Chris Sauer | Sept. 24, 2008
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| Courtesy photo |
| Sarah Melton, Mavericks’ communications director, visited Tuesday. |
Melton, B.S. ‘99, director of basketball communications for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association, visited Tuesday and spoke to a combined group of students from lecturer Beth Wood’s J321 Principles of Public Relations class and Ralph Winslow Visiting Professor Jim Bright’s J428 Public Relations Planning and Research about her career.
After attending IU and working with the sports information director in the athletic department, Melton received an opportunity she could not refuse. Greg Elkin, who had previously worked with Melton at IU, accepted a job as the head of the Mavericks PR department. He had an assistant job open, and he offered it to Melton, who took it.
Melton talked about the importance of gaining experience in any way possible.
“For pennies, for nothing, for a lot of money, it doesn’t matter. Do anything to get involved with the field you are interested in,” said Melton. “You have to get involved and have experience.”
Melton’s experience helped to land the head PR position with the Mavericks after Elkin left to take another job. Melton is one of only three female public relations directors working for NBA teams. While Melton has had a few isolated problems because of her gender, she said that taking her job seriously, while leaving some room for fun, is the key to gaining respect
“Women can do this job and they can do it just as well as men,” said Melton.
Melton talked about her work, including relating a story about how to deal with potentially negative situations. One of the Mavericks, Josh Howard, made some comments that some deemed as unpatriotic and the video ended up on YouTube.
Melton discussed how to deal with people who sometimes seem to say the wrong thing. She also explained her work with such crisis communication situations and how to deal with the ever-evolving new media, including blogs.
Melton also enjoys traveling and has been a part of eight NBA All-Star Games, an NBA Finals series. She follows the team to game locations during the season. However, she realizes she can’t keep up this schedule forever.
“I’m 32 years old and I know eventually I want to settle down and have a family,” said Melton. “However, I will never forget the experiences I have had because of Indiana University and the Dallas Mavericks.”
