Legal Marketing & PR

I recently visited Houston (for the first time!) in order to attend a one-of-a-kind event. CPA firm Gainer Donnelly Desroches hosted a preview of the "Darfur: Photojournalist Respond" exhibit at the Holocaust Museum Houston.

As written up in TRIBEZA Magazine:

For the first time ever, the museum opened its doors to a special preview event before its public opening reception. Supporters of UNICEF and the museum, as well as clients of the firm, including Dr. Carolyn Farb and Joanne King Herring (chairs of the UNICEF Southwest Regional Board of Directors), attended the cocktail soiree.

Within the last six months, the firm has established a relationship with the Holocaust Museum and is underwriting the exhibit in conjunction with FotoFest2008. The powerful exhibit features 30 images from eight photojournalists whose firsthand accounts documented the situation in Darfur, reflecting daily injustices occurring at the time. The exhibit runs through August 17.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may recall that the firm is associated with photography as their very own Sam Gainer is quite gifted with the ol' picture box. They are also quite good at marketing.

Their marketer, Stacy Soefer (pictured above to my right, with her mom Cindy Soefer on my left) has a strong background in fund-raising and events public relations, particularly in non-profit event PR. Her polish showed in the quality of the event, and her PR skills were evidenced by the amazing press coverage drawn to this event. The high-profile guests (clients of the firm) in attendance didn't hurt. 

In addition to TRIBEZA, the event is picked up in publications including: Modern Luxury Houston, Houston Business Journal, Jewish Herald Voice, 002 Magazine, PaperCITY Magazine, ICON and HTexas.

All the great press aside, the coolest thing for the firm, IMHO, was a team member saying to another that "I've never felt more proud to be a part of this firm." How do you assign a value to that?

The firm has a whole photo gallery dedicated to the Darfur event on their site.

Personally speaking, my own experience at the exhibit was extraordinarily moving as I took in both the Darfur photo exhibit and the Holocaust exhibit. Houston's Holocaust Museum has done an amazing job of bringing to younger generations the facts and horrors we must never forget about this tragic time.

The juxtaposition of a railroad car which carried victims to their camps placed beside a Danish rescue boat is simply jarring. And, similarly, the current tragedies in Africa are depicted alongside the horrors of the Holocaust that we'd like to think could never happen again.