Keri Ward has been the marketing coordinator for Beazer Homes for about three months.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“I do everything. I do the advertising, make sure the models have everything that they need such as flags, shop the competition, plan grand openings, make sure we have everything we need to set up new communities, handle public relations and proof plans. I’m all over the board. I basically market Beazer Homes and make sure we are advertising to the right demographics.”
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE?
Prior to Beazer, Ward has several years of public relations experience. During college she worked as an assistant to the publisher of Women’s Digest and interned with the City of Jacksonville and Ch. 4. After college, she was a public relations specialist for the Jacksonville Fire Department for about eight months before joining the Jacksonville Public Library as a public relations specialist for the last two years.
HOW DID SHE GET INTO PUBLIC RELATIONS?
Her concentration in college was broadcast journalism. She tried to find a job doing that, but couldn’t seem to find the right opportunity. While she interned at the city, she met Larry Thomas with the Jacksonville Fire Department and he persuaded her to try public relations.
COLLEGE
She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from University of North Florida.
HOW DO YOU LIKE PUBLIC RELATIONS?
“I love it. There is never a dull moment and I always doing something different.”
TIPS FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN GETTING INTO MARKETING?
“Listen to your customer’s needs or community’s needs whatever the case may be, depending on your job. Here, it is listening to the people who want to buy houses from us. When I worked for the City it was listening to what the people of the City of Jacksonville wanted.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“Always think before you speak.”
MARKETING ADVICE?
“Pay attention to what your customer or community needs and try to be open-minded. Think outside the box.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
She has joined the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales and Marketing Council and Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.
LICENSED?
Yes, she got her real estate license in October 2002. “I thought it would be nice to have in case I ever wanted to sell houses on the side. And my future mother-in-law, Ginger Soud of Ginger Soud Realty, is a broker.”
HOMETOWN?
Jacksonville.
RESIDES
Jacksonville Beach.
FAMILY
She is preparing to marry John Soud, an emergency room doctor at Orange Park and Memorial hospitals, in August.
HOBBIES
Ward enjoys going to the beach, movies and snow skiing.
CHURCH
First Baptist Church.
FAVORITES
Her favorite television show is “Friends.” When dining out, she enjoys Jack O’Grady’s in Jacksonville Beach. A movie she enjoyed recently was “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” When traveling, she enjoys anywhere there is snow so she can snow ski.
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“Being assertive, it has helped me get the jobs I have wanted.”
— by Michele Newbern Gillis