What about Pete?

A brief history of my life experiences prepared for my friends on the PRSA–Las Vegas Valley Chapter board of directors.

Born in Cedar City, Utah while my parents attended what’s now Southern Utah University.

Spent my childhood years in Logan and Smithfield, Utah while my dad attended Utah State University to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry.

Went to elementary and middle school in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

Won best of show in my 6th grade science fair for a project that measured a person’s reaction time. Part of a bowling league; won dozens of trophies for my bowling accomplishments. Frequently went water skiing with my best friend’s family at Lake Conroe. Participated in Cub Scouts. Received regional band honors as 8th place trumpet player. Participated in summer band camp at Sam Houston State University in Texas.

Attended Niskayuna High School in upstate New York, the tri-cities area (Albany–Schenectady–Troy). Upon graduation received the John Philip Sousa Band Award and Medal of Excellence. My parents still live in Niskayuna; my dad works at GE’s Global Research Center Headquarters.

Participated in community and high school theater, high school band, jazz band, orchestra and show choir. Received an Eagle Scout award.

Attended BYU in Provo, Utah as a freshman on a vocal performance scholarship—music, dance, theater major.

Served a two-year mission for the LDS Church in Utah and Idaho.

Returned to BYU and performed with the Young Ambassadors, a musical theater review company. Toured throughout the U.S., Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Spain, Morocco and Tunisia. Received full-tuition scholarship for serving as the ensemble’s president for two years. Worked as a music department administrative assistant for four years. Now serve on the YA Alumni board.

Changed my major after three years to communication studies with a minor in business management. Received a B.A. from BYU.

Co-founded and operated for two years an entertainment production company—artist management, booking and music production—called Diamond Productions.

Worked for a Salt Lake City talent agency doing TV commercials. Toured the west and southern U.S. with Michael McLean’s Celebrating the Light. Worked at Health Benefits America in Salt Lake City as an insurance provider customer service representative shift manager.

Moved to New York City where I auditioned for Broadway shows and worked as an evening desktop publishing manager at the World Financial Center headquarters of Merrill Lynch. Performed in a dinner theater production of Damn Yankees and received my actor’s equity eligibility.

Moved to Jackson, Wyoming for summer stock theater at Jackson Hole Playhouse to play the romantic lead male role in Calamity Jane.

Worked at BYU’s Performing Arts Management for three years. Traveled as tour manager with BYU student performing groups around the U.S., Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Met and married my sweetheart, Vickey.

Moved to Las Vegas and began working for a public relations agency. Also began serving on the BYU Alumni Association–Las Vegas Chapter board of directors. I’m the current vice-chair.

After three years of teaching school in Vegas, Vickey finished a 10-year teaching career. She now works as an independent sales director for The Pampered Chef; see PamperedChef.biz/vickey.

Our daughter, Eliana Marie, was born at Sunrise Hospital. She’ll be six in September.

Opened Codella Marketing.

Worked at The Venetian in the evenings as a part-time singing gondolier for six months.

Went to work at an ad agency as its director of public relations.

Served as the Public Relations Society of America–Las Vegas Valley Chapter president in 2005 and received my APR in December of that year.

Re-opened Codella Marketing and located its office in the southwest at Durango and Tropicana.

Our son, Dominic Joseph, was born at St. Rose Siena Hospital. He’ll be two in July.

Currently serve on three PRSA boards: assembly delegate for the LVVC, Western District director-at-large and executive committee member of the Independent Practitioners Alliance.

Hobbies and What I Enjoy

An active participant in music at church, serving as choir director, choir member and last year, performing in a musical.

Woodworking—I have built bedroom furniture sets for everyone in my family.

Home improvement and interior decorating—I painted and installed moulding in every room of our home, installed closet shelving, re-designed our landscaping and hired a crew to do the work.

Weight lifting and exercising.

Outdoor recreation—camping, hiking, rollerblading, street skiing (when our 80 pound weimaraner, Sir Tank Thunderpaw, pulls me on my rollerblades as he runs around the neighborhood).

Blogging Vegas named one of Vegas’ top five blogs

This week a new Internet-based broadcast company, called RawVegas.tv, published its list of the top five blogs in Las Vegas.

Blogging Vegas, the blog network run by Codella Marketing (my company) and Image Domain, was named number five.

Sure, it’s no amazing feat. Still, it’s kind of fun to receive the publicity. I’ve already had one previous client contact me as a result of the rankings.

It was fun to be interviewed by RawVegas.tv and experience what my clients feel like when being interviewed by the media. I shared the same seat with the top-ranked Vegas Popular blog written by the infamous Robin Leach.

You can view The Live 5 review by clicking here or on the image above.

