Meet RAF’s New(ish) Communications Chameleon, Christina Scott Sayer

I discovered Random Acts of Flowers about a year ago as I was searching for employment at nonprofit organizations in Knoxville, TN (where I knew I would be moving in the late spring). I had never heard of RAF before, but I was immediately enamored of the simplicity and straightforwardness of the mission. The concept of a pipeline taking what is often incorrectly viewed as worthless waste and transforming it into a beacon of hope and encouragement touched me deeply.

I was so inspired by the mission that, though there wasn’t a position available at the time, I reached out to the HR Manager in the National Office in Knoxville, expressing my interest and promising that – if nothing else – I would love to be a volunteer in the local branch once I had settled into my new city.

So, when I found out that Random Acts of Flowers was in search of a Communications Chameleon (as CMO/COO Cindy McConkey Cox styles my position), I jumped at the opportunity to apply. Just as Cindy calls herself an accidental COO, I consider myself an accidental graphic designer and marketing manager, a chameleon who approaches each project with a fresh eye and a spirit of adaptability.

I come from a theatre background (Shakespeare, specifically) and have worked professionally as an actor and a playwright for nearly a decade. In the course of my theatre work, I found myself suddenly cast into graphic design and marketing roles. This hands-on, by-the-bootstraps approach to learning the trade has allowed me to hone my skills and mindset for the nonprofit world.

And, while the skills are important, the mindset of humility and service that threads through nonprofit work is the center of my professional ethos. That’s what excites me most about being at Random Acts of Flowers. Everyone from CEO and Founder Larsen Jay to the every-once-in-awhile volunteer factors the mission and its goals into every idea, every project, and every day.

We’re not here for ourselves; we’re not here for money or influence or attention; we’re not really here for the flowers. We’re here for the joy we see on the faces of those surprised by the gift of a bouquet. We’re here for the knowledge that a little love goes a long way. We’re here to deliver hope and encouragement, and – if you want to call it just a little selfish – we’re here for the satisfaction that serving a smile gives back to us.

The short version of this story is this – Now three months on the job, I am so happy to be here at Random Acts of Flowers. The mission and the culture of the organization fits with my philosophies seamlessly, and I am thrilled to be able to contribute my particularly flexible brand of marketing and communications manager-ness to this amazing cause.

So, if you have an occasion to send me something to proofread, you can go ahead and address it to your collateral designing, copy-editing comma chameleon.