{"id":45726,"date":"2023-12-15T15:22:16","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T15:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smps.org\/?p=45726"},"modified":"2023-12-15T15:44:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T15:44:08","slug":"member-spotlight-cecilia-arango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smps.org\/2023\/12\/15\/member-spotlight-cecilia-arango\/","title":{"rendered":"Member Spotlight: Cecilia Arango"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"45726\" class=\"elementor elementor-45726\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5d462ddd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5d462ddd\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-54fd99f4\" data-id=\"54fd99f4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d014a2e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d014a2e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-45729 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CertificationSpotlight-CeciliaArango-1280x570-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CertificationSpotlight-CeciliaArango-1280x570-1.png 1280w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CertificationSpotlight-CeciliaArango-1280x570-1-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CertificationSpotlight-CeciliaArango-1280x570-1-1024x456.png 1024w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/CertificationSpotlight-CeciliaArango-1280x570-1-768x342.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/p><p>In our member spotlight, Cecilia Arango, CPSM, recently sat down for a virtual chat with SMPS. Cecilia is marketing manager for Thomas &amp; Hutton. She has been in the A\/E\/C industries for more than 20 years and an SMPS member since 2006. In this spotlight, Cecilia shares the rewards of her career, her favorite part of the job, and what has contributed to her success.<\/p><p><strong>Can you share some news you\u2019re proud of?<\/strong> I was named a shareholder of Thomas &amp; Hutton in 2023.<\/p><p><strong>In a few words, how would you describe your role at Thomas &amp; Hutton?<\/strong> As marketing manager, I oversee marketing, communications, procurement, and community involvement. I\u2019m also unofficially the chief officer of fun. Bring on the shenanigans!<\/p><p><strong>What has been your most meaningful project?<\/strong> Thomas &amp; Hutton\u2019s celebration of our 75<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary. I love to tell a story. There\u2019s a lot of history there and being able to tell the stories shared by our past leaders who worked with our original founders, along with the current leadership today, was a big undertaking. The final video came out beautifully and really showed the essence of who we are.<\/p><p><strong>What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve received regarding your career or working in A\/E\/C?<\/strong> It\u2019s a toss-up between \u201ctake initiative\u201d and \u201cgrow thick skin\u201d \u2013 both involving taking risks and not being afraid of failures. Every failure is a lesson learned for improvements down the road. Beg for forgiveness later!<\/p><p><strong>How has SMPS helped you in your career?<\/strong> SMPS has served as a helpful resource for all things marketing, business development, and communications as it relates to the A\/E\/C industry. I started my career fresh out of college and SMPS and its members have served, and continue to serve, as mentors. Through SMPS, I\u2019m kept up to speed with what\u2019s going on in our industry, as well as tips on staying efficient and creative.<\/p><p><strong>Helpful hint to share with your fellow SMPS members:<\/strong> Read Simon Sinek\u2019s <em>Start with Why<\/em> to help you understand the concept of purpose and the importance of starting with \u201cwhy,\u201d not the \u201chows\u201d and \u201cwhats.\u201d<\/p><p><strong>What I did at work yesterday?<\/strong> I reviewed a consultant\u2019s report on our firm\u2019s latest client perception study to prepare for the next steps on creating a standard Client Experience Program.<\/p><p><strong>As a CPSM, how has certification benefitted you?<\/strong> Because there\u2019s a professional certification that exists for marketers in our industry, becoming a CPSM made me eligible to be considered for shareholder\/principal at my firm, Thomas &amp; Hutton. Some changes were made in the last year to include other professional certifications with required prerequisites (like the CPSM) to become eligible. I\u2019m proud to say that today, my company made the official announcement that I\u2019m now a shareholder at the firm! Not only that, my CPSM gives me the opportunity to connect with other fellow certified professionals for learning, growing, and networking in this industry.<\/p><p><strong>Tell us something we would be surprised to learn about you.<\/strong> I\u2019ll be ending the year running my 29<sup>th<\/sup> marathon at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon. My goal is to run a marathon in each state as part of the 50 States Marathon Club.<\/p><p><strong>What\u2019s on your bucket list?<\/strong> To run all the world major marathons (after I\u2019m done with my 50 states)!<\/p><p><strong>Guilty pleasure: What can you not live without?<\/strong> Books \u2026 and cheese.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our member spotlight, Cecilia Arango, CPSM, recently sat down for a virtual chat with SMPS. Cecilia is marketing manager for Thomas &amp; Hutton. She has been in the A\/E\/C industries for more than 20 years and an SMPS member since 2006. In this spotlight, Cecilia shares the rewards of her career, her favorite part [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[764,1],"tags":[862,621,796],"class_list":["post-45726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-member-spotlight","category-uncategorized","tag-cecilia-arango","tag-certified-professional-services-marketer","tag-smps-member-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45726"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45755,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45726\/revisions\/45755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}