Ranked by RawVegas.tv on March 13, 2007:

1. Vegas Popular, Robin Leach
2. The Movable Buffet, Richard Abowitz
3. Jack Colton, Jack Colton
4. Las Vegas Vegas, Joe Smith
5. Blogging Vegas, Pete Codella

Quoted in this week’s In Business Las Vegas

In December of 2005 I completed my Accreditation in Public Relations through the Public Relations Society of America. It was an encouraging accomplishment and one that I worked toward for many months.

This week’s publication of In Business Las Vegas has an article on the Accreditation process and I’m one of the three Las Vegas Valley Chapter members quoted in the article.

You can check it out online.

At the Pinnacle Awards

Although I was on the PRSA – Las Vegas Valley Chapter Pinnacle Awards Committee this year, I didn’t submit any work for consideration by the judges. It really came down to a time issue. I ended up supporting the awards through my volunteer time instead of time preparing and submitting entries.

At any rate, today I received the photos from the evening’s festivities and thought this photo of me with local TV personalities Paula Francis and Gary Waddell of KLAS-TV was pretty fun. So here it is.


You can read about Gary and Paula on the Pinnacle Awards website I did (it was my assignment this year to launch the first ever PRSA Pinnacle Awards website). The evening was fun and overall went pretty much according to plan.

The reason I’m pictured here with Paula and Gary is because I worked with Drek Agency earlier this year on a brochure project and they submitted the brochure in the awards competition. We won an award of merit. Since they weren’t in attendance I accepted the award on their behalf.

And here’s Vickey with our friends, Matt and Shannon Hiller (way to keep those eyes open for the photo, Shannon!).


Shannon and I have worked together a few different times. In fact, we both just attended the International PRSA Conference in Salt Lake City. Good times.

A new bathroom floor at Codella Marketing

Since moving into our office space last fall David and I have discussed replacing the bathroom floor. We wanted the linoleum out and tile in.

We finally got around to tackling the project with the help of Kyle.


This slate is the same product that’s being used in the homes at Brickwater Condominiums, one of my clients. I saw it at the sales center a few weeks ago and loved it!


The floor is still a work in progress (it needs grout and baseboards), but it’s taking shape.

Thanks, Kyle, for all your help!

Decorated front office

I finally got around to finishing the décor of the front of the office. Dave’s wife painted some fun contemporary paintings for above the couch and I picked up a few items and brought a large mirror from home to the office to complete the finishing touches.


Now when you walk into our office it looks like a decorated, finished room. It’s nice.


That's Kyle working at the front desk, answering phones and just being very helpful.


Vinyl signs for the front windows are coming in the next couple of weeks. We’ll be in there a year in November and our goal is to have everything complete by then.

Next on my list is to fix the bathroom floor (it’s nasty linoleum) and paint the hallway.

The New Office

You’ve probably wondered ‘why the lull in blogs from Pete?’ Well, I have to say it’s pretty much because life has been very crazy busy lately.

On Nov. 1 a business colleague, someone I’ve worked with since moving to Vegas, and I signed a 3-year lease on an 1,100 square foot office in southwest Las Vegas. Since then we’ve been working on all that goes into setting up a new office. It’s taking many, many days.

The highlights are: I faux painted the front reception area and a wall in my office, ordered office new furniture, and set-up a new computer.

There are 4 offices, a reception area and hallway, and a bathroom.

I’ll continue to do my marketing, public relations and advertising consulting and David, my office partner, will continue his web design and online advertising business. Down the road, our two companies could be combined into one agency. For now, we’ll see how things go and cross that bridge when we get to it.


It’s really exciting for me to have my own space and the freedom to make it whatever I want. Like my dad always says, “It just takes time and money.”

As part of the move Codella Marketing is undergoing a facelift. There’s a new corporate identity rollout planned for the near future.

Ode to Technology

At a Public Relations Society of America luncheon today (I’m the president of the Las Vegas Valley Chapter this year), someone at our table commented on how professionals utilize Microsoft PowerPoint. He mentioned that there was a website that illustrated the point well. I looked it up and sure enough, it does a good job. At least I got a big kick out of it.

If the topic interests you, check out the Gettysburg Address in PowerPoint — how President Abraham Lincoln would have presented his address on November 19, 1863 had PowerPoint been available.

And for what it’s worth, our seminar today on Communications in Times of Crisis, led by Dan Burns (director of communications for Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and a member of the State of Nevada Public Information Officer Committee's Joint Information Center, and part of Nevada Homeland Security) and Erik Pappa (Clark County director of public communications and former public information officer for the City of Las Vegas) was certainly an informative and though provoking discussion on effective crisis communications with commentary on hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and potential disasters, natural or manmade, that could occur in Las Vegas.

In the words of the Backstreet Boys, “It’s a Weird World.”