Lake County Chambers Of Commerce Honors “TOP 4 UNDER 40” At Pastina Rustic Italian Kitchen
December 5, 2018
Five Marketing Areas Of Focus For 2019
January 7, 2019
Lake County Chambers Of Commerce Honors “TOP 4 UNDER 40” At Pastina Rustic Italian Kitchen
December 5, 2018
Five Marketing Areas Of Focus For 2019
January 7, 2019

The chamber of commerce sat down with Josie Passafiume, Senior Account Executive of Advance Local. Josie is an incredible asset to the chamber of commerce.

Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A: I like to be busy! The thought of how can I be of value today or how can I make a difference today really is what gets me going in the morning. I like to make a difference in my personal life as well as my professional career. In addition to my advertising career with The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, I am an adjunct professor at Walsh University. I like to think I make a difference for my clients and my students.

Q: What three words or phrases would you use to describe your role?
A: Create, Retain Relationships

Q: What does your typical day look like and what are you currently working on?
A: In my advertising role I am on the phone all day with clients sitting behind a desk.  A lot of my accounts are in Michigan right now.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure?
A:  Murder Mysteries!  I am addicted to true murder mysteries.  I do like some fiction as well.  Columbo is my favorite show I think I have watched the same shows a 1,000 times on the Hallmark Channel.

Q: What do you like most about your job?
A:  I have always loved advertising and our products – The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.  I love people and I know that everyone says that but I truly do!  I like the career of having to always talk to people. My company treats me very well and take care of their employees.

Q: What is the best career advice your ever received?
A:  To embrace change…especially in my industry!  Our parent company started in newspapers and now is one of the largest digital companies in the country.  There has been so much change in my industry and unfortunately those that cannot accept the changes, leave.  We should be learning from the past but at the same time we cannot be living in the past.  Also, we should plan for the future but not obsess or we will lose sight of the present.

Q: What are your biggest professional challenges?
A:  I am very adaptive with change but I have trouble with the market.  People need more education on how my industry works.  The perception of our industry from the consumer standpoint is something that needs to grow.

Q: How would you describe your job to a child?
A: I help people sell their product, if the guy at the candy store wants to sell candy I can make that happen.

Q: What is the first job you ever had?
A: I answered complaint calls for the Plain Dealer regarding home delivery. I worked on the weekends and holidays. This was a wonderful training for myself at that early age, if I could calm someone down about a paper that was in a tree I could calm anyone down! In all seriousness it taught me how not to take complaints personally which is a great trait to learn at any age.

Q: What did you want to be when growing up or if you ever changed professions what would you go into?
A:  I always wanted to work for the Plain Dealer, my father worked for The PD for 35 years!  Marketing or advertising is the path I would stay with.

Q: Do you have a favorite movie or book?
A:  Casablanca and Murder on the Orient Express.

Q: What is the best vacation you have ever had?
A: I will be going to Italy in two weeks which I am very excited about!  My honeymoon in Hawaii was wonderful as well!

Q: If you were on death row, what would your last meal be and what pet peeve drove you to death row?
A: Steak, potato and salad.  I was probably on death row because I took one of the true crime stories that I love and recreated it.

Q: What are your hopes for your business?
A:  That the industry will continue to support good writers to be watchdogs of their communities.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time and time away from work?
A: I love the theater, concerts and going out to dinner.

Q: What is on your bucket list?
A:  Visiting Sicily and Calabria where both sets of my grandparents where born.

Q: What is the first concert you attended?
A:  The Beatles in grade school at the old Cleveland Stadium.

Q: What is a piece of advice for all of our chamber members and potential chamber members about getting the most out of your membership?
A: Tell your story as often as you can and to as many people as you can.