About The Amway Insider
This is where we will share our stories, including:
- news about Amway – our company, products, distributors and affiliates
- behind-the-scenes views of our global business
- insights on who we are and what makes us tick
and anything else we find interesting, relevant or fun.
Our Authors:
Beth Dornan, APR
Twitter: @BethDornan
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bethdornan
Born: Gary, IN
Raised: Portage, IN
Resides: Rockford, MI
Occupation: PR Lead, Amway
Can be seen: Volunteering for organizations like Rockford Education Foundation, Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding, and PRSA. Shuttling two “tweens” to everything from guitar lessons to swim practice. Grilling every season, regardless of the weather.
Professional Background: No matter what you choose to call me, at the core I’m a writer. I’ve been published since I was 14, writing stories for the newspaper that eventually gave me my first “real” job as a reporter after graduating from Indiana University. Cut my teeth in PR at the second-largest agency in Grand Rapids at the time, creating PR programs for clients like the Burger King restaurants in West Michigan, national Olive Garden restaurants, and the Mr. Turkey brand. I joined Amway more than 20 years ago and have done everything from overseeing corporate tours to running the North American communications division to today helping Amway use social media to engage with its distributors and customers online.
Cindy Droog, APR
Twitter: @CindyDroog
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindydroog
Born: Dallas, TX
Resides: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Occupation: Senior PR Specialist, Amway
Professional Background: I started my PR career at Dorf & Stanton/Shandwick NY; then moved quickly into sports PR for Peoria Rivermen Hockey. I’ve held jobs at large, multinational private (Amway) and pubicly-held (Valspar, Scott and Fetzer) companies, magazines, and a three-person PR firm. Taught PR as an adjunct at Grand Valley State University before starting my family. I have had the pleasure of serving amazing clients such as American Red Cross, Cascade Engineering, Chicago Auto Show, Compaq, Crystal Flash Energy, Dover Resources, Goodwill Industries, M.A.D.D. and Zondervan Publishing House (that’s right, I did PR for the Bible). Since joining Amway in 2005, I’ve also been privileged to learn from, work with, supervise, and pay invoices to some of the best artistic, PR and digital talent in the world.
Katie Blough
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/katie-blough/7/813/528
Born: Grand Rapids, MI
Raised: Lowell, MI
Resides: Grand Rapids, MI
Occupation: PR Specialist, Amway
Can be seen: On the softball diamond, getting her Masters in Communication at GVSU, getting some Vitamin D on the Grand Haven shoreline, and enjoying Downtown Grand Rapids’ fabulous eating establishments.
Professional Background: It was my 11th grade English teacher who inspired me to find a career that would allow me to use my writing skills, so I decided to pursue a degree in Communications. While studying at Hope College, I partook in a number of internships – one of them being in Corporate Communications at Amway. One taste of corporate life, and I was hooked. Following graduation, my goal was to secure a career back at the company, and here I am! In addition to Corporate Communications, I’ve had the opportunity to work in Employee Communications as well as gain PR experience at our North American affiliate.
Joel Van Kuiken
Twitter: @jvkzhou
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joelvankuiken
Born: Ada, MI
Raised: Ada, MI
Resides: Grand Rapids, MI
Occupation: Public Relations Specialist
Professional Background: I started my career at a bike shop learning the finer points of communication closing sales on a sales floor. Looking back on that period of my development, I realize now that I was in a communications lab, where I started paying more attention to communication patterns and body language in a somewhat static environment. It’s funny how closing a sale is so orthodox, and so predictable, when you follow the proper steps. When I graduated from DePaul University with a degree in English Literature, I knew I wanted to find an opportunity to teach English overseas. In 1992, I literally took my bike and went to China. I taught at a University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, a honeymoon spot known for the beautiful West Lake and Dragon Well Tea. I traveled extensively, took lots of photographs, laid the foundation for my study of Chinese language and culture, and even produced a radio program on a local radio station – I actually met my wife while guest hosting her show. When I returned to the states I worked at a weekly alternative newspaper, and then a public access television station where I did extensive production work and interfaced with so many different types of personalities. No matter what, throughout my meandering career, I’ve always been in close contact with people, building relationships and communicating. After getting my M.S in Communications, focusing on cross-cultural communication issues, I landed in the Amway Corporate Communications department and I haven’t looked back. It’s an exciting job, and my skill set directly applies to the work I do every day. I’ve got a busy home life with three kids but I still ride my bike, run, ski, and exercise as much as I can. I’m an avid fan of the Nutrilite story and the concept of Optimal Health.
Sri Soekarmoen McCarthy
Born: Tegal, Central Java, Indonesia
Raised: Half of my life in Java, Indonesia and the another half in Michigan
Resides: Greenville, Michigan
Occupation: Public Relations, Amway
Can be seen: Holding a camera and taking pictures of people, old barns, statues, buildings, and events. Going to parades, taking pictures, and waiting for people to throw Tootsie Rolls and hard candies. I give them to the little kids.
Professional background: Returned to Indonesia soon after I graduated from Western Michigan University. I worked for an U.S. oil company, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) based in Jakarta, Indonesia as Human Resources Specialist. As an HR specialist, I had to visit and stay at the off-shore rigs in the Java Sea to conduct trainings or counseling for the crews on regular basis. After seven years at ARCO, I returned to the U.S. and worked for various local companies in Grand Rapids area including Steelcase and a local law firm. Eventually, I had the opportunity to work for Amway and begin my career in public relations.