by Juliana Rosati, public relations and special events director at George School; Chapter Chat feature editor for PRSA Philly Membership Committee

Welcome to “Meet the PR Pro,” a column designed to highlight professionals in the PRSA Philly chapter through conversations that reveal career paths, industry advice and a touch of humor. For this edition, we interviewed Lou Grossman, APR, principal of Grossman Public Relations Counselors LLC in Yardley, Pa.

In addition to running his PR firm with his wife, Amy Grossman, Lou is an adjunct professor of communications at Temple and Arcadia universities and serves PRSA Philly as an assembly delegate. He received the chapter’s 2009 Anthony Fulginiti Award for Commitment to Education.

How would you describe your daily responsibilities at Grossman Public Relations Counselors?
I work on various accounts of the firm with Amy and also do some consulting on my own, usually in the crisis communications area and in lobbying. I also work on new business development, attending networking events and trying to uncover new leads on a regular basis. Finally, I keep a constant eye on the bottom line — expenses, taxes, accounts receivable and payable and cash flow.

What have been some of the challenges and rewards of forming your own firm?
The greatest reward has been surviving and running our own business for the past 16 years. There is no higher reward than being able to work on your own schedule, following your own instincts and according to your own ethical barometer.

Learning the new technologies over the years has been an ongoing challenge. When I first started my business in 1995, I was still learning about the World Wide Web and something called “e-commerce.” E-mail was just taking over. Technology has come so far in the past 16 years.

The other great challenge has been to withstand the brutal economic realities that took place after 9/11 and after the crash a couple of years ago.

You have been a PR practitioner for over 30 years. What are the most significant changes you have witnessed in the PR field over the years?
The explosion of technology, as I have already mentioned. The other great change is the integration of public relations, marketing, advertising and social media. Communications are not as compartmentalized as they used to be.

What was the best advice you received when you were just starting out in your career?
One of the best pieces of advice I got was to join PRSA and to take the APR. In fact, having an APR was a requirement for advancement at one of the agencies where I worked in the early part of my career.

How would you characterize the relationship between your client work and your teaching career? Do the two pursuits influence each other?
Yes, they do influence each other. Teaching keeps me sharper in my own professional life because I am always learning new things from students — what their generation is thinking, what their priorities are and what they think the future will bring. My client work helps my students learn because they can understand the text better by hearing my real-life challenges and successes.

I also firmly believe that what separates a true professional in our field is adherence to a strict code of ethics. In the first day of every class, I try to impress upon my students the importance of ethical behavior on behalf of clients.

Your students at Temple and Arcadia are graduating into a difficult job market. What advice do you have for them, or anyone else who wants to enter the PR field today?
I get this question from students all the time.

I tell them to get as many internships as they can and to be the best intern they possibly can be. If the internship requires menial tasks, I tell them to be the best at those menial tasks and ask for more and more work. Second, I tell them to try to bring to their job search as many marketable skills as possible — knowledge of social media, expertise in press release writing, photography, video. Bring something to the table that will be valuable to employers, I say.

I tell them to network as much as they can. Treat the job search as a job. You will need to work your butt off, and you will need to have patience.

What news sources do you read or tune in to on a daily basis?
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bucks County Courier Times and KYW 1060 for local news. Wall Street Journal, CNN, sometimes Fox News.

Outside of work, how do you enjoy spending your time?
I am a hockey fanatic, devoted totally to our Flyers. I don’t go to as many games as I used to, but I watch most of them. I also watch most Phillies and Eagles games.

Fishing is another interest — deep sea game fishing, reef fishing and flats fishing for bonefish. I have fished all over Florida, the Caribbean and once in Alaska. I also was thrilled earlier this year to fish off the coast of Senegal, West Africa, where my oldest daughter works.

And I am still a rock and roll fan. I love Mick and Keith, Steely Dan, Clapton, ZZ Top, The Who and anything up to about 1985 or so. I went to see Tom Petty on my 59th birthday with my wife and two daughters.

What are your top three favorite books?
“Night” by Elie Wiesel, “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway and “The Natural” by Bernard Malamud.

Do you have a favorite example of PR-themed humor?
PR-themed humor? Is there such a thing? Bernays was no Eddie Murphy, you know.