Centennial Olympic Park

By Ivy Walker

On Tuesday, May 27 we visited the Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. We met with AJ Pace, Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator, in the amphitheatre in the park. AJ is a recent graduate and enlightened us on what steps he took to get his position and the importance of internships.

He started out with an internship in Las Vegas and found a love for public relations within the hospitality industry. Now he helps to plan sponsored events in three different venues—Centennial Olympic Park, The Georgia World Congress and The Georgia Dome. He also does all of the graphic design work for their publications. AJ oversees public relations and marketing in all three locations. He told us about the internship opportunities in all of the locations and a little about what happens on each property.

Since the park is located in downtown Atlanta where a tornado hit recently, AJ explained to us how they dealt with crisis management. The tornado hit the Georgia World Congress building and there was significant damage. His staff made efforts to assure that the facts the press received were accurate and given out quickly. Also as a part of their crisis management plan, the governor came and gave a press tour of the building so that everyone got the same information and that information was corroborated by the company.

AJ was a wonderful speaker and really gave insight on what it’s like to be right out of college and the best way to seek out a job with success.