Lucky 7, Lucky You: My Random Things

Well, I’ve been tagged in a “meme”– which, according to my tagger, is something like a blog version of those “getting to know you” e-mails that find their way to my in-box on occasion.

Unlike that damn redhead, Stacy Lukas who tagged me, I had no idea what a “meme” was, nor what volunteering that information would mean for my free time over the next day or two. But, as she promised in her own blog, it’s relatively simple: I’m supposed to list seven random things about myself for your enjoyment and/or education. Without further ado:

1) I am a hopeless Anglophile, from the top of my red head to the bottom of my pale and freckled feet. My love for Great Britain is an incurable disease that takes stronger hold with my every exposure. I suspect that it has something to do with lineage: They are my people. I am of English, Irish, and Scottish descent (from England’s Portsmouth, Ireland’s Loch Conn, and unknown parts of Scotland) It’s also been rumored that we are descendants of Lord William Canning, and we have a family crest that my cousins swear is older than QVC. I adore the British people. I love the food of England (including and especially the cheeses, clotted cream and “Extermely Chocolatey Mini Bites”). And oh, how I love Guinness. I also find something sacred and powerfully comforting about the British tradition of tea. It is my religion. I love that I blend in with everyone on the beaches of Cornwall: nearly all of us day-glo white and freckled with red blotches where we missed with the sunscreen. And I love the wildlife. Ravens, magpies, seagulls; even rabbits. Once, when I was walking along the Hayle Towans (grass-covered dunes) with my friend Sarah, we happened upon a coven or two of rabbits. I squealed with delight at the spectacle of dozens of long ears disappearing down rabbit holes. As I stood there taking it all in, Sarah shook her head in dismay. “We eat them, you know,” she said, smiling wryly. I know better — I’ve seen them immortalized in art. The only thing I don’t like about England is leaving it. Look out, Bill Bryson. I could take you for the Anglophile title.

2) I am nicknamed after my great-uncle, Charlie Fern. He was a fascinating caricature of a man; a pioneering aviator (barnstormer) and journalist (a self-proclaimed “UPI man”) in Hawaii, who worked his way up to owner and publisher of the Garden Isle. A problem with the fuel gauge on his twin-engine “Jenny” led to his becoming the first man to fly a plane round-trip in the Hawaiian islands. I’ve found few writings about him that didn’t include adjectives like “talented”, “daring”, and “legendary”. Uncle Charlie was responsible for developing my love of letters and of writing. My nom de plume and company name isn’t just a tribute to this personal hero; it is a legacy that I continually strive to honor in my own life and profession. It is also a daily reminder that you cannot live a large and honorable life without taking risks and maintaining integrity. A bittersweet asterisk: The man who knows the most about Uncle Charlie’s life is his son Charles Jr. (who goes by Mike), whom I have never met because my family lost track of him. They claim he is a recluse (and a genius). I know very little about Mike, except that he’s about 85 and he lives somewhere in Orange County. And he is the guardian of the remainder of details about the life of one of the greatest men I’ve ever known.

3) I have an irrational fear of bridges, especially tall ones. I will bring a car to a screeching halt on the shoulder of a road that presents a sudden and unexpected bridge ahead. I am terrified of the Delaware Memorial Bridge (or DEL MEM BR, as the sign says), and I am physically unable to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge and the bridge that leads into Newport, Rhode Island. So, if you’re ever caught on a road trip and I’m behind the wheel, I suggest you check the map and make sure you know what’s ahead.

4) I love olives — especially fancy name-brand pitted black olives. I have loved olives since I was a child, and I have been known to eat an entire can in one sitting. In my family, it was a Thanksgiving tradition to set a bowl of black olives out on the dinner table. And traditionally, they never lasted till dinner if there were any kids around. It was one of life’s early pleasures, popping an olive over the tip of each finger, wiggling them, and eating them. And many a Christmas stocking was stuffed with a can of olives for me. Mine, all mine.

