April 22, 2025 • 30 mins
Paula Redmann graduated with a BA in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of North Dakota. She received her Masters in Strategic Leadership from the University of Mary. Paula is very involved in the community of Bismarck. She is currently on The Bismarck Park Board. Paula was the Community Relations Manager for the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District. In this job, she played the leading role on the BPRD team to write the application in 2016 and 2017 for the Gold Medal, the highest honor in the parks and recreation profession. Bismarck was a finalist in 2016 and was awarded this honor in 2017. Paula was also the Marketing Manager for the Bismarck Tribune.
Paula has been on a number of boards in the Bismarck community including The Bismarck Downtowner’s Association, The Missouri Valley Areawide United Way, The Bismarck Mandan Civic Chorus and The Bisman Community Foundation Advisory Committee. Paula is also an active volunteer and volunteers at Heaven’s Helper’s Closet 701 and Furry Friends Rockin’ Rescue.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
the City of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee and produced by
Dakota Media Access. The purpose of the podcast is to
celebrate change makers in Bismarck whose contributions break barriers, build connections,
and redefine what is possible for our community.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
Tia Jorgensen and Sargianna Woodski, both members of the City
of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee. Thank you for joining us
as we highlight the individuals driving positive change and making
a lasting impact on our community. Their stories inspire progress
in shape the future of our city.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Our guest today is Paula Redman. Paula graduated with a
BA in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of
North Dakota. She received her Masters in Strategic Planning from
the University of Mary. Paula is very involved with the
community of Bismarck. She is currently on the Bismark Board.
Paula was a community relations manager for the Bismarck Parks
and Rec District. In this job, she played the leading
(01:07):
role on the Bismarck Parks and Rec District team to
write the application in twenty sixteen and twenty seventeen for
the Gold Medal, the highest honor in the parks and
Recreation profession. Bismarck was a finalist in twenty sixteen and
was awarded this honor in twenty seventeen. Paula was also
the marketing manager for the Bismarck Tribune. Paula has been
on a number of boards in the Bismarck community, including
(01:29):
the Bismarck Downtowners Association, the Missouri Valley Area Wide United Way,
the Bismarck Mandate Civic Chorus, and the Bisman Community Foundation
Advisory Committee. Paula is also an active volunteer in volunteers
at heavens Helper's Close at seven oh one and Furry
Friends Rock and Rescue. Thank you so much for joining us, Paulow, Well, I'm.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Delighted to be here. It's nice to be with you both.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Thank you. So what made you come back to Bismarck
and make this home.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Well, I'm a Jamestone girl born and raised and, as
Sergiana said, graduated from the University of North Dakota in
nineteen eighty one. So yes, dating myself, but at that time,
the second wave of oil happenings was going on in
western North Dakota and Bismarck was kind of a hub
of that. So my husband and I decided at that
time hot things were happening in Bismarck. Jobs were churning,
(02:18):
and so we both moved here with the prospect of
finding our careers at that point. And also both sets
of my grandparents lived here, so Bismarck had always been
a loving, wonderful place to be, and so we both
moved here after graduating from college and said, let's let's
find our jobs. And so as I said, that was
in nineteen eighty one. So Bismarck is my beautiful home.
(02:40):
Happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Can you tell us what is meant by a master's
degree in strategic leadership?
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Sure that was after thirty years after leaving the University
of North Dakota. I said, Okay, I'm ready for that
next step in an education and challenge. And so I
was so pleased that the University of Mary offered this
next step in a master's degree in strategic leadership. It
was really an overarching degree in lots of broad based
(03:09):
of classes of having to do with project management, human resources,
organizational leadership. There was some things in finance ethics, so
it was just really broad based in leadership situations. It
taught me a lot about writing, It taught me a
(03:29):
lot about research, and it was just really great interchange
with all the other classmates that I had at that
same time.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Pretty fast paced.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
It made me feel young again because I did stay
up very late like I did in college, to get
that paper in at the last minute, and so it
was a really rewarding experience and I was so proud
that I was able to stay here in Bismarck, continue
my work and get a degree from the University of Mary.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Was there any fear of going back to college after
you've waited that long?
Speaker 5 (03:58):
Yes, I was less at times with fear, but also
knowing that I had the support of the Park District
supported me in this journey, and also knowing that every
other student had the same thing going on, so it
was a little bit different too, and not being an
in class situation that it was all online, but I
(04:18):
knew that I could give it my all and study
just as much as I could in college and learn.
I was excited to learn. I've always been a lifelong learner,
and so I kind of went after it with gust
owners really pleased with the experience that I had.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, I just decided to go back also, And it's
very interesting approaching it from a forty year old perspective
versus you know, twenty year olds. But I have also
pretty much wanted to break down and cry every night
to do the homework.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Absolutely, and these are people from all over the world
that you're participating in and the response to questions You're
realizing that they're answering at one am, but that's their
seven am things like that. So it was really kind
of fun having that discussion with people all over and
so it was fun gaining their insights into different questions.
So a very rewarding experience.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
So then something else that we noticed from your bios
that you have always been very involved in the community.
What is kind of your favorite volunteer role that you've had.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
You know, that is really difficult.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
I'd have to say, you know, the one that I'm
currently in, you know, and when you follow my volunteer path,
I said, you know, when my sons were little. We
have two grown sons, but they were little, I was
involved in their school, the PTO and the pack and
things like that, and then they finished through that involved
in church and kind of went through that part of
(05:43):
church council and things like that, and going through the
chairs that being involved in the United Way. So you
just whatever I'm doing at the time is what I'm
enjoying doing. Those are all been my choices of things
that I was passionate about and things I was interested in.
So I don't really know if there's a favorite. All
of them have been things that have been rewarding to
me and things that were interested in and things I
(06:04):
wanted to help with. So there hasn't been a favorite.
They've all been something I wanted to do and then
I wanted to help with.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
So I love it.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Moll.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
So in reading your experience or involvement, a lot of
it has been in the in choirs in the area.
Why do you think the arts are such an important
program in our community?
Speaker 5 (06:21):
Well, in speaking about choirs, you know that started when
I was growing up in Jamestown. Started it, you know,
in church, being in the in the children's choir, and
then I was in high school choir and in swing choir.
