Rising Stars: Meet Lisa Shenkle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Shenkle.

Hi Lisa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
People – teachers, family, and friends – have been telling me my entire life I should write a book. Unfortunately, because I actually worked in book publishing, I know that it’s not as simple as being a ‘good writer’, and very few people have the financial infrastructure to craft a potential bestseller without working a ‘real’ job!

I’ve been seriously writing since the age of nine and, yet, had no idea how I could – at the time – turn that skill into something useful. Growing up within five miles of Washington, DC, most of us took it for granted we would work for a federal agency, a national association, on Capitol Hill, or in law enforcement. In the era that I grew up, most young women were expected to become nurses, teachers, or secretaries.

Through a short series of introductions, starting with a sorority sister, I met some very creative people in book publishing in DC, and the then Vice President of Publicity (who is a lifelong friend and mentor), took a chance on me as her assistant publicist.

At the time, I was also working overnights on weekends at a radio station an hour south of home. After a couple of years, I began to create some special news segments for other stations outside of the DC market. That was the beginning of my life in professional communications. I didn’t realize then that producing radio shows and interviewing people for stories would eventually help me in my PR career – but, it certainly played a large role in attaining a deep skillset.

Learning about promotion, publicity and public relations not only played to my writing prowess, but it also taught me how to creatively promote something with a zero budget, how to develop collaborations with community and business partners and, but it was also the root of me becoming the “connector” I am today. I live for connecting great ideas, people, projects, businesses, government, and non-profits so everyone gets the maximum benefit out of every relationship and project. In addition, I’ve been tasked as the project manager throughout my career of producing small, and large scale events.

I’ve worked in public broadcasting, promoting both a local network as well as national PBS programs from cooking shows and documentaries to MotorWeek, the television’s longest-running automotive magazine show. I’ve been fortunate enough to work on projects directly with Billy Joel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chef Jacque Pepin, among others, but have also enjoyed some of my best work developing outreach projects with clients that help uplift, educate and make a difference in the community.

It was while working on statewide transportation issues for the State of Maryland that I acquired skills in crisis communications, wrote Governor’s speeches, launched statewide outreach campaigns, and became the public spokesperson for several agencies.

I’ve had my own public and media relations consultancy since 1998 and have continued to represent clients since we moved to Jacksonville, including a local Jacksonville book author. I’m a former dog blogger with a major city publication in Baltimore – something I will absolutely re-visit because my love of dogs, and my concern about their welfare, married to my desire to share information about them, is just too strong.

Over the last several years, traveling between Northeast Florida and near Annapolis, Maryland, I became inspired to share my love of all things southern and coastal – which brings me to my latest business venture: Magnolia Blue. This concept of a “front porch” is a place where we bring our favorite things we love about the American south, our awe of coastal waterways, and curate and celebrate all of that, along with creating a new southern heritage.

What do I have in store for Jacksonville? After a career of promoting restaurants, chefs, and attractions and working with concierge associations in two major markets, as Certified Tourism Ambassador – I will be launching a new hospitality industry concept in Jacksonville.

As the largest geographic city in the country, it’s important now, more than ever, to bring together the best Jacksonville has to offer, create business networking, and showcase opportunities, in order for us to keep up with the growth, and treat our locals like special guests in their own town!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think the challenges in my public relations career are different than those of other people who aspire to succeed.

The need for acceptance, patience, understanding, and latitude to succeed, or hit a bump, is universal. For me, being the youngest member in an executive board room sounded great on paper, but appearances matter – and I was frequently thought to be too young, even at 35, to be taken seriously. It took a lot of work for me to not only gain a seat at the table but then be accepted by the very people who wanted me there in the first place.

Starting a new business at this stage in my life, while it incorporates a great many of my writing, media, and public relations skills, is entirely different – the learning curve of social media, building a website, learning how to run an online retail business, defining my own brand and doing it largely on my own – is certainly making me push through boundaries and learning to accept any mistakes as part of the learning curve.

