Michelle Glass joined the NEFBA staff as its administrative assistant in 2015. She recently was named marketing and communications director. She also is co-liaison for the Sales & Marketing Council.
A graduate of Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in management information systems, Glass began her career in the financial industry working for Wachovia and Regions Bank.
In 2007, she took time out from her career to be a stay-at-home mom for Nathan (12), Liam (10) and Braxton (7).
She re-entered the workforce with NEFBA as director of marketing and communications. Her assignments are varied, which is a positive aspect of the job for Glass.
“To put a label on what I do is difficult,” she said. “I communicate news about the association, its events and local, state and national industry news to members and the public. We use email, social media, occasional mass mailings and our website to reach our members and local decision- makers. It’s a challenge not only to keep current and up to date, but to match the method of communication to the audience. It’s always changing and keeps me on my toes.”
Glass keeps the NEFBA website current.
“We announce our events on the website and with flyers,” she said. “But posting and distributing flyers is not the end of it. It’s not unusual for us to have a change of address, date or time, location and even a speaker. We have to keep track of what we sent and where we sent it, so we can make corrections quickly.”
Maintaining the events calendar also means making sure the association does not schedule competing events.
“When we have an event to schedule, we need to check with all areas to make sure we’re not scheduling events that would compete with each other,” Glass said.
“For example, a Clay social would not compete necessarily with a St. Johns social. A NEFBA-wide event, however, would compete to some extent with anything else on the calendar that day. We also check local events, Jaguars home games, for example. We don’t want our members to choose between supporting the Jags and attending a NEFBA event,” she said.
Glass is listed as a co-liaison for the Sales & Marketing Council with events coordinator Corey Hacker. Hacker coordinates the SMC’s Laurel Awards, and Glass is the primary contact for SMC and handles the council’s day-to-day operations. She also is responsible for keeping the staff up to date on NEFBA’s schedule.
A typical day for Glass is as busy as the NEFBA calendar itself. She maintains the ever-changing website, assists members working on events or who have questions about SMC, and she is often called upon to assist other staff with large projects as needed.
Glass reports to Executive Director Bill Garrison.
“It was truly our lucky day when Michelle agreed to take the administrative assistant position at NEFBA,” Garrison said. “She certainly is qualified in education and experience, and she quickly demonstrated her ability to handle her assignments and more. She quickly became a valuable member of the team and fit right in. When she assumed added responsibilities by becoming our marketing and communications director, it became clear just how much we depend on her and what a significant contribution she makes to the overall functioning of our office.”
On a personal level, Glass admits she is a “huge FSU fan,” and has been an FSU football season ticket holder since 2003. She is a runner and enjoys biking on the Baldwin Trail.
“I enjoy the environment at NEFBA, and the variety of my day,” she said. “I appreciate the teamwork and how everyone works together to support each other, the association and its members.”