So yep, I can sing and dance and so then
moving up, then I got busy with my kids and
wasn't able to do those things. Still involved in some
church choir, but then Bismarck man in civic Chorus, which
(06:42):
is an audition choir. So that was another fear factor
to kind of overcome, but was so happy to be
involved in that. So all those things I think enrich
our communities.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Whether and what that is is depends on what you
like to do.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
When I was in the when I worked for Bismarck
Parks and Recreation, that are slogan was let's play. So
play is what you define it is play. Is it
basketball or is it ballet? Is it music or is
it hockey? So whatever defines your play. And I think
arts and culture and history and sports and all those
(07:17):
things just make a community richer. We didn't none of
us moved here or live here to work. We find
our joy in doing those things outside of our work life,
to go to different events, to experience committees, to experience
nonprofit organizations, to use our skills and our gifts in
other ways to make Vismarkmanden better. And so I think
(07:40):
arts and culture are such a rich part of our
fabric and they bring different organizations together. They didn't bring
different people together to all enjoy the same kind of
common things that you'd like.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
To do together.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
So I love what variety and diversity that we offer
here so that people can find what gives them joy
and what makes them happy.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Can you talk a little bit about the Bismarck man Ands.
Of of course I don't know a lot about that organization,
but can you kind of tell our listeners what that's
all about.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
I'd be happy to I've probably been involved for about
ten years. The organization has been around for almost fifty years,
and in three years we'll be celebrating our fiftieth anniversary.
So it is an audition choir. It's made up, as
it says, Bismarck mand AND's civic course. So it's people
from all walks of life.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
And we have some.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
College students all the way up to people well into
their seventies. And it's people from the area Bismarck Mandon,
but we've had people drive in from Dickinson, from New Salem,
from Steel, so it is in an area as well.
We are about seventy five members strong. We meet from
September until April. We rehearse on Monday evenings for two hours,
(08:43):
and so it's a beautiful group of people who then
use their gifts and perform for the community. We have
two Christmas concerts. We perform once on a Saturday night
and a Sunday afternoon. We put on a Valentine show,
a serenade, and then we'll put on a spring concert
this spring. And this is a very special spring in
(09:05):
that we are going to Carnegie Hall in New York City,
so you might have seen some mention of that, and
this is also just a voluntary part of the choir
to go to this wonderful opportunity in New York City
in May that towards the end of May that will
be performing there with other members across the country.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
So Civic Chorus.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
Is the piece of that under the direction of doctor
Tom Porter, but other people from across the country can
see that and can join us, and so we're very
excited about that. And so people here in Bismarck, Mandan
can come to our spring concert and here the two
pieces that we'll be performing in New York City. So
we're excited about that. So please watch for information about that.
But it is a delightful mix of people and there's husbands, wives,
(09:50):
there's sisters, there's father daughters. It's just a wonderful, historical,
beautiful mix. We still have some original members that have
been in the chorus since it's started, and so it's
a really beautiful group of people that love choral singing.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I think it's interesting because you know how they say,
if you buy a car, you're going to start seeing
that car everywhere. Yes, now that I've become more aware
of the civic Choir, it's like, oh, I know way
more people and it than it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So another thing that you're really you've been involved in
is the leadership Bismarck Mandan, which it looks like you've
been involved for over thirty years. Can you just kind
of talk about that program?
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Sure, it's started with it with the bismarkman In Chamber
and which is now the Chamber EEDC with just the
idea of how do we grow some leaders.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
In the community.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
And so it's kind of a Bismarkman in Civics class.
So you learn a little bit about city government, you
learn about health and human services, you learn about the
legislative process, you learn about arts and culture, you learn
about our educational system. So each one of these days
that you meet has that type of theme and then
you have a graduation ceremony with the idea that you
(10:59):
learn about this brodd based part of Bismarck Mandan and
maybe there's a spark in there that excites you enough
that you might say, I want to get involved a
little bit more. Maybe you learn about a nonprofit organization
along the way. And also as part of this class,
if you will this program, you are split in the class.
There's anywhere from fifteen to eighteen members. You're split usually
(11:22):
into two or three groups. With a class project that
something that you give back to the community. You might
hear along the way of something I'd like to do,
something like that I see a need here And the
class comes with a project and so that's gives them
a taste of it, like what it's like to bring
people together to accomplish a goal. So last year, for example,
(11:44):
a class project was a wellness trail around some of
the property around Bismarck State College. So that was put together.
So that's just an example that came to mind of
that and so they'll be graduating in another class this
may So that's a Leadership Bismarck and program. And once
you finish the program, once you graduate, you are now
(12:04):
part of the alumni and so the alumni group continues
to meet. The alumni group will meet maybe every other
month and tour a new business, or go see a
nonprofit group, or hear a speaker about something happening in
the legislature. So this group continues to meet and learn
about processes, learn about programs, learn about new businesses, learn
about a hot topic in Businmark Mannon, and just continue
(12:28):
to network and meet the new class and continue to
network and get to know what other members of the
alumni group thirty years plus, so just a chance for
this leadership group to continue to grow and nurture the
leadership experience that they've had together.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I think it's interesting that they have the alumni So
it's not like you go through this program and it's done.
No redunication, right or stop every leadership program. I mean,
we've like some of us, have chosen to continue to
be in contact, but it's typically you're done. You're done.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
That's really interesting it is that we continue to do
that and look forward to it. So that has its
separate board of directors and programming, of looking for classes
and looking for opportunities to continue to work together in
the community.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
So you talk a little bit about being employed by
the Parks and rect historic. Can you talk to us
about when you were the community relations director, what your
job responsibilities.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Sure, you mentioned that a little bit in an introduction.
And first of all, I was so blessed to work
with just an amazing team of parks and recreation professionals,
just people that care so much about providing those type
of services to the community, Just people that I consider
dear friends and mentors of mine, and what they do
in the community is just admirable. And so I was
(13:41):
there for seventeen years as a community relations manager. As
you mentioned, so I was a part of the administration team.
So basically I always said, if it had anything to
do with a word, I was usually involved. So is
anything with writing for the website or for social media posts,
or for the as I said, the website, or the
activity guide that is printed and also put online. Now,
(14:02):
so those types of things I worked with. Any capital
campaigns that we did, if we were raising funds for
anything specific, whether it was purchasing a building or renovating
a facility or a park. I worked with those type
of things. I also worked with with the staff and
the Board of Park commissioners on strategic planning every year,
special events when there's national tournaments that came to town,
(14:24):
or if you remember the Prairie State Games it used
to be held, those kind of things, large events of
that type of things that we put together. I worked
on all those kinds of things, so a variety of things.