Lastly, I’ve come to Jacksonville as an adult, so trying to create a new network, without the benefit of working in a regular office, as an independent, a large portion of my job is trying to meet new people and break through barriers. I started with my sorority alumnae group – and that really helped to give me some roots. On the positive side, most everyone I’ve met over the time I’ve been here has been extraordinarily nice – how often can you say that about a new city?

I just want to have the chance to prove I have value and can contribute to this awesome city!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My greatest asset is connecting people – to one another, and to projects and programs. My experience as a public relations practitioner is definitely unique to me. I’m a hybrid of entertainment, non-profit, government, association (both national and regional), and transportation.

The most recent series on Masterpiece Theatre of Sherlock Holmes, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, has Sherlock talking about his “mind palace” – his mental hard drive where he keeps vast amounts of intelligence. One of my greatest assets is MY “mind palace.” It’s the place I go to creatively develop partnerships, leverage assets of each contact, and bring like-minded people together to craft the most unusual, but successful, joint campaigns.

Since moving to Jacksonville, and driving back and forth to Maryland, I’ve become obsessed with the natural beauty of the American coastal south as I drive past the green and gold marshes and stop for peach ice cream or try to learn to appreciate boiled peanuts. It, along with the collective southern traditions from Maryland to the Gulf Coast, inspired me to create a brand called Magnolia Blue Southern Coastal Living. Part blog, part social media, and soon-to-be, part retail – showcasing southern “cargo, from artists and entrepreneurs from throughout the south, or those purveyors who have a southern sensibility.

The concept of Magnolia Blue is to become a virtual community – where we support one another, share information and ideas, our best southern travel tips, favorite museums, and attractions, and help give life to independent entrepreneurs and artists. Our tagline “Southern Skies and Rising Tides” is based on the concept that ‘the rising tide lifts all boats.” We cannot lose if we all do this together!

It’s been so fun promoting other businesses over the last three decades, I look forward to creating events in support of my own business – like pop-ups in various southern cities, and using my experience of producing everything from press conferences and tourism fam (familiarization) tours, restaurant openings and book signings to elevate not only Magnolia Blue, and a future hospitality organization in Jacksonville, but fellow entrepreneurs and creatives.

My challenge in 2021 was that I spent nearly a year in Pennsylvania, along with my brother, full-time caregiving for our mother. I had to put the larger retail launch of Magnolia Blue on hold. As an elder advocate since 2004 when I worked on a national PBS program on caregiving, I always knew caregiving was extremely difficult. I had no real idea until I was tasked with taking over, along with my brother, our mother’s constant care. In doing so, I learned so much about myself and our family – and while it was challenging mentally, physically, and emotionally, it was a privilege.

We moved our mom here to Jacksonville where she has improved and is now living her best life. She loves the sun, the sea turtles, and being so close to us here in Jacksonville. Now that she has become most recently settled, I’ll have more time to devote to the dream of Magnolia Blue. I’m currently working with a coastal artist on a collaboration for our first large retail launch product – and I’m super excited!

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Driving from the DC area to visit my grandparents in Northwestern Pennsylvania as a child. It meant leaving my friends back home for a while, but the days were slow, my family shared hilarious stories, we sat on both front and back porches and waved to people we knew – and even those we didn’t.

The pinnacle of our visit was always a drive after dinner and a stop at the Dairy Queen! We would each get something, including my grandparents- and I recall never being able to get my grandmother to order anything other than a small vanilla cone, even though, I had accepted the challenge to try!

We would drive over to a nearby dam where Tiger Lillies formed a thick orange fringe around the perimeter of the dam and, other days, I would go blackberry picking with my grandfather. In those moments, life stood still and somehow it felt like it would last forever, frozen in time. I truly cherish the peace of those moments.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.maggieblue.com
• Instagram: @southernskiesnrisingtides
• Facebook: @MagnoliaBlueSouthernCoastalLiving
• Other: https://lisa621.wixsite.com/lisaprstudio