About Donna

     “I believe in treating others as you’d like to be treated, learning something new everyday, and taking the road less traveled, but attitude is number one.”  These are the words of Donna Cranfill, assistant production manager of MediaFit Advertising Inc.  And if you’re responsible for ensuring the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of ordered materials for clients, you better have a good attitude.  Ordered materials can be brochures, banners, mugs, or standees, and it’s her job to make sure the customer gets what they want when they want it.  “It’s not magic, just a lot of hard work,” she says with a smile.  And sometimes she must pick up materials and deliver them herself in order to keep a guaranteed schedule.

   Cranfill started at MediaFit in 2006 when the company was just beginning to grow.  “We were in a very small office.  Space was tight, but everyone did what was needed to take care of the clients.”  Despite the firm’s humble beginnings, the excitement and challenge of being part of a start-up company ignited Cranfill’s interest, and now she’s one of twelve employees helping to make MediaFit a million dollar marketing and advertising firm.  Some of her job duties include procuring production quotes, keeping records of all transactions necessary for the completion of ordered products and services, tracking customer payment schedules, and managing client relationships. 

     This may sound like a juggling nightmare to some but not for Cranfill who came to MediaFit from the restaurant business where she worked as an employee training coordinator.  “I oversaw more than a hundred and twenty employees, keeping track of their files and records and training them for various exams including OSHA.”  She’s always been interested in administration—work that takes advantage of her organizational skills and detail-oriented nature.  “Whatever project I’m working on at the moment, I’m committed to seeing it through.  I’m like a beaver, totally focused and persistent.”  She also acted as a mediator between the home office and employees and between employees and management, experience she draws on in her current job mediating between clients and vendors.  “Luckily, I enjoy working with people and have good interpersonal skills.” 

     When she’s not busy keeping MediaFit organized, Cranfill likes to spend time with her family—a husband of thirty years, a son, and a daughter.  She also keeps active by entertaining.  She loves baking and cooking for friends and some ingredients come from her own property.  “We have twelve acres with fruit and nut trees and bushes.  I can, freeze, and dry all kinds of things.”  Keeping to her adage of learning something new everyday, she’d like to try her hand at making molasses.  “I’ve been thinking of planting some cane for that purpose.  My father owns a cane mill and says, ‘Don’t you know how much work that is?’”  She laughs.  “Believe me, I know, but I’d still like to try it.” 

     For the present, Cranfill remains busy by working at MediaFit and tending to her home and family.  In the future, she’d like to become more active in volunteering.  Her father is a cancer survivor, and although she’s done some volunteering here and there, she wants to become involved in the Relay for Life program.  “I need to keep moving.  I’m not one who can just sit and do nothing.  Even when I retire, I imagine meeting new people and finding a way to be of service.”  She passes this philosophy on to her children, encouraging them to volunteer through their chosen activities.  “But if you want your kids to do something, you need to set the example.” 

     Setting a good example is another cornerstone of her belief system.  So whether it’s checking the details on a printed brochure or picking up and delivering raffle tickets to ensure the customer has them that day, Donna Cranfill does the job with a smile.  “Attitude is number one,” she assures me again.  And talking to her, you realize MediaFit and their clients benefit from this winning attitude.

Biography written by: Carrie Graves