That was just a really rewarding use of my skills
and again a wonderful staff to work with there.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
So how did that kind of prepare you for your
position now on the park board?
Speaker 5 (14:46):
It was really a wonderful experience for the seventeen years
I was there. I certainly attended every park board meeting.
But it's certainly being different being on staff and certainly
being on the board, and so I certainly know the
difference there. But I certainly learned and appreciated what the
board did, and so I was able to work with
the board on certain projects and certainly valued what they
(15:07):
did and understood their role, and so it just kind
of went my appetite. So then when I retired from
the park district, I knew I wanted to continue to
serve the community in some way, and when the time
for the election was getting a little bit closer, I
looked at my husband and I said, you know, I
think I have a desire to run for the park board.
And he looked at me and he said, I know.
(15:29):
And so it just seemed a natural progression for me
from my experience there and for my love of what
parks and recreation does, to be able to serve the
community in another way with a service I was very
familiar with and one that I was in love with.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
So can you tell us then what being on the
board entails?
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Sure? So the board, I can tell you a little
bit about some of the kind of some of the basics.
The board meets once a month, as compared to some
of the other elected boards in Bismarck meet, you know,
twice a month. So the board meet meets once a month.
Five elected positions. It's staggered. There's four it's four year term.
It's so there's two elected once every four years and
(16:08):
three elected the next four year term.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
So that's staggered.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
So there's some consistency across the board.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
There's portfolios.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I'm right now, have the Facilities and Programs portfolio along
with Commissioner Julie Juski and so anything it has to
do with facilities, So think about that hard facilities like
the ice arenas and the pools and things like that,
and programs. So it's a basketball program, is a soccer
program where it's held on a field or.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Inside of facilities.
Speaker 5 (16:34):
So we look at all those reports that we get,
how many kids are in are enrolled, what time of
the year is, how many days of swimming did we
have all those kinds of things, What are the costs
of that, What are the revenues that are coming in?
So every kind of data that you can imagine that
involves facilities and programs, we take a look at that
as as a role in that board. And so I
(16:55):
work with the other commissioners. We meet, as I said,
once a month and we get all the reports. We
take look at that data. We also have management meetings
once a quarter and take a look at that information.
We rely on each other for our varied backgrounds and
experiences and to come with decisions and make the best
decisions possible that we can.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
And so I think that's.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Probably in a nutshell, but meeting monthly and looking at
your portfolios, listening to the community, and certainly working with
our executive director, Kevin Clipfull, and with the staff on
the information that they bring forward.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
To the board.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
So part of being on the park board then was
running for that position. What kind of surprised you about
running for a local office, and then maybe some things
that people should be aware of prior to running.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
I'm going to answer the second part of that. I
think what people should be aware of prior to running
is that it does take some work, that it takes
some planning.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
It takes kind of.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Gathering some a circle of friends of your own personal
board of I guess I would call it, and a
planning of running for a position like that.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
You don't do it alone.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
You certainly need help, and so I think the planning
of that is really important. I think you need to
think about the time commitment. It's not something that you
can walk into a meeting and just wing it. You
need to be prepared, you need to understand the issues.
You need to do some research on the time commitment.
I would do some research with past commissioners, I would
(18:29):
do some research with other local elected officials, just to
really understand that role. And its responsibility and it's time commitment.
I think you have to look at yourself and just
ask yourself, why.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
Are you running? Are you mad about something?
Speaker 5 (18:43):
We all know some people that they're mad about something
and they're going to go in there they're going to
fix it. Or are you running with the idea that
you want to make something better and you want to
improve life where you live and you want to work
with others to do that. I think people need to
understand it is a board position. You're working with others
to get things done. It's not an island undo itself.
(19:03):
And so I think you need to think about that
before you run. And I guess I think the thing
that surprised me is how supportive people are when you
say I'm interested in doing this. People are willing to help,
They're willing to sign your petition, They're willing to listen
to what you're interested in or why you're running. People
were very supportive and wanted to support or wanted to
(19:26):
hear what you had to say, and we're saying good
for you kind of thing. So it was a really
pleasant experience and I was really really pleased with the
support and so honored to be elected.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
So what did you need to do prior to running
for park board?
Speaker 5 (19:44):
So you do have to it's different for every entity
here in Bismarck. For example, a school board. If you're
interested in that, you just have to give a letter
to the business office and say I'd like to run
for the school board.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
So that's really different.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
But for the part word you have to get, you
have to get to you have to get signatures, and
now you're testing my memory, like close to three hundred signatures.
And so I had folks that had carried petitions for me,
and so they gathered those and turned them into me,
and then I had to turn those in and then
they had to be verified so that there weren't duplicates,
did they live in the city of Bismarck, those type
(20:18):
of things and had to be turned in and verified,
and then your name is officially placed on the ballot,
and then they draw names as to the placement on
the ballot. I love that there's still some things that
are old fashioned and draw names as to the placement
on the ballot. And so those are the official.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Things that you need to do in order to run
for the park bord.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Do you think there's any type of difference then in
running for a non partisan role versus one that's aligned
with a party.
Speaker 5 (20:47):
I do, as you mentioned, this is a non partisan role.
You don't have to be a Republican or Democrat or
independent or anything like that to run for city offices.
So I think it's a little bit simpler. It's actually
much simpler. But you don't have to go to a
nominating convention, you don't have to be endorsed. You can
raise your hand and say I would like to run
for this office and go through the processes I just mentioned.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
So I think it's.
Speaker 5 (21:08):
Much simpler and cleaner, and it just is a nice
way to run without having to go through all those
various party steps in order to run for office.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
And we talked a little bit when Julie Jeski was
on the program with us about how it seems that
there's a lot of people running for park board but
maybe not other officials like elected things. Do you think
there's a reason for that?
Speaker 5 (21:32):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
If it's a time commitment, is it the one meeting
a month, you know, I don't know. People just kind
of say when I said I was gonna well, that
seems kind of fun.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
It was kind of the thing.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
You know, because who doesn't love parks? So is it
less controversial? I don't know, because certainly people with schools,
i mean, get anything involved with children and education, there's
certainly varying opinions, so that might be that might be something.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
So that could be of the reasons.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
But that's the only things that I can I can
think of.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
So I'm a diehard fan of Parks and Rex, so
I would probably run just because of that.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
The whole time I'm in here, I'm like, I was
thinking this. I was like, there's that quote, be the
Leslie Nope of everything you do, and you are like,
that's the definition right there.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
That's all I've been.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
My son was in marketing and college and he put
my face in Leslie's body once and sent me the
little postcard. I was like, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I like, that's what I've been thinking to so much.
