Principal
How it Started
When True Blue Communications Principal & President Noelle Anderson, APR, showed up at freshman orientation at the University of Florida and was told to pick a major, she wasn’t sure which to choose. Hoping to build a career out of things she enjoyed doing, she told the counselor her strengths and interests – writing, special event planning, television news, public speaking, managing people, being creative – and asked which major he would recommend. “I think you’d like PR,” was the response. So, rather on a whim, she signed up to pursue a degree in public relations – and hasn’t looked back since.
Work
Noelle graduated Summa Cum Laude from UF with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations, a minor in English, a couple of valuable internships and a few statewide and local PR awards from student campaigns she directed. Her post-college professional career began in the New York Yankees’ Tampa office, where she coordinated marketing and public relations activities for the New York Yankees and minor league Tampa Yankees.
After spending a couple years in pinstripes, Noelle joined the PR department at the Shriners International Headquarters in Tampa, Florida, corporate home of the Shriners International fraternity and Shriners Hospitals for Children, an international health care system of 22 hospitals. She advanced through various positions during her five-year tenure there and gained a wealth of experience in every area of public relations and integrated marketing communications. A die-hard teenage ‘NSync fan, a personal highlight of Noelle’s time at Shriners included writing TV commercial scripts for Justin Timberlake. (Check out her favorite here!)
In May 2010, Noelle decided it was time to leave the world of corporate communications to start her own business, True Blue Communications. Since launching her own PR and marketing firm, Noelle has helped clients in a variety of industries – from nonprofits to commercial real estate to financial services to entertainment – by providing a wide range of quality services.
Education
In addition to holding a bachelor’s degree in PR, Noelle earned and maintains an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). Of the estimated 250,000 people practicing public relations in the U.S., only approximately 5,000 carry this mark of distinction, which places her among a small group of professionals who demonstrate their commitment to the profession and its ethical practice, and who are selected based on broad knowledge, strategic perspective and sound professional judgment.
Leadership
Noelle is very involved in the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, the largest public relations organization in the world. She is currently PRSA Tampa Bay’s president-elect, and in the past has served as treasurer, secretary, on the board of directors, and has chaired and served on a number of committees. She was also a founding officer of the Shriners International Headquarters Toastmasters Club and has served on committees for the Centre Club in Tampa.
Awards
Over the years, Noelle has been honored with several professional awards. These include the Tampa Bay Business Journal's 2011 "Up and Comers" Award, Public Relations Society of America Tampa Bay’s Community Service Award in 2011 and Sue Ellen Richardson “Rookie of the Year” Award in 2006, and the Florida Public Relations Association’s Judge’s Award for a special event and Golden Image Award for a public relations campaign.
Goodwill
If there’s one mantra Noelle lives by, it’s this: do the right thing. Putting this belief into action has resulted in her dedicating hundreds of hours of pro-bono communications services to many nonprofit organizations over the years, including Southeast Tissue Alliance, Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Child Abuse Prevention Project, SPCA Tampa Bay, Art for Autism and Unsigned Preps. True Blue Communications also offers steeply discounted rates to our nonprofit clients, because we simply can’t resist helping give a voice to worthy organizations and causes. She also serves on the board of directors for Forward Thinking Initiatives, a nonprofit teaching entrepreneurship, innovation and creating thinking to teens.
See the rest of the True Blue Communications team here.
