News Articles

Member Profile: Charles Roberts

Get to Know Your Fellow PRSA Members!

Charles Roberts
Communication Specialist, Delaware North Companies

1. Where did you go to college and what was your degree?
I graduated from Buffalo State in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

2. Hong long have you been a member of PRSA?
June 2013

3. Why did you join PRSA?
It was something that I had been meaning to do for quite some time, but once I attended a PRSA event – at which I realized the organization’s potential – I decided it was time to put those thoughts to action.

4. What is your position with PRSA? What do you enjoy the most or what have you learned?
I am a member of the Buffalo-Niagara chapter. In terms of what I have learned as a result of my membership, at this point, it’s more so limited to my expectations, including professional development and networking.  

5. What do you wish you’d known when you started working in public relations?
I studied quite a bit of public relations in college, and later dealt with public relations professionals while working as a reporter, so nothing really caught me too off guard.

6. What is the best part of your job?
The company I work for operates in some of the coolest places on earth – from awe-inspiring national parks to the World Series and Stanley Cup Final. So, being in a position to tell the company’s story – experiencing all of the aforementioned – has been and continues to be an incredible journey.  

7. What is the toughest lesson you have learned on the job?
To be absolutely, positively certain that everyone – everyone! – is on the same page with a message or idea.

8. What do you (or would you) tell local college students majoring in public relations or young professionals who may seek career advice from you?
This field requires a great deal of patience and attention to detail. What’s more, if you are looking for a typical 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. job, you may be looking in the wrong direction; news happens around the clock. Finally, one of the most important bits of advice: Please know how to think – and write – like a journalist.

 9. What’s your favorite activity or place to go in Western New York?
That’s a tough question to answer, because there’s a lot that I love about Western New York. But for the sake of not being vague, I enjoy kayaking on the region’s various waterways, particularly on the Lake Erie outer harbor.

10. If you could ghostwrite a major speech for any person, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Theodore Roosevelt. Worst case scenario, his reaction to reading my speech might have resulted in another of his timeless quotes.