Like Leslie, you tend to also be a very positive person, yes,
but it doesn't like you are genuinely a positive person,
which is not always the case. How do you manage
kind of to remain positive on those days where you're
maybe feeling a little off.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You know, it has always been a choice. I really
don't have bad days.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
This is gonna sound really silly, but I just don't
believe in them. I mean, certainly all have. We all
have tragedy, we all have sadness, we might have grief.
But I just don't choose to have any bad days.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I just don't.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
I just think it's a waste of time. I've always
chose positive. I always choose to the glass is full, always,
the sun is shining, even I look outside and it's
a cloudy, rainy day to day on April first. But no,
I just always have chosen that. I mean, people do.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
Say, you know, what are you on and what have you?
Speaker 5 (23:23):
That kind of thing, But this is this is me,
and I'm just it's how I'm wired, just absolutely home wired.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
So how do you think then, that positivity has led
you to some of the professions you've gone into.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
You know, I it just has. It's been just like
a magnet. It's just I've always been drawn to that.
But you need to know that when I first went
to University of North Dakota, I was gon have this
business degree, and so I went into an accounting class
and I said, oh.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Lord, this is what no.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
So I literally opened up the college catalog. Do you
remember back in the day that a catalog, so you
actually look through it. And I fell into the lap,
the beautiful lap of the College of Arts and Sciences
and advertise publiculations. And I look through the college the
class listing, all the descriptions, and it was like clouds parted,
angels saying, and I ran to the office and said,
(24:09):
I'm switching majors.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
And I was like skipping down the dorm.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
I mean, it was just a wonderful thing because it
was just like those classes, the descriptions were where my
gifts were lying.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
And so I think that's what it is.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
It's like, if you use your gifts, if you find
out what parts of you can match, what type of
career that that was made for. And that's what I found,
and so that I was always drawn to those types
of things and involve people in connection and collaboration and
bringing things together and getting things done. And so I
have been truly blessed by being able to find those things,
(24:43):
or maybe they found me, because they really did. And
so I've been really again less to be able to
find those things to be able to use my gifts
in a job and get paid for it.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
It's like, really, how did this happen?
Speaker 5 (24:55):
So, yes, I've been I've been really lucky.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
So, then, spending over twenty years in the public relations field,
what have you noticed that's changed over that time?
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Yeah, and you know, I can't I didn't do accounting,
but I do the math. It was forty years and
again in marketing and public relations.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
But that's okay.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
Certainly the speed of information, because it was let's have
a campaign and let's do some direct mail pieces and
mail it to people. And now certainly social media and
immediacy and this thing that we had in our hands
was once a phone, but is now our personal computer
and our bank and our connection to the world, and
so information and public relations and image is immediate. And
(25:34):
so I think just the speed of information has gone
so quickly, and reputation can go very quickly to the
dark side or to the light side without us really
having influence over that. And so certainly that's something that
has changed rapidly in public relations. And so that's that's
a tough one.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So so then in that so I'm going to college
for communication, so I'm kind of seeing all these little
fractions of it, but in your roles then with like
PR did you ever have to do any of the
crisis management?
Speaker 5 (26:08):
Yes, yeah, lots of classes and actually went I was
afforded the wonderful responsibility of going to like a national
crisis communication conference and it was so eye opening and
then I didn't sleep for about three days because they
make you think of those most horrible situations and crisis
communication and what your message would be getting them all ready,
(26:30):
and so I had this file folder of already of
what would happen, I mean, all those terrible things, active shooter,
all those and it was just like, oh, just yeah,
but it makes you think about all those things and
what you would say and do.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
I mean it was like what do you say?
Speaker 5 (26:44):
What are you going to do? And what do you
want other people to do about it? And it was
just yes, both wonderful, frightening, awful, fabulous training all at
the same time.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
So yes.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
So I talked a little bit about in your bio
about your volunteer work. So why do you think it's
important for someone to be involved in our community?
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Oh my gosh, I just think you know, people have
all these gifts and I just think for you to
not use them is just such a waste.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
It's just.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
It's just you're supposed to be able to use your
gifts and put them to good use. So when people
have those gifts of financial knowledge, to be able to
be on someone's you know, finance committee and a nonprofit
is to be able to use that gift to help
someone else is just it's what you're.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
Supposed to do.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
You're supposed to be able to use your gifts to
help others, and it is rewarding to you, and it's
also rewarding for that organization who is wanting your assistance.
And so I've always said to.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
People, what is it that you like?
Speaker 5 (27:48):
Do you like older people, do you like animals, do
you like kids?
Speaker 4 (27:51):
Do you like music?
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Do you what is it that you are excited about?
And then what gift do you have to marry those two? Because,
believe me, there are organizations, there are businesses, there are
people in Bismarck, Manden that want your help and need
your help in some way. And you might think, oh,
that's not true.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
It absolutely is true.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
Whether it's an hour a week, whether it's two hours
a month, there are organizations and people that need help,
and even if it's a little bit, it just means
that someone else on that staff doesn't have to do
that and they can get to the hard stuff that
you don't have to do. And so I tell people
that with furry friends Rock and Rescue that oh I can't.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
I said, if you.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
Can do laundry, if you can walk a dog, if
you can scoop a litterbox, you are helping save an
animal and that is so so needed. So if you again, children,
older people, whatever it is new Americans that come to
our reading to kids, whatever it is, you have a
gift and it should be put.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
To good use.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
And there are people and organizations that need you.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
So that leads us right into the last question that
we ask everyone, and that's how would you encourage others
to be a good neighbor?
Speaker 5 (29:01):
I guess would just just be what I said is
just look at yourself. What gifts do you have that
you would like to share, and then reach out that
for organizations that you feel complete a marriage to a
compassion for a need to help. There's a match out
there for your skills and your interests. And I just
(29:21):
think it's just one more way that we can feel connected.
Sometimes we all feel a little bit burdened about what
might be happening nationally or even might be happening on
a state level. But you can make life better in
your bubble, and that not only in turn makes you
feel better, but you are using your gifts and you're
helping someone else in our community, and that's being a
good neighbor.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
Being a good neighbor.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Is reaching out, using what you have to help somebody else.