5) I sang a duet with Fred Rogers (as in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood) on April 3, 2002. I was staffing an event in the East Wing — The White House Conference on Early Childhood Education. Mr. Rogers was one of the guest speakers. I should insert here that I have met, and worked for, a lot of very famous people. By that point in my tenure at the White House, I was fairly numb to the celebrity effect. So it is somewhat embarrassing to say that of all the big-name people I’ve encountered in my life, it was Fred Rogers who reduced me to a giddy kid who could hardly find her voice upon meeting him. He’s just exactly as the world saw him on television: Warm, kind, attentive, sincere.

I shook his hand after the event and told him (babbled, actually) that when I was a kid, I didn’t much care for his show, but I had grown to appreciate him (and his music) as an adult. I often called my grown-up friends and sang “It’s Such a Good Feeling” to them — in fact, a friend and I had worked out a little stage routine to the song. His face lit up and he said, “Why don’t we sing it together?” I was utterly stunned. This was an opportunity I simply could not refuse, but I risked being fired for upsetting the program to accommodate him. Yet he insisted, and hnd his “handler” (manager) agreed.

Once all the guests from the conference were seated in the dining room for lunch, Fred Rogers excused himself from the room. He walked out to the main corridor on the first floor of the White House, where the Marine Corps band was playing. Mr. Rogers and I were alone there except for the musicians and one or two staffers. He walked up to the White House Steinway piano – the one with golden eagles for legs – and asked the Marine who had just finished playing a song on it if he (Fred Rogers) might sit down and play a song. The Marine promptly and cheerfully obliged. Mr. Rogers signaled me over. He started to play “It’s Such a Good Feeling,” and I couldn’t believe what a magnificent pianist he was. He rolled across the keyboard with exquisite grace and started to sing. He looked at me expectantly. When I could find my voice, I squeaked along with him. By the end of the song, I had tears running down my face. Yep. It was such a good feeling. A month or two later, I received a package in the mail. It contained an autographed picture (he’d also written a bar of notes from the song on it) and his entire collection of CDs (which I play for my 3-year-old son on a regular basis). Funny how one of the pinnacles of my career had nothing to do with speechwriting.

6) I nearly lit a man on fire on April 23, 2001. It happened when I was a White House speechwriter. One morning my boss, the head speechwriter for the President, brought around a man in a nice suit. I was deeply focused on an article I was reading. They appeared at my office door and I wheeled around in time to hear my boss introduce him. I know—at least I think I know – I heard “Josh Bolten,” but as I stood up and stuck out my hand, I said “Hi John.”

I was swiftly corrected. My boss explained to Josh that I was the First Lady’s speechwriter. Josh’s expression conveyed a mental filing of information that made me uneasy. As I held his steel grip in my handshake, I realized that his sleeve was dangling perilously above the open flame of a candle I had lit on my desk. Bolton, who must’ve felt the heat, looked down and asked me what the “altar” was for. My boss, who had been standing silently in the doorway, shifted uncomfortably.

I stammered that the painters had just finished our offices and the candle was ridding the room of the paint smell. They were halfway down the hall as my voice trailed off…I picked up our office staff directory. I thumbed over to the section marked “Chief of Staff”. There it was: Third person from the top. Josh Bolten. Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff of Policy. I’d just met the fourth most powerful man in the White House, got his name wrong, and nearly lit his suit on fire.

7) I know The Number One place to watch Marine One take off from the White House Grounds without getting shot by the secret service. It’s from the Old Executive Office Building; specifically, on a narrow ledge just outside a window in a top-floor hallway near the library. I and two colleagues found this spot when we worked in that building. I’m fairly certain you won’t be shot, because when we were watching a departure one morning from that very spot, I noticed two pairs of binoculars pointed at me — by two secret service guys on the roof of the White House. We waved. They waved back. I lived to tell the story.

About Charlie Fern

Strategic Communications Consultant
Owner, Principal of Charlie Fern Ink, LLC

Charlene “Charlie” Fern has spent 26 years in communications — as a journalist in Texas in California; and as a press attaché and media advisor for elected officials and business executives in Texas, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey, as an adjunct professor of public relations, and as the founder and principal of a strategic communications consultancy, which is now in its 13th year.

