Photo By Sgt. Lydia Gordon | Educator's and Influencers from across Recruiting Station Salt Lake City's area of...... read more read more
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With nearly 270,000 square miles that include pristine lakes, emerald-green hillsides, snowy mountains, vast amounts of farmland, and vibrant cities, Recruiting Station Salt Lake City is one of the most challenging and diverse areas of operation within Marine Corps Recruiting Command. The station spans five states and consists of 13 recruiting sub-stations, 10 permanent contact stations, and one officer selection station. While the area is of considerable size, the marketing and communication needs for the entire station are the sole responsibility of one Marine, Sgt. Lydia Gordon.
Gordon, a native of Columbus, Ohio, was named the MCRC Marketing and Communication Marine of the Year for fiscal year 2023 during the annual MAC Summit in Atlanta, Feb. 6.
“I really contribute my efforts to the efforts of all the MACs I am surrounded by and the MACs who came before me,” said Gordon. “This job is a constant learner. Everyone comes from different areas, and we all try different things. It’s learning from others and growing from others. I don’t think I would have been able to do my job if I didn’t reach out to other people and gotten their advice.”
MAC Marines are responsible for the research, planning, implementation, and evaluation of marketing, advertising, and communication strategy matters within a recruiting station’s area of operations.
According to Gordon, her day-to-day responsibilities as a MAC vary based on the progression of the recruiting realm.
“This job is constantly adjusting my schedule to best assist the recruiters with getting contacts of potential applicant,” explained Gordon. “It’s working through digital engagement and trying to get contacts through the posts that we do. I manage incentive items. I take a lot of photos, make a lot of graphics, produce videos, anything that can help those recruiters advertise the Marine Corps a little better.”
Throughout fiscal year 2023, Gordon coordinated 79 events which generated over 1,600 qualified leads and ran a successful digital engagement program that produced 156 leads for the station.
“I have one of the biggest areas of operation in MCRC,” said Gordon. “It was important to figure out how to acutely understand each of the small sections within my area and figure out what works best for them. I definitely did a lot of research and took a lot of days where I sat down and looked at numbers and analytics. It was calculating what works and what doesn’t work.”
In addition to research and analysis, Gordon attributes a large portion of her success to listening skills.
“It was important to listen to what the recruiters need and figure out how I can use my skills to give that to them,” said Gordon.
Throughout her time as a MAC, Gordon took every opportunity to attend events in order to maximize support to the recruiters. Additionally, she worked to expand the knowledge of every recruiter throughout RS Salt Lake City by conducting in-depth and substantive training on topics including digital media engagement, priority prospect cards, lead generation, recruiter-supplied materials, and media cards.
“Sgt. Gordon is self-driven and extremely motivated,” said Capt. Bryanna Kessler, 8MCD MAC officer. “She goes above and beyond to facilitate relationships and create partnerships in a genuine and personal way.”
According to Kessler, Gordon demonstrates the standard MACs are expected to perform at.
“She is the epitome of a Marine. She embodies the total picture as a physically fit, cognitively advanced, highly proficient, and respectable member of the Corps," said Kessler. "She is a stellar Marine and I know that there are great Marines in our occ field, many of whom are in this billet, but I never doubted that she would be the one to win the top accolade."
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.16.2024 23:37 |
| Story ID: | 464181 |
| Location: | ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBUS, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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