It's a win win for everybody. And I know that
sounds so treat, but you're helping someone else and it
just brings joy to both both sides, and so reach out,
help out right. Great.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Thank you so much Paula for joining us, and thanks
to everyone for tuning into These Are Your Neighbors. Thank
you for wanting to get to know your neighbors as
we hold these important and necessary conversations. If you found
this conversation as important as we do, please make sure
to share it with your neighbors.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Thank you for tuning in to These Are Your Neighbors,
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck's Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. We hope you
were inspired by the stories of citizens driving meaningful change
in Bismarck. For more info on the HRC, visit bizmarckand
dot gov
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
the City of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee and produced by
Dakota Media Access. The purpose of the podcast is to
celebrate change makers in Bismarck whose contributions break barriers, build connections,
and redefine what is possible for our community.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
Tia Jorgensen and Sargianna Woodski, both members of the City
of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee. Thank you for joining us
as we highlight the individuals driving positive change and making
a lasting impact on our community. Their stories inspire progress
in shape the future of our city.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Our guest today is Paula Redman. Paula graduated with a
BA in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of
North Dakota. She received her Masters in Strategic Planning from
the University of Mary. Paula is very involved with the
community of Bismarck. She is currently on the Bismark Board.
Paula was a community relations manager for the Bismarck Parks
and Rec District. In this job, she played the leading
(01:07):
role on the Bismarck Parks and Rec District team to
write the application in twenty sixteen and twenty seventeen for
the Gold Medal, the highest honor in the parks and
Recreation profession. Bismarck was a finalist in twenty sixteen and
was awarded this honor in twenty seventeen. Paula was also
the marketing manager for the Bismarck Tribune. Paula has been
on a number of boards in the Bismarck community, including
(01:29):
the Bismarck Downtowners Association, the Missouri Valley Area Wide United Way,
the Bismarck Mandate Civic Chorus, and the Bisman Community Foundation
Advisory Committee. Paula is also an active volunteer in volunteers
at heavens Helper's Close at seven oh one and Furry
Friends Rock and Rescue. Thank you so much for joining us, Paulow, Well, I'm.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Delighted to be here. It's nice to be with you both.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Thank you. So what made you come back to Bismarck
and make this home.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Well, I'm a Jamestone girl born and raised and, as
Sergiana said, graduated from the University of North Dakota in
nineteen eighty one. So yes, dating myself, but at that time,
the second wave of oil happenings was going on in
western North Dakota and Bismarck was kind of a hub
of that. So my husband and I decided at that
time hot things were happening in Bismarck. Jobs were churning,
(02:18):
and so we both moved here with the prospect of
finding our careers at that point. And also both sets
of my grandparents lived here, so Bismarck had always been
a loving, wonderful place to be, and so we both
moved here after graduating from college and said, let's let's
find our jobs. And so as I said, that was
in nineteen eighty one. So Bismarck is my beautiful home.
(02:40):
Happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Can you tell us what is meant by a master's
degree in strategic leadership?
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Sure that was after thirty years after leaving the University
of North Dakota. I said, Okay, I'm ready for that
next step in an education and challenge. And so I
was so pleased that the University of Mary offered this
next step in a master's degree in strategic leadership. It
was really an overarching degree in lots of broad based
(03:09):
of classes of having to do with project management, human resources,
organizational leadership. There was some things in finance ethics, so
it was just really broad based in leadership situations. It
taught me a lot about writing, It taught me a
(03:29):
lot about research, and it was just really great interchange
with all the other classmates that I had at that
same time.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Pretty fast paced.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
It made me feel young again because I did stay
up very late like I did in college, to get
that paper in at the last minute, and so it
was a really rewarding experience and I was so proud
that I was able to stay here in Bismarck, continue
my work and get a degree from the University of Mary.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Was there any fear of going back to college after
you've waited that long?
Speaker 5 (03:58):
Yes, I was less at times with fear, but also
knowing that I had the support of the Park District
supported me in this journey, and also knowing that every
other student had the same thing going on, so it
was a little bit different too, and not being an
in class situation that it was all online, but I
(04:18):
knew that I could give it my all and study
just as much as I could in college and learn.
I was excited to learn. I've always been a lifelong learner,
and so I kind of went after it with gust
owners really pleased with the experience that I had.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, I just decided to go back also, And it's
very interesting approaching it from a forty year old perspective
versus you know, twenty year olds. But I have also
pretty much wanted to break down and cry every night
to do the homework.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Absolutely, and these are people from all over the world
that you're participating in and the response to questions You're
realizing that they're answering at one am, but that's their
seven am things like that. So it was really kind
of fun having that discussion with people all over and
so it was fun gaining their insights into different questions.
So a very rewarding experience.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
So then something else that we noticed from your bios
that you have always been very involved in the community.
What is kind of your favorite volunteer role that you've had.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
You know, that is really difficult.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
I'd have to say, you know, the one that I'm
currently in, you know, and when you follow my volunteer path,
I said, you know, when my sons were little. We
have two grown sons, but they were little, I was
involved in their school, the PTO and the pack and
things like that, and then they finished through that involved
in church and kind of went through that part of
(05:43):
church council and things like that, and going through the
chairs that being involved in the United Way. So you
just whatever I'm doing at the time is what I'm
enjoying doing. Those are all been my choices of things
that I was passionate about and things I was interested in.
So I don't really know if there's a favorite. All
of them have been things that have been rewarding to
me and things that were interested in and things I
(06:04):
wanted to help with. So there hasn't been a favorite.
They've all been something I wanted to do and then
I wanted to help with.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
So I love it.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Moll.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
So in reading your experience or involvement, a lot of
it has been in the in choirs in the area.
Why do you think the arts are such an important
program in our community?
Speaker 5 (06:21):
Well, in speaking about choirs, you know that started when
I was growing up in Jamestown. Started it, you know,
in church, being in the in the children's choir, and
then I was in high school choir and in swing choir.
So yep, I can sing and dance and so then
moving up, then I got busy with my kids and
wasn't able to do those things. Still involved in some
church choir, but then Bismarck man in civic Chorus, which
(06:42):
is an audition choir. So that was another fear factor
to kind of overcome, but was so happy to be
involved in that. So all those things I think enrich
our communities.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Whether and what that is is depends on what you
like to do.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
When I was in the when I worked for Bismarck
Parks and Recreation, that are slogan was let's play. So
play is what you define it is play. Is it
basketball or is it ballet? Is it music or is
it hockey? So whatever defines your play. And I think
arts and culture and history and sports and all those
(07:17):
things just make a community richer. We didn't none of
us moved here or live here to work. We find
our joy in doing those things outside of our work life,
to go to different events, to experience committees, to experience
nonprofit organizations, to use our skills and our gifts in
other ways to make Vismarkmanden better. And so I think
(07:40):
arts and culture are such a rich part of our
fabric and they bring different organizations together. They didn't bring
different people together to all enjoy the same kind of
common things that you'd like.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
To do together.
