Determining your specialty

So for me personally my big debate has been what area of rodeo public relations I want to work in . There are many areas in which you can work and as a soon-to-be college graduate I need to figure out what area I want to work in.

The basic areas of rodeo PR are:

*Organization: You can work as a public relations specialist for a rodeo or bull riding organization as a whole.

*Athlete: You can work to represent only athletes.

*Sponsorship: You can work with getting sponsors and maintaining sponsor relations with the organization.

*Fan Club: Some of the major bull riding and rodeo organizations have fan clubs. This is another area of public relations dealing with the public of fans.

*Promotions: You can be responsible for working with the other areas listed above here and work to promote all the events your organization puts on. This is also where media relations would play a huge role.

For me I was first presented this question about 2 months ago. I was suggested to start my own company representing the contestants. The idea really appealed to me because starting my own organization meant that I could do things my way and where I wanted. I later came to the realization that as much as I love the athletes, I don't want them to be my only focus. For me personally, I had developed such a strong respect for one specific organization I realized I wanted to not only promote their athletes, but rather their organization as a whole.

So when it comes to making that big decision, what I learned from my decision is: figure out what is important to you? With me it was helping maintain a level of admiration and respect for all that the company has accomplished. Working with the athletes or sponsors is not going to do that for me.

Deciding what is important to you comes down to answering the question what is it you love about the sport? Obviously if you love the athletes then that is the area you should work in and become an agent for the athletes.

If you go to events because you love all the previous events you have been hosted by an organization then you should work for the organization as a whole.

Sponsorship for me is a hard one to pinpoint but to me it is the people who love to make sure what they love is able to happen. The sponsorship relations people are the backbone of a rodeo organization. Without them working on getting sponsor funds, the organization looses funds and have a hard time.

If you love being around people who share your passion and love helping people get that once in a lifetime experience then the fan club is for you. The fan club deals with getting the fans to feel appreciated as well as allowing them to meet others who share their passion for the sport. Personally outside events I don't meet fans that often so I am the first one at an event that allows me to meet and greet with people who share my passion.

So to summarize the best way to pick your specialty is to pick your passion.