Erin enjoying her role as ad manager at the JR

By Kathryn “Chazz” Hirschfeld
Staff writer

Erin Williams has now spent her first season as the advertising manager for the Journal-Record, and I’m glad to report she still likes the job! If you haven’t seen her yet at your business, you will probably see her soon.
Most everyone already knows Erin. She actually enjoys helping market businesses to the public through the newspaper.
She has a delightful knack of bringing some goodies with her when she visits companies, some of which are shown in the photo with this column.
Erin grew up in Guin. She is the daughter of Jerome and Debra Wisham. She has been married to Bryan Williams for forever... seems like, she joked. It’s actually lucky number 13 (years) for the cute couple.
Most everybody also knows Erin as “Bryan’s wife” or as “Dylan and Blake’s mom,” as their boys (now men) attended Hamilton schools, and played in the band, as well as participated in scouts.
Asked about her hobbies, Erin said she likes sewing, Sudoku and being with family and friends. She and Bryan attend the New Hope Church of Christ in Guin.
Extended family includes Dylan’s bride, Kara, and Erin and Bryan’s precious new puppy, Shadow.
Continuing with the “most everybody knows” theme, most everybody knows Bryan was a popular DJ at WERH for a long time. I worked there, too, for quite awhile, and I met Erin back when they were dating.
A lot of people also know her from her many years of working as the activities director for Hamilton’s Country Place Senior Living. When she visits Country Place, there are tears of joy, but also sadness from those seniors who are missing her so much.
Back to the JR... When customers come through the door, most everybody knows her. When customers call asking about advertising, most everybody knows her. When she walks through the door of a business to ask if they have a sale, any items to promote or an event they wish to publicize, most everybody knows her.
As they say, “To know her is to love her.” Well, we do. We know you do, too. And if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Erin yet, give her a call at 205-921-3104 and she’ll schedule a time to visit, and bring a little goodie bag with her.
We asked Erin what she likes best about her job as advertising manager for a county-wide newspaper.
“I like meeting with the people,” she said “I enjoy going out and being in the community. I also like creating the ads. It’s fun to see people’s ideas come to life.”
Erin also helps out in other departments at the office, as our staff is small. She never hesitates to help our boss, P.J., or wait on customers at the front or assist with subscriptions. She’s also a great photographer, and you’ll see her out and about doing some event coverage for the paper, as well.
“This job is a different pace from what I’ve had previously,” Erin said. “It’s good to slow down a little bit. But at other times, it’s still a swift-paced business with deadlines to meet.”

To those needing her help, Erin says, “Reach out and let’s talk. We can sit down and brainstorm for ideas to make your marketing budget stretch.”
For companies needing advertising, but not knowing where to start, Erin has years of marketing experience and can offer guidance from the very beginning, all the way through to a completely well-designed and polished ad.
Erin can also help you out with other types of print advertising needs, such as business branding, business cards, flyers and more.
I’m so glad Erin decided to join us here at the Journal-Record. I knew she’d do a great job, and she’s already excelled herself in numerous ways. She’s a joy to have around.
I also asked our boss, P.J., to comment on having Erin on our staff.
“She is a wonderful ad manager who has taken the reins and has really begun going out into the community and helping the businesses with their advertisements for the Journal-Record. She is doing a superb job.”
If you’d like to see some examples of Erin’s work, check out the Graduation Section in this edition, our Business Spotlight page, the full-page Subscription offer, and the Elevate Your Business ad. She does great work for us! And for you!