Ms. Fern has worked as speechwriter in the Texas Governor’s Office, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and the White House. She served as director of executive communications for Merck & Co., Inc (then the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical company). She has also taught public relations at the university level.

In 2003 Ms. Fern launched Charlie Fern Ink, LLC, a privately owned strategic communications consultancy. Her clients include musicians and celebrities, professional athletes, executives, diplomats, opinion leaders, global and government leaders, elected officials, corporate boards and CEOs, non-profit founders and leaders, and other writers, public speakers and public relations professionals. She provides strategic communications counsel in a broad range of industries including music and entertainment, health and medicine, government, education, high-tech startups, small businesses, national franchises, Fortune-500 to Fortune 10 companies, government agencies, trade associations, advocacy groups and non-profit organizations.

She has volunteered as a board member or advisor for causes including the Austin Children’s Shelter; Friends of Texas Public Schools (she co-founded and served as a board member for this statewide non-profit through 2008); A Happy Healthy Child; They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO); Mobile Loaves and Fishes; the Wright House Wellness Center and the Texas Book Festival. She has served as Chairwoman of the Texas Book Festival’s Children’s Entertainment Committee in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Ms. Fern has served as an adjunct professor of public relations at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, and she continues to lecture at colleges, universities, conferences and forums on subjects including leadership, the art of storytelling as a global business tool, writing and communications in life and management, effective leadership, public relations, strategic engagement and deployment of personal and professional communications, social media, event planning, and corporate, politics and government communications.

Charlie Fern Ink, LLC, is a strategic communications consultancy that provides services including public relations and publicity, tour and media management, strategic message development and deployment, media relations and media training, executive coaching, speech writing and public speaking coaching, event planning, social media strategy; cross-platform branding, and professional writing and editing with areas of expertise that include international relations, business, and diplomacy; government, education, non-profit/advocacy, music and entertainment, healthcare, biotech, technology, social media, entrepreneurial/startup and general professional communications. She presently lives and works from her home studio in Austin, Texas.

Accolades

“This is like a big Hollywood party,” exclaimed NBC’s Chris Matthews after the entertainment at the Kuwaiti embassy dinner Tuesday celebrating Marvin Hamlisch’s birthday. Truth be told, it was actually more like a night on Broadway. What’s not to love: Hostess Rima Al-Sabah’s dinner … and Ambassador Salem Al-Sabah’s witty speech, incorporating titles of the honoree’s songs (“Nobody Does It Better,” “Ordinary People,” “Sunset, Lollipops and Rainbows”) introduced the show.

— The Washington Times, May 18, 2007

“Charlie Fern has the ability to take complex information and quickly turn it into meaningful material for the general reader. Her greatest talent is in her ability to create memorable language and with her assistance over the years she has opened many doors for me to be of greater service to this community.

“As a non-profit executive director her assistance has allowed me to effectively communicate with the media, government leaders on every level, grantors and big money donors. As a result there are hundreds of people in Austin living an enhanced quality of life. Whether it is an abused child, an individual living with HIV/AIDS or the hungry, Charlie Fern knows just how to craft the argument to get the attention of your audience. I could not recommend her more highly.”

– Susan Wills, MS, LPC Executive Director, the Wright House Wellness Center.

“Charlie Fern has a lot to offer a professional communicator. Her expertise in platform building and speech preparation helped our team provide a top-notch product to our CEO in a timely manner.”

– Linda Rutherford, Vice President, Public Relations and Community Affairs Southwest Airlines

“Outstanding. Top Notch. Best ever. These are some of the responses we received … on this year’s Zhone Tech…They also mirror the reaction from our staff, partners and organizers. What distinguishes my commentary from the others is my full awareness of the substantial role that you played in the terrific success that we enjoyed. I am grateful for not only your expertise and your exceptional gift for prose, but also for your patience and dedication in working under demanding and often unreasonable conditions. Throughout the ordeal you demonstrated nothing less than composure and professionalism. It has been my pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with you on this outstanding engagement.”