Speaker 5 (07:52):
So I love what variety and diversity that we offer
here so that people can find what gives them joy
and what makes them happy.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Can you talk a little bit about the Bismarck man Ands.
Of of course I don't know a lot about that organization,
but can you kind of tell our listeners what that's
all about.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
I'd be happy to I've probably been involved for about
ten years. The organization has been around for almost fifty years,
and in three years we'll be celebrating our fiftieth anniversary.
So it is an audition choir. It's made up, as
it says, Bismarck mand AND's civic course. So it's people
from all walks of life.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
And we have some.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
College students all the way up to people well into
their seventies. And it's people from the area Bismarck Mandon,
but we've had people drive in from Dickinson, from New Salem,
from Steel, so it is in an area as well.
We are about seventy five members strong. We meet from
September until April. We rehearse on Monday evenings for two hours,
(08:43):
and so it's a beautiful group of people who then
use their gifts and perform for the community. We have
two Christmas concerts. We perform once on a Saturday night
and a Sunday afternoon. We put on a Valentine show,
a serenade, and then we'll put on a spring concert
this spring. And this is a very special spring in
(09:05):
that we are going to Carnegie Hall in New York City,
so you might have seen some mention of that, and
this is also just a voluntary part of the choir
to go to this wonderful opportunity in New York City
in May that towards the end of May that will
be performing there with other members across the country.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
So Civic Chorus.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
Is the piece of that under the direction of doctor
Tom Porter, but other people from across the country can
see that and can join us, and so we're very
excited about that. And so people here in Bismarck, Mandan
can come to our spring concert and here the two
pieces that we'll be performing in New York City. So
we're excited about that. So please watch for information about that.
But it is a delightful mix of people and there's husbands, wives,
(09:50):
there's sisters, there's father daughters. It's just a wonderful, historical,
beautiful mix. We still have some original members that have
been in the chorus since it's started, and so it's
a really beautiful group of people that love choral singing.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I think it's interesting because you know how they say,
if you buy a car, you're going to start seeing
that car everywhere. Yes, now that I've become more aware
of the civic Choir, it's like, oh, I know way
more people and it than it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So another thing that you're really you've been involved in
is the leadership Bismarck Mandan, which it looks like you've
been involved for over thirty years. Can you just kind
of talk about that program?
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Sure, it's started with it with the bismarkman In Chamber
and which is now the Chamber EEDC with just the
idea of how do we grow some leaders.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
In the community.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
And so it's kind of a Bismarkman in Civics class.
So you learn a little bit about city government, you
learn about health and human services, you learn about the
legislative process, you learn about arts and culture, you learn
about our educational system. So each one of these days
that you meet has that type of theme and then
you have a graduation ceremony with the idea that you
(10:59):
learn about this brodd based part of Bismarck Mandan and
maybe there's a spark in there that excites you enough
that you might say, I want to get involved a
little bit more. Maybe you learn about a nonprofit organization
along the way. And also as part of this class,
if you will this program, you are split in the class.
There's anywhere from fifteen to eighteen members. You're split usually
(11:22):
into two or three groups. With a class project that
something that you give back to the community. You might
hear along the way of something I'd like to do,
something like that I see a need here And the
class comes with a project and so that's gives them
a taste of it, like what it's like to bring
people together to accomplish a goal. So last year, for example,
(11:44):
a class project was a wellness trail around some of
the property around Bismarck State College. So that was put together.
So that's just an example that came to mind of
that and so they'll be graduating in another class this
may So that's a Leadership Bismarck and program. And once
you finish the program, once you graduate, you are now
(12:04):
part of the alumni and so the alumni group continues
to meet. The alumni group will meet maybe every other
month and tour a new business, or go see a
nonprofit group, or hear a speaker about something happening in
the legislature. So this group continues to meet and learn
about processes, learn about programs, learn about new businesses, learn
about a hot topic in Businmark Mannon, and just continue
(12:28):
to network and meet the new class and continue to
network and get to know what other members of the
alumni group thirty years plus, so just a chance for
this leadership group to continue to grow and nurture the
leadership experience that they've had together.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I think it's interesting that they have the alumni So
it's not like you go through this program and it's done.
No redunication, right or stop every leadership program. I mean,
we've like some of us, have chosen to continue to
be in contact, but it's typically you're done. You're done.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
That's really interesting it is that we continue to do
that and look forward to it. So that has its
separate board of directors and programming, of looking for classes
and looking for opportunities to continue to work together in
the community.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
So you talk a little bit about being employed by
the Parks and rect historic. Can you talk to us
about when you were the community relations director, what your
job responsibilities.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Sure, you mentioned that a little bit in an introduction.
And first of all, I was so blessed to work
with just an amazing team of parks and recreation professionals,
just people that care so much about providing those type
of services to the community, Just people that I consider
dear friends and mentors of mine, and what they do
in the community is just admirable. And so I was
(13:41):
there for seventeen years as a community relations manager. As
you mentioned, so I was a part of the administration team.
So basically I always said, if it had anything to
do with a word, I was usually involved. So is
anything with writing for the website or for social media posts,
or for the as I said, the website, or the
activity guide that is printed and also put online. Now,
(14:02):
so those types of things I worked with. Any capital
campaigns that we did, if we were raising funds for
anything specific, whether it was purchasing a building or renovating
a facility or a park. I worked with those type
of things. I also worked with with the staff and
the Board of Park commissioners on strategic planning every year,
special events when there's national tournaments that came to town,
(14:24):
or if you remember the Prairie State Games it used
to be held, those kind of things, large events of
that type of things that we put together. I worked
on all those kinds of things, so a variety of things.
That was just a really rewarding use of my skills
and again a wonderful staff to work with there.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
So how did that kind of prepare you for your
position now on the park board?
Speaker 5 (14:46):
It was really a wonderful experience for the seventeen years
I was there. I certainly attended every park board meeting.
