Two-time Niagara College graduate goes Farr with dream job

By SHELBY WALL
Staff Writer

Little did she know her first job would be about war.

“My first task on the job was to locate a cannon that could be fired at the Niagara Falls International Marathon. And I just thought, ‘Where am I going to get a cannon?’”

Over a year ago, Katie Farr, a two-time Niagara College graduate, landed what would be a dream job for anyone.

“I deal with a lot of very passionate but eccentric people.”

Farr, who works at the Niagara 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council, says her job, in the broadest sense, is marketing.

“Each day is different and always busy. However, on a daily basis, I work on the website and designs, and I handle the press and media relations.”

The Legacy Council, which began in 2007, is an organization overseeing all the War of 1812 events for the upcoming two-year celebration throughout the Niagara region.

Farr says events will range from a parade through Fort Erie next year, to war re-enactments, to local 1812 cooking and costume workshops.

“I have seen volunteers planning this celebration in their community for over six years.” Farr says everyone is working towards creating a “one-of-a-kind” celebration.

“I saw huge potential for the Niagara region, and being part of something so significant was exciting.”

Farr’s boss, Brian Merrett, the chief executive officer of the Legacy Council, says Farr brings a youth and enthusiasm to the job.

In the early days, Merrett says, all that was heard in the office was, “Help, Katie! I can’t figure this out.”

“Where I bring experience, Farr brings the newest and latest technology because of her vast knowledge of social media networking.”

Farr says she acquired her skills while she was a student at Niagara College in the Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film diploma program and then in the Public Relations Graduate Certificate Program. Her passion for media and design made this a natural fit for her skills.

Nancy Geddie, the Public Relations program co-ordinator, says Farr is “eminently qualified.”

Geddie says she has an outstanding “work ethic” and is the “whole package.”

“Farr is exactly what you’d hope for in a PR student.”

While here, Farr won awards in both programs.

Geddie says most students don’t think this kind of opportunity will be the job they get out of school, adding Farr is given the creative freedom most people wish they could have.

“We think of this event as regional, but it is a national event, and Katie is a part of it, at a very high level,” says Geddie.

Farr says the Legacy Council is planning the opening ceremony from June 15 to 18, 2012, to commemorate the declaration of war on June18, 1812.