Valpak® Presents Mentoring Workshop at HCC Through Partnership with 100 Black Men of America

Valpak, a division of Cox Media Group, hosted a workshop in partnership with the 100 Black Men of America at Hillsborough Community College on Oct. 22. Nearly 50 students attended the local event that was sponsored by the 100 Black Men of Tampa chapter.

Valpak employees steered the workshop series, called Building Your Brand: Soft Skills Matter. During this speed networking style event, discussion experts shared their thoughts on the soft skills that are essential for career growth and success.

Valpak’s parent company, Cox Enterprises, has a national partnership with 100 Black Men of America that focuses on the Collegiate 100 program. This initiative engages African-American college students and prepares them for educational and economic success. The sponsorship shows Cox’s commitment to its communities around the country, as well as its commitment to a diverse workforce.

Cox is presenting the mentoring program in five markets including Tampa; Atlanta; Charlotte, NC; Baton Rouge, La; and Washington, DC. Workshops will focus on enhancing leadership and career readiness skills including but not limited to business etiquette, public speaking and securing internship, co-op or entry level positions.

“It’s part of our diversity initiative program and it’s a great opportunity to partner with the community,” said Lynn Johnson, a 30-year employee of Valpak, and chairman of its Diversity and Inclusion Council. “We participated in these workshops to help students gain important skills. At the same time, we are introducing our work, sharing skills that we’ve learned and meeting potential employees.”

Workshop discussions focused on:

• Communication
• Teamwork/Mentorship
• Enthusiasm and Attitude
• Professionalism
• Personal Branding

Valpak employees Sherrel Sampson, Sydney Bennett, Carl Paret, Nilda Almodovar and Christopher Lee led the round tables.

For more information about the program, please contact Elizabeth Olmstead atelizabeth.olmstead@coxinc.com.

About Valpak®
Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America, is owned and operated by Cox Target Media. With nearly 170 franchises across the United States and Canada, the signature Blue Envelope® delivers coupons and savings to nearly 40 million households each month. Annually, Valpak will distribute some 20 billion offers inserted in more than 500 million envelopes. Valpak also offers digital solutions online throughhttp://www.valpak.com and http://www.valpak.ca, sites offering free coupons, e-commerce and coupon codes. Additionally, the Valpak mobile coupon app for smartphone platforms delivers easy to find savings for consumers. For more information about advertising with Valpak, please contact 1-800-676-6878.

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps. Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America’s leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings. The company’s operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 57 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 30 million TV viewers, more than 4 million print and online newspaper readers, and 14 million radio listeners. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online atwww.coxmediagroup.com.

For further information: Marsha Strickhouser, marsha_strickhouser@valpak.com