But it's certainly being different being on staff and certainly
being on the board, and so I certainly know the
difference there. But I certainly learned and appreciated what the
board did, and so I was able to work with
the board on certain projects and certainly valued what they
(15:07):
did and understood their role, and so it just kind
of went my appetite. So then when I retired from
the park district, I knew I wanted to continue to
serve the community in some way, and when the time
for the election was getting a little bit closer, I
looked at my husband and I said, you know, I
think I have a desire to run for the park board.
And he looked at me and he said, I know.
(15:29):
And so it just seemed a natural progression for me
from my experience there and for my love of what
parks and recreation does, to be able to serve the
community in another way with a service I was very
familiar with and one that I was in love with.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
So can you tell us then what being on the
board entails?
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Sure? So the board, I can tell you a little
bit about some of the kind of some of the basics.
The board meets once a month, as compared to some
of the other elected boards in Bismarck meet, you know,
twice a month. So the board meet meets once a month.
Five elected positions. It's staggered. There's four it's four year term.
It's so there's two elected once every four years and
(16:08):
three elected the next four year term.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
So that's staggered.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
So there's some consistency across the board.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
There's portfolios.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I'm right now, have the Facilities and Programs portfolio along
with Commissioner Julie Juski and so anything it has to
do with facilities, So think about that hard facilities like
the ice arenas and the pools and things like that,
and programs. So it's a basketball program, is a soccer
program where it's held on a field or.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Inside of facilities.
Speaker 5 (16:34):
So we look at all those reports that we get,
how many kids are in are enrolled, what time of
the year is, how many days of swimming did we
have all those kinds of things, What are the costs
of that, What are the revenues that are coming in?
So every kind of data that you can imagine that
involves facilities and programs, we take a look at that
as as a role in that board. And so I
(16:55):
work with the other commissioners. We meet, as I said,
once a month and we get all the reports. We
take look at that data. We also have management meetings
once a quarter and take a look at that information.
We rely on each other for our varied backgrounds and
experiences and to come with decisions and make the best
decisions possible that we can.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
And so I think that's.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Probably in a nutshell, but meeting monthly and looking at
your portfolios, listening to the community, and certainly working with
our executive director, Kevin Clipfull, and with the staff on
the information that they bring forward.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
To the board.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
So part of being on the park board then was
running for that position. What kind of surprised you about
running for a local office, and then maybe some things
that people should be aware of prior to running.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
I'm going to answer the second part of that. I
think what people should be aware of prior to running
is that it does take some work, that it takes
some planning.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
It takes kind of.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Gathering some a circle of friends of your own personal
board of I guess I would call it, and a
planning of running for a position like that.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
You don't do it alone.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
You certainly need help, and so I think the planning
of that is really important. I think you need to
think about the time commitment. It's not something that you
can walk into a meeting and just wing it. You
need to be prepared, you need to understand the issues.
You need to do some research on the time commitment.
I would do some research with past commissioners, I would
(18:29):
do some research with other local elected officials, just to
really understand that role. And its responsibility and it's time commitment.
I think you have to look at yourself and just
ask yourself, why.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
Are you running? Are you mad about something?
Speaker 5 (18:43):
We all know some people that they're mad about something
and they're going to go in there they're going to
fix it. Or are you running with the idea that
you want to make something better and you want to
improve life where you live and you want to work
with others to do that. I think people need to
understand it is a board position. You're working with others
to get things done. It's not an island undo itself.
(19:03):
And so I think you need to think about that
before you run. And I guess I think the thing
that surprised me is how supportive people are when you
say I'm interested in doing this. People are willing to help,
They're willing to sign your petition, They're willing to listen
to what you're interested in or why you're running. People
were very supportive and wanted to support or wanted to
(19:26):
hear what you had to say, and we're saying good
for you kind of thing. So it was a really
pleasant experience and I was really really pleased with the
support and so honored to be elected.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
So what did you need to do prior to running
for park board?
Speaker 5 (19:44):
So you do have to it's different for every entity
here in Bismarck. For example, a school board. If you're
interested in that, you just have to give a letter
to the business office and say I'd like to run
for the school board.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
So that's really different.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
But for the part word you have to get, you
have to get to you have to get signatures, and
now you're testing my memory, like close to three hundred signatures.
And so I had folks that had carried petitions for me,
and so they gathered those and turned them into me,
and then I had to turn those in and then
they had to be verified so that there weren't duplicates,
did they live in the city of Bismarck, those type
(20:18):
of things and had to be turned in and verified,
and then your name is officially placed on the ballot,
and then they draw names as to the placement on
the ballot. I love that there's still some things that
are old fashioned and draw names as to the placement
on the ballot. And so those are the official.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Things that you need to do in order to run
for the park bord.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Do you think there's any type of difference then in
running for a non partisan role versus one that's aligned
with a party.
Speaker 5 (20:47):
I do, as you mentioned, this is a non partisan role.
You don't have to be a Republican or Democrat or
independent or anything like that to run for city offices.
So I think it's a little bit simpler. It's actually
much simpler. But you don't have to go to a
nominating convention, you don't have to be endorsed. You can
raise your hand and say I would like to run
for this office and go through the processes I just mentioned.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
So I think it's.
Speaker 5 (21:08):
Much simpler and cleaner, and it just is a nice
way to run without having to go through all those
various party steps in order to run for office.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
And we talked a little bit when Julie Jeski was
on the program with us about how it seems that
there's a lot of people running for park board but
maybe not other officials like elected things. Do you think
there's a reason for that?
Speaker 5 (21:32):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
If it's a time commitment, is it the one meeting
a month, you know, I don't know. People just kind
of say when I said I was gonna well, that
seems kind of fun.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
It was kind of the thing.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
You know, because who doesn't love parks? So is it
less controversial? I don't know, because certainly people with schools,
i mean, get anything involved with children and education, there's
certainly varying opinions, so that might be that might be something.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
So that could be of the reasons.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
But that's the only things that I can I can
think of.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
So I'm a diehard fan of Parks and Rex, so
I would probably run just because of that.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
The whole time I'm in here, I'm like, I was
thinking this. I was like, there's that quote, be the
Leslie Nope of everything you do, and you are like,
that's the definition right there.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
That's all I've been.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
My son was in marketing and college and he put
my face in Leslie's body once and sent me the
little postcard. I was like, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I like, that's what I've been thinking to so much.
Like Leslie, you tend to also be a very positive person, yes,
but it doesn't like you are genuinely a positive person,
which is not always the case. How do you manage
kind of to remain positive on those days where you're
maybe feeling a little off.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You know, it has always been a choice. I really
don't have bad days.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
This is gonna sound really silly, but I just don't
believe in them. I mean, certainly all have. We all
have tragedy, we all have sadness, we might have grief.