– David Markowitz, VP Marketing, Zhone Technology

“Charlie Fern is an alliance partner of Excel Meetings and Events and provides speech writing and coaching to our corporate clients. She has an impeccable background and brings exceptional professionalism to her work. As an alliance partner, she is an invaluable asset to our business.”

– Jon Wollenhaupt, Vice President, Excel Meetings and Events

“I have been honored by the friendship of my colleagues in the White House speechwriting department: Michael Gerson, Pete Wehner, Matthew Scully…Charlene Fern… — altogether the finest presidential speechwriting team since Alexander Hamilton and James Madison collaborated on Washington’s Farewell Address.”

– David Frum, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush

Clients

Ms. Fern has worked extensively in both the public and private sectors, with celebrities, musicians, government leaders, heads of state, corporate executives and board members. Her strategic communication consultancy includes speechwriting and coaching, public relations and marketing, media training, public speaking and teaching.

On Stage:

She delivers motivational speeches and informative lectures nationwide to groups of all sizes. Topics include leadership, strategic communication, public relations (including case studies), and her experiences as a speechwriter in the Texas Governor’s Office and at the White House (where she worked on 9-11).

Clients and Industries:

Ms. Fern works with clients on-site, on the road or virtually. She and her team handle each project and every client with the utmost care, professionalism and discretion. Our experience includes work in areas that include:

Airlines
Celebrities
Colleges and Universities
Diplomatic Corps – Ambassadors and Heads of State
Event Planning
Education – Early Childhood to University Instruction
Elected Officials
Embassies – worldwide
Entrepreneurs – CEOs and Boards
Foundations – Local to International
Fortune-500 to Fortune-5 Companies
Franchises – executives and Franchisees
Government – Federal
Government – State
Healthcare
High Tech
Music and musicians – artists, songwriters and labels
Non-Profits
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Oil and Gas
Pharmaceutical
Political candidates
Professional athletes (NFL, olympic stars, etc)
Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising
Real Estate and Realtors
Specialized businesses
Start-ups

In the News

Rolling Stone Magazine Interview of Charlie Fern

St. Edward’s University magazine interview of Charlie Fern

Article on Speechwriting and Geopolitics

Interview with the Garden Island

2016 TIPA Hall of Fame Announcement

Gulf Coast Business and Professional Women

Services

What do we do around here? The ABCs and 123s of this strategic communications consultancy include nearly every service you can imagine across the wide world of professional communication and human interaction. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Strategic communications consulting
• Speechwriting and coaching
• Communication plans
• Message strategies
• Executive briefings & correspondence
• Corporate, government & non-profit white papers
• Professional document editing and optimizing
• Publishing industry editing & writing
• Event planning
• Public relations plans, strategies and tactics
• Public service announcements
• Press releases & media advisories
• News & opinion editorial writing
• Public speaking & lectures
• Media – writing and training

Contact Charlie for more details.

Writing & Resources

As a journalist, Ms. Fern wrote and edited in all styles – hard news, lifestyles, sports, columns and editorials. More than 20 years later, she continues to write for all media and consults a national list of clients in the art and skill of writing and public communications, including public relations and strategic messaging. When she is not a featured writer, or featured as a writer in the news, she lectures at the university level and delivers seminars and motivational speeches to organizations and groups nationwide.

You will have heard Ms. Fern’s speeches on national television, national and international radio. You will have read her work in prominent newspapers and magazines worldwide. And on this Web site, you will find examples of her own writing on a myriad of personal and professional topics — from leadership and public speaking to storytelling and strategic communications. You’ll also find blogs, essays, and speeches, quotes, and writing tips by Charlie and her staff, here and elsewhere on this site. We hope you’ll find this information both useful (if you’re considering our services) and entertaining (if you’re just browsing for fun and inspiration). And if you want to stay put on this page, you’ll find a few samples below.

Personal Blog Posts:

Eight months pregnant and counting

Extolling the virtues of baby containing contraptions

Excerpt from memoirs:

A small excerpt

On Writing:

The Dirty Dozen of Grammatical Errors

Tips and Tricks

Newsletters:

Imagine Greater Possibilities