Mayoral candidate Trish DeBerry–Mejia believes understanding of advancedcommunications critical to attracting 21st century jobs
Being in the right place at the right timeoften delivers unexpected surprises andrewards.
For Trish DeBerry–Mejia, it led to asuccessful career in broadcast news andlater to an even more exciting professionas partner of a high–profile marketing andcommunications agency.
While at Trinity University, she beganan internship at KENS–TV. As a result ofa strong work ethic – coming in to workas scheduled and offering to do more thanwhat was required – she quickly caught theattention of the news room leadership.
“As it turned out, one day a producer calledin sick and the newsroom was in a bind.Because I was there, I had an opportunity tostep–in, and the rest, as they say, is history,”recalled Trish, a partner of Guerra DeBerryCoody Marketing & Communications. InJanuary, she threw her hat in the ring in themayoral race.
It is exactly the convergence of two themes– showing up makes all the difference in theworld, and timing is everything – that havecome to typify her professional career. Afterseveral years at KENS as a reporter, anchorand producer, she decided to leave the newsbusiness and try her hand at public relations.
“The fact of the matter is that in the newsbusiness in order to progress in the industryyou have to move form market–to–market,”Trish said. “I wasn’t quite sure what my futurewould be, but I knew it would be in SanAntonio. I didn’t want to leave.”
She joined former KENS–TV colleagueFrank Guerra at a local advertising agency.That path was a short stint. Guerra left andstarted his own communications firm, FrankGuerra & Company, and took Trish with him.
One year later the name on the doorchanged to Guerra DeBerry Marketing &Communications, and shortly after that,partner Tess Coody became the third andfinal partner.
“The key to the agency’s success is wovenin the strengths of the partners and theintegrity of the organization. For Trish, it’sabout having a strong business sense and adetermination to be in constant pursuit ofexcellence,” Coody said.
In addition to its stable of private sectorclients with various public relations needs,Guerra DeBerry Coody Marketing andCommunications (GDC) soon becamesynonymous with political communications.Guerra had managed former U.S. Rep.Henry Bonilla’s race, and as a result gainedsome clients through Bonilla, including Gov.George W. Bush as he made his race for thepresidency.
“Political communications was never onmy radar. Frank did that. In fact, when EdGarza asked me to manage his 2001 mayoralbid, I told him he had the wrong partner andto talk to Frank,” said Trish.
But Garza knew who he wanted to runhis race. After weeks of back–and–forthdiscussions, Trish agreed to run his campaign“That was truly my first entree into politics,and boy, did I get baptized by fire,” shesaid. “Everyone has an opinion and thecomplexities of managing a mayor’s race arehuge. However, they are also a lot of fun, andcan be very rewarding.”
Garza defeated Councilman Tim Bannwolfto become only the second Hispanic mayorto lead the city. The political bug bit Trishthat year. In addition to working on Garza’scampaign, she volunteered on the SanAntonio Fluoridation for Everyone (SAFE)Campaign. In 2004, GDC began to pickup a few public sector clients facing publicreferendums. Trish was in the center of eachof those.
“As GDC president, I, along with mybusiness partners Frank and Tess, have theability to pick and choose which clients torepresent,” she said. “If the cause or the needis not a good fit for the agency, we will pass.And I will tell you, that particularly withpublic referendums – tight budgets, longhours, and incredible battles – you have tobelieve in the cause in order to take up theissue.”
GDC public clients have included NEISDSchool Bond Initiatives, Creation of theAdvanced Transportation District, SanAntonio Bond Campaigns, Visitor TaxCampaign and San Antonio City CouncilCharter Revision.
In Trish’s continuing evolution, shehas now crossed the line from campaignconsultant to candidate. In January, sheformally announced her intention to be amayoral candidate. Her campaign is focusedon creating a new and fresh presence aroundSan Antonio with non–traditional colorfulsigns, television spots and social media tools.
Her experience and leadership is groundedin established civic involvement on a host ofnon–profit and community issues affectingSan Antonio’s quality of life. Secondly, asa small business owner she has createdjobs, managed a payroll, and made difficultdecisions in challenging economic times.And finally, she is accessible, preferring to beaddressed by her first name.
“People should be able to call their mayorby the first name. It sends a message that theperson is accessible,” Trish said.
The use of social media in her campaigngives Trish instant access to peoplethroughout the city. She can be foundblogging, “Facebooking” and “Tweeting”daily. Trish believes that her professionalmarketing and communications backgroundhelps her effectively establish an active onlinepresence.
“My work in the marketing, advertisingand public relations industry provides mewith a unique advantage. I am more awareof the importance of viral media, and howpeople prefer to communicate through socialnetworking,” she said.
Trinity University communicationprofessor Jennifer Jacobs Henderson agreeson the importance of using social media intoday’s society.
“One of the strengths of using social mediais being able to connect with many people,with the interactive content being veryimportant,” Henderson said. “As for politics,candidates can’t just have a presence on socialmedia, they need to be active participants.”
Moreover, Trish stresses that herknowledge and understanding of 21stcentury new media would benefit thecity’s information technology sector increating jobs and pushing for an enhancedtelecommunications infrastructure for SanAntonio.
In addition, she has elevated the campaignrhetoric by the use of online and socialmedia tools. She’s caught the attention of SanAntonio’s technology community.
“Trish’s use of sophisticated socialnetworking tools and her online presencesends a message – San Antonio's futuregrowth is tied to its knowledge workers,”said John Dickson, a principal at DenimGroup and immediate past chairman of theNorth Chamber of Commerce, and a formerchairman of the San Antonio TechnologyAccelerator Initiative (SATAI). “As the onlysmall business person in this race coupledwith her knowledge of the technologycommunity, I believe Trish is the bestcandidate positioned to lead San Antonio inpursuit of new economy jobs,"
Trish’s Web site can be found at www.TrishforMayor.com. The site has the latestnews on the campaign along with links toFacebook and Twitter.
A San Antonio native, Trish also is aproduct of North East Independent SchoolDistrict and attended the University of Texasat San Antonio before graduating fromTrinity University.
The sixth child of a military family, Trish’sfather decided to retire in San Antonio afterleaving the Air Force when she came along.
And like many San Antonians, the WilfordHall baby grew up here and has come toknow San Antonio as well as any one.
