The SE Voice’s advertising representative Kelly Costin is a local through and through and is proud of her close connection with Millicent.
Kelly was born and raised in Millicent and spent her teenage years playing for the Hatherleigh Football Netball Club.
She moved to Mount Gambier with her partner Jamie in 2015 as she was working at Optus.
“After around 2 years I remember being on a lunch break flicking though the paper and seeing an employment opportunity at The Border Watch. Coming now from a sales background I thought ‘what the hell’ and decided to apply for the position thinking it would not go any further than that,” Kelly said.
“I began working at TBW as a media sales trainee in 2017 where I completed a Cert 4 in Business. I worked in the sales team for around 2.5 years where I assisted Mount Gambier, Penola and Naracoorte based businesses with their advertising needs.
“After 2.5 years working at TBW I had decided it was time for a change and began considering other career paths. Not long after this, I was offered a position working in a Federal Member’s office.
“Not long before accepting the position myself and my partner found ourselves unfortunately in a car accident, him luckily walking away with a few scratches but me with a dislocated elbow, which left me unable to start my new job but at home in recovery.”
When Kelly was finally able to settle into the new role, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and staff were sent into lockdown and forced to work from home.
“I was thrust into a completely different world with the new position as an assistant media advisor.
Through various trainings and daily activities, I became quickly versed in social media planning and execution and various other communications activities, rapidly broadening my skillset,” she said.
“While I was so grateful to be able to continue to work from home, as many people had actually lost their jobs, I was working long hours from my own home and it began to take its toll.
“It served as a wake-up call that maybe this kind of industry was not for me and after eight months I decided to move on.
“I started toying with different ideas as to what career path to head down and what direction I wanted to go in, when one evening I received a phone call from my former sales manager at TBW Melissa Prior who was calling to ask how I had been and she told me she was the new sales manager at The SE Voice newspaper.
“I had been in touch with Melissa not long before when she had reached out to me to break the news that TBW, SE Times and Penola Pennant were closing. It was a huge shock for not only the surrounding communities but to all of those who would find themselves out of a job especially in such a gruelling year.
“Melissa explained to me that she was working for a new newspaper called The SE Voice that had been created by Mount Gambier local Lechelle Earl. I was delighted to hear that many of my old workmates from TBW were also working as part of the team and they had a position for me to join the sales team if I was interested.”
Kelly said joining the team at The SE Voice was a “no brainer”. “I was honoured to have been asked to join a team of such passionate, motivated individuals and bring a brand new, locally-owned publication to life each week,” she said.
“Not only that, but to be the advertising rep for Millicent businesses – businesses I remember shopping in as a child and the town I grew up in is also really special to me. It was like all the dominoes had fallen into place and all of the events leading up to the point where Melissa phoned me that night had all happened for a reason.”
When Kelly is not meeting with clients and coordinating fresh advertising campaigns, she enjoys cooking, spending quality time with family and friends and attending as much live music as she can.
“I also love making memories with my fiancé Jamie – who himself deserves a massive thank you for being so supportive of me through my challenges this year!” She said.
