Today, I am so excited to welcome Haley McNeill to the Malen Yantis Public Relations team as an account coordinator. I’ve known Haley personally for a year now and always thought so highly of her – her upbeat style and passion for Vail was always infectious.

As I contemplated bringing on an account coordinator a few months ago, a friend suggested I hire Haley, so I did some digging. Little did I know that Haley’s background was perfect for my company. She’s worked for a minor league hockey team handling media relations, a Web development company that gives her a unique online marketing perspective and, most importantly, she recently worked for a local radio station. So, in essence, she’s been “the media” and understands pr from their perspective.

Haley grew up in the valley, so I’m excited to see the personal touch she brings to showcasing Vail to media who visit this summer. From tales of hiking her favorite trails to what it was like to interview Vail’s own celebrity bachelor Ryan Sutter for the high school newspaper, there’s an authenticity to Haley that only comes from being a local.

Welcome Haley, I’m excited to have you on board!

Haley may be reached at hmcneill@myprco.com or (970) 949-7919.

There is a cake that sets the standard by which I judge all others. In my book, all  frostings, fillings and cakes are compared to an amazing white cake produced by the team at Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Ariz., which is managed by Destination Hotels & Resorts. For a special occasion years ago, they created a white cake with buttercream frosting and the surprise – a crème brulee and strawberry filling.

Other than splurging and eating two pieces, I was caught eating the top layer with my hands before it went bad. I couldn’t let any morsel of the sweet goodness go to waste. It was the epitome of my weakness!

Why was the cake so good?   Read more…

It seems very fitting that I’m currently reading National Parks: The American Experience by Alfred Runte. This week is National Park Week where travelers can experience our country’s national park system for free through April 29.  For many of us, visiting a national park was a right of passage during summer vacation as a kid. I vividly remember trips to Yellowstone National Park where I had the dubious honor of catching more fish than anyone in my family to a trip to Grand Teton National Park where we camped out at Jenny Lake.

As an adult, I’ve had the pleasure of hiking numerous trails in Yosemite, watching the sunset over the Grand Canyon and viewing the wonder of nature erupt at Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. There’s a romance about our national parks and this is most evident in the rustic lines, hewn wood, stone and natural materials found in the grand lodges of the national park system. When opening The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, which is modeled after the grand lodges, I read about architect Robert Reamer whose rustic naturalism of “parkitecture” set the stage for classic lodging experiences. Today, travelers can see how Reamer’s vision came to life when visiting the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone, the Awahnee in Yosemite and El Tovar at the Grand Canyon, to name a few.

Read More…

Every Friday the MYPR blog will be themed the "Friday Frosting" - musings about all things batter, butter cream and ideas that take the cake.

For those of you who know me well, you know that cake is my favorite food group. Of course I know that ‘cake’ isn’t a food group but it certainly should be. I grew up surrounded by candy with my family running the Chase Candy Company, however my weakness has always been cake.

With this in mind, I wanted to set aside one day every week to get off topic a bit, focus on something that isn’t only pr or marketing communications oriented. The Friday Frosting will critique or review some of our favorite bakeries, cupcake trucks and sweet spots we’ve found in Colorado or on our travels.

The Friday Frosting also is our opportunity to be a bit more whimsical and if we’ve not been able to get out and try the latest butter cream in the area, we’lll simply share some musings and observations about happenings throughout the week that ‘take the cake.’