But I just don't choose to have any bad days.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I just don't.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
I just think it's a waste of time. I've always
chose positive. I always choose to the glass is full, always,
the sun is shining, even I look outside and it's
a cloudy, rainy day to day on April first. But no,
I just always have chosen that. I mean, people do.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
Say, you know, what are you on and what have you?
Speaker 5 (23:23):
That kind of thing, But this is this is me,
and I'm just it's how I'm wired, just absolutely home wired.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
So how do you think then, that positivity has led
you to some of the professions you've gone into.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
You know, I it just has. It's been just like
a magnet. It's just I've always been drawn to that.
But you need to know that when I first went
to University of North Dakota, I was gon have this
business degree, and so I went into an accounting class
and I said, oh.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Lord, this is what no.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
So I literally opened up the college catalog. Do you
remember back in the day that a catalog, so you
actually look through it. And I fell into the lap,
the beautiful lap of the College of Arts and Sciences
and advertise publiculations. And I look through the college the
class listing, all the descriptions, and it was like clouds parted,
angels saying, and I ran to the office and said,
(24:09):
I'm switching majors.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
And I was like skipping down the dorm.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
I mean, it was just a wonderful thing because it
was just like those classes, the descriptions were where my
gifts were lying.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
And so I think that's what it is.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
It's like, if you use your gifts, if you find
out what parts of you can match, what type of
career that that was made for. And that's what I found,
and so that I was always drawn to those types
of things and involve people in connection and collaboration and
bringing things together and getting things done. And so I
have been truly blessed by being able to find those things,
(24:43):
or maybe they found me, because they really did. And
so I've been really again less to be able to
find those things to be able to use my gifts
in a job and get paid for it.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
It's like, really, how did this happen?
Speaker 5 (24:55):
So, yes, I've been I've been really lucky.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
So, then, spending over twenty years in the public relations field,
what have you noticed that's changed over that time?
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Yeah, and you know, I can't I didn't do accounting,
but I do the math. It was forty years and
again in marketing and public relations.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
But that's okay.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
Certainly the speed of information, because it was let's have
a campaign and let's do some direct mail pieces and
mail it to people. And now certainly social media and
immediacy and this thing that we had in our hands
was once a phone, but is now our personal computer
and our bank and our connection to the world, and
so information and public relations and image is immediate. And
(25:34):
so I think just the speed of information has gone
so quickly, and reputation can go very quickly to the
dark side or to the light side without us really
having influence over that. And so certainly that's something that
has changed rapidly in public relations. And so that's that's
a tough one.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So so then in that so I'm going to college
for communication, so I'm kind of seeing all these little
fractions of it, but in your roles then with like
PR did you ever have to do any of the
crisis management?
Speaker 5 (26:08):
Yes, yeah, lots of classes and actually went I was
afforded the wonderful responsibility of going to like a national
crisis communication conference and it was so eye opening and
then I didn't sleep for about three days because they
make you think of those most horrible situations and crisis
communication and what your message would be getting them all ready,
(26:30):
and so I had this file folder of already of
what would happen, I mean, all those terrible things, active shooter,
all those and it was just like, oh, just yeah,
but it makes you think about all those things and
what you would say and do.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
I mean it was like what do you say?
Speaker 5 (26:44):
What are you going to do? And what do you
want other people to do about it? And it was
just yes, both wonderful, frightening, awful, fabulous training all at
the same time.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
So yes.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
So I talked a little bit about in your bio
about your volunteer work. So why do you think it's
important for someone to be involved in our community?
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Oh my gosh, I just think you know, people have
all these gifts and I just think for you to
not use them is just such a waste.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
It's just.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
It's just you're supposed to be able to use your
gifts and put them to good use. So when people
have those gifts of financial knowledge, to be able to
be on someone's you know, finance committee and a nonprofit
is to be able to use that gift to help
someone else is just it's what you're.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
Supposed to do.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
You're supposed to be able to use your gifts to
help others, and it is rewarding to you, and it's
also rewarding for that organization who is wanting your assistance.
And so I've always said to.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
People, what is it that you like?
Speaker 5 (27:48):
Do you like older people, do you like animals, do
you like kids?
Speaker 4 (27:51):
Do you like music?
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Do you what is it that you are excited about?
And then what gift do you have to marry those two? Because,
believe me, there are organizations, there are businesses, there are
people in Bismarck, Manden that want your help and need
your help in some way. And you might think, oh,
that's not true.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
It absolutely is true.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
Whether it's an hour a week, whether it's two hours
a month, there are organizations and people that need help,
and even if it's a little bit, it just means
that someone else on that staff doesn't have to do
that and they can get to the hard stuff that
you don't have to do. And so I tell people
that with furry friends Rock and Rescue that oh I can't.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
I said, if you.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
Can do laundry, if you can walk a dog, if
you can scoop a litterbox, you are helping save an
animal and that is so so needed. So if you again, children,
older people, whatever it is new Americans that come to
our reading to kids, whatever it is, you have a
gift and it should be put.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
To good use.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
And there are people and organizations that need you.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
So that leads us right into the last question that
we ask everyone, and that's how would you encourage others
to be a good neighbor?
Speaker 5 (29:01):
I guess would just just be what I said is
just look at yourself. What gifts do you have that
you would like to share, and then reach out that
for organizations that you feel complete a marriage to a
compassion for a need to help. There's a match out
there for your skills and your interests. And I just
(29:21):
think it's just one more way that we can feel connected.
Sometimes we all feel a little bit burdened about what
might be happening nationally or even might be happening on
a state level. But you can make life better in
your bubble, and that not only in turn makes you
feel better, but you are using your gifts and you're
helping someone else in our community, and that's being a
good neighbor.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
Being a good neighbor.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Is reaching out, using what you have to help somebody else.
It's a win win for everybody. And I know that
sounds so treat, but you're helping someone else and it
just brings joy to both both sides, and so reach out,
help out right. Great.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Thank you so much Paula for joining us, and thanks
to everyone for tuning into These Are Your Neighbors. Thank
you for wanting to get to know your neighbors as
we hold these important and necessary conversations. If you found
this conversation as important as we do, please make sure
to share it with your neighbors.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Thank you for tuning in to These Are Your Neighbors,
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck's Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. We hope you
were inspired by the stories of citizens driving meaningful change
in Bismarck. For more info on the HRC, visit bizmarckand
dot gov
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