traveling around the U.S. I would like to thank you all for being part of my life in Michigan. I gained a lot of experience by taking part on the organization of events such as Tech Crawl and Traverse City. There is so much you can learn by participating in these types of events. I also had the opportunity to work everyday with people that were interested in sharing their wisdom and knowledge with me. I’m going to miss my life as an Intern at AutoCom. I hope I will be able to keep in touch with the people that made my internship a wonderful and unforgettable journey. Best Regards, Viviane

Dear All, On June 30 AutoCom clients hosted the first of two half-day sessions of Tech Crawl 2010. This year the program was held at The Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth and was sponsored by the following clients: Concorde Marine, Gage Products, Gibbs Technologies, Grammer, Hella Lighting, Hella Electronics, and Plex Systems. It was a good opportunity for journalists and businesses to come together and communicate informally. The program began with a breakfast followed by several presentations. Especially exciting was a visit to Hella’s facility for technology demonstrations and displays. Afterward the delegation returned to The Inn at St. John’s for a German-themed lunch. The event concluded with an optional golf outing. The AutoCom team spent countless hours preparing for Tech Crawl. We hope that everybody enjoyed the program as much as we did! It was a valuable experience for me to participate in the event preparation process and to improve my management skills. We hope you join us for

Hi everyone, My name’s Nathan Ichtertz and I’m the other new summer intern here at AutoCom. I’ve been here for two weeks so far and am enjoying working with a bunch of great people! A little about me: I’m 22 years old; I was born in Arizona, grew up near the Central Coast in California and attended college in Oregon. Now I’m launching my public relations career in Metro Detroit. Like many young PR practitioners, I earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations; but I had the opportunity to watch PR unfold from the other side – as a journalist. Witnessing my editors get peppered with dozens of boring, wordy news releases taught me an important lesson – being an effective communicator is vital to successful public relations. In the PR world, if your communication skills aren’t up to par, your pitch to the media will end up in the media member’s e-mail trash folder. In working as a reporter, I found that the best PR people are confident, articulate, knowledgeable and capabl

Hello everyone, My name is Martyna Mackiewicz and I am the new summer intern here at AutoCom Associates. Just a couple of weeks ago I graduated from Wayne State University with a bachelor’s degree in English. My college career was nothing short of simple and straightforward. I endured many pre-medicine classes along with psychology and art history until eventually I found an attraction for literature and writing. The four years I have spent at Wayne State helped me to understand the importance of involvement with a struggling city such as Detroit. Planting trees in Detroit neighborhoods and visiting Detroit high schools shaped my awareness about economic and social problems surrounding such an urban city. At the end of my junior year of college I was granted an internship at WDET 101.9 Detroit Public Radio station in the public relations sector. This experience allowed me to become acquainted with programs and activities Detroit has to offer. After three months at W

It’s time to welcome spring and put your heavy jackets away to the back of the closet. It is also time to update everyone on how my internship has been going so far. I can’t believe it’s been almost three months since I started at AutoCom. Summarizing my experience at AutoCom so far, I can say that I’ve managed to learn a lot and I have had some great experiences. I had the opportunity to take part in the organization of a few events, such as the SAE World Congress Dinner, which was previously discussed by Alina in her last blog. A few weeks ago, I attend ed the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual banquet. It was a very nice event with an informal atmosphere. It was nice to see all the major Detroit journalists gathered in one place, mingling and talking about their jobs, while the emcee’s of the event where announcing the awards. I always thought that events like these would be very serious and people would get bored after

Communication works for those who work at it John Powell (1963 - …) Greetings from Detroit! Last Tuesday, April 13, Kerry, Tedi and I were riding in a glass elevator up to the 72nd floor of the Renaissance Center and enjoying an awesome view of Detroit. The city was below our feet. We could even see the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the U.S. and Canada over the Detroit River. On this brilliantly, sunny spring day, AutoCom held its 2010 SAE World Congress Dinner for clients and journalists. When Kerry, Tedi and I were finished setting things up for the evening, we did not miss the opportunity to pose for pictures, including some photos on a big blue “queen’s chair” and in front of the great view. As guests were arriving, we helped everybody find their seats and choose their dinner option. I was also able to speak with many fascinating people during the evening. Earlier in my studies, I wanted to become a journalist, so being sat with journalists from Reuters, the Detroit Free Press

