Rachel Heston-Davis

Edwardsville, IL USA

Professional Experience

My reputation for excellent writing, built through five years of reporting and freelance PR, has led editors and marketing committee coordinators to seek me out for contributions. I have assisted in writing media kits, press releases, and other promotional material for events and organizations. After working as a reporter from 2010-2011, I was tapped for freelance work by a print publication and an online start-up. My work has appeared in business news briefings as well. I love to conduct interviews, learn about a subject, and then condense the information into snappy, engaging copy for today's reader. I have covered everything from political stories to business profiles to human interest profiles. My history of freelance work gives me strong editing skills and a self-starter attitude.

Total Media Industry Experience

5 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

The Edwardsville Intelligencer (6-10), Italian Fest (Collinsville, IL) (6-10), The Metro Independent (6-10)

Other Work History

Adjunct instructor at Greenville College in Greenville, IL. I oversee Student Publications (mostly online/new media) and teach freshman composition.

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Microsoft Publisher

Equipment

Laptop, digital camera (Cannon)

References

Leah Joyce, Uptown Coordinator for the City of Collinsville Roger Starkey, former editor for the Metro Independent Bill Tucker, Editor for the Edwardsville Intelligencer

Awards

2011 Rookie of the Year from Collinsville's Italian Fest for my help overhauling the media kit Recipient of the Finnegan Writing for Young People Scholarship for outstanding work while pursuing my MFA in creative writing at Lesley University Elva McAllaster Senior Citation for oustanding achievement within the major upon graduating with a B.A. in English from Greenville College

General

Press Release: Italian Fest 5K
(Italian Fest 8/30/2014)
An example of a press release I wrote for an activity happening at Collinsville's Italian Fest.
Meet the Candidate Night
(Edwardsville Intelligencer; Picked up by HBA Newsbrief 10/30/2010)
This is an article written originally for the Edwardsville Intelligencer. The Home Builders Association of Greater Southwest Illinois was impressed, and asked permission to reprint it as part of their Newsbrief.
Education Reporting
(Metro Independent 2/21/2014)
An example of my reporting in the field of education.
Business Profile
(The Edwardsville Intelligencer 3/5/2013)
An example of a business profile I published with the Intelligencer.
Press Release: Bluez-A-Palooza
(Bluez-A-Palooza Festival (City of Collinsville) 10/30/2012)
Leah Joyce, Uptown Coordinator for the City of Collinsville, approached me about contributing work to the PR campaign when the city brought back its blues festival in 2012. This is a sample of promotional material I created for the Fall Festival portion of the day.
Personal Profile
(Metro Independent 4/27/2014)
This story is an example of my writing style when creating a personal profile. It is, of course, more in the style of reporting than, say, a business bio, but the process of interviewing and putting information together is very similar.
Education Reporting
(The Metro Independent 2/21/2014)
An example of my reporting on the field of education.
Italian Fest Media Kit
(Italian Fest 8/30/2012)
Each year, I assisted in producing the majority of the copy for Italian Fest's official media kit. The included pages in this sample showcase some of my strongest writing on this project.
Human Interest Story
(Metro Independent 7/11/2014)
This piece showcases my human interest writing. After 5 years of reporting, this is one of my favorites. My editor received a note from the deceased's family after this ran, explaining that I had perfectly captured her spirit in the story. I was honored and thrilled.