If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves Maria Edgeworth (1767 - 1849) Dear All, Time flies faster and faster... And that is not only a figure of speech. Chile’s recent earthquake shortened the Earth’s day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to a NASA scientist's computer model. Time is of course measured, but it is also your perception. In my opinion, our life consists of memories and experiences we gather throughout our existence. One of these valuable memories I am making is my internship in the U.S. It is my third month into my internship and every day brings something new. Just the other day I participated in a telephone conference with our client Hella Lighting. We had five people on the line discussing the efficiency of HID technology: a journalist in San Diego, CA, the marketing manager of Hella Lighting in Plymouth, MI, the vice president of marketing of Hella Lighting in Lippstadt, Germany, Marty Habalewsky, a vice president of AutoCom, and mysel

Dear All, I would like to introduce myself, my name is Viviane and I’m the new intern. I’ll be working here at AutoCom Associates until mid - August. Since the majority of the interns have been Germans, I would say that I am probably the first Brazilian Intern at AutoCom. First of all, I want to tell you a bit about my background. I’m 25 years old and I have been living in Holland for the past three years, where I am pursuing a bachelor degree in European Studies. For some strange reason, I decided to go to Holland, despite my parent’s pleadings that I should have gone to England. It was a nice experience and it was also the first time that I was living abroad. If you are asking yourself what a bachelor in European Studies really means, I can say that the program is a mixture of Politics, European law, Economics and there is also a great deal of communication classes. Therefore, this internship will be the ideal opportunity to put into practice what I have learned at the University. Ad

Back in autumn, I remember reading in travel guides about the images of “snow covered landscapes” and several different options of winter activities in Michigan, such as snowboarding, skiing, snows hoeing, sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, etc. I somehow liked the idea of living in this winter wonderland! As it turns out, it has been a very mild winter so far, which means I haven’t had to scrape snow off my car every day! Although it seems I have spoke too soon in this case, we are actually expecting 6-10 inches of snow by tomorrow morning and even more snow throughout the week! After speaking with family and friends from Germany, it made me feel more fortunate during this last month, since they are nearly at the end of their patience, in the middle of a snow storm. Extreme temperatures have been observed all over the world, in places like China, Korea and India. In the U.S., Washington D.C. is near to setting the record for all-time snowfall this winter, snow that would probably be

Tata Technologies unveils the Tata Nano, designed as 'World's cheapest car'. The people's car from Tata Motors is not a question. It is the answer. Can you imagine a brand-new car for $2,500? No, it’s not a motorbike or a scooter… it is the world’s cheapest production car, the Tata Nano. On Thursday, January, 14 a mini Indian car was unveiled to North America. The auto market has changed. It is a global trend that today’s demand is leaning more towards mini cars. It is time to be efficient. It is time for the Tata Nano. At the Detroit Science Center, Kerry Hokett and I welcomed over 50 journalists that took part at Tata Technologies’ media briefing. As I looked around the room, I saw cameras flashing, video cameras rolling, people posing around the car, smiling Tata Technologies team eager to help and of course the small Tata Nano was the center of attention. But that was later... First, entering the hall, we saw a small car’s silhouette under a gray cover.

Dear AutoCom Team, Dear All, Six months ago I was sitting in the lobby at the Sheraton Frankfurt hotel in Germany, waiting for an interview with Larry. I ordered a fresh strawberry juice that for some reason had a blue coloring and strongly resembled a cocktail. I realized that it looked like I was drinking a cocktail, relaxing before the interview at 1:00 pm. In that connection, I was thinking about the importance of the first impression…Good thing I can laugh at myself! And here I am. My name is Alina Kharchenko and I am a new intern for the next six months; I am 25 years old and come from Ukraine. Currently, I am pursuing a master’s degree in International Business at Nuremberg University, Germany. Regarding my work experience on the field of marketing and PR, I interned at Bosch Security Systems, Munich Area, at the department for Marketing and Communication. I took part in several projects covering Europe, South Africa and Asia. Automotive background is also present in my work b