40 Under 40 The Class of 2010

Mary Fallon

Age 26: Media Director, Garvey Communication Associates Inc.

As she talked with BusinessWest for this profile, Mary Fallon was thinking about what she might do on her first real outing with Lashanna, her first ‘little sister,’ whom she had just met through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The list of options — which includes hiking, playing soccer or basketball, shopping, or dog-walking, among others — reveals just some of the things Fallon enjoys when she’s not working as media director for Springfield-based Garvey Communication Associates. Especially the dog-walking part. Fallon counts her 95-pound weimaraner, Riley, as her best friend.

“We do everything together,” she said, noting that the two walk her neighborhood in Springfield for at least an hour a day, more on weekends. Lashanna is apparently a dog lover, so the two should hit it off. Her current involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters is the latest example of how Fallon mixes her job responsibilities — which include public relations, media buying, and social media — with civic involvement.

A veteran Facebook user, she is also adept in applying Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, among other vehicles, and is becoming well-known and regarded as a social-media expert. “I do a little bit of everything,” she said, “which makes each day different and my job challenging, but also fun.”

In the community, Fallon has donated time, energy, and expertise to several organizations and causes. She helped lead efforts to collect personal care and clothing items for the homeless for St. Francis Chapel, a downtown Springfield shelter. She recorded a radio public-service announcement, used social-media channels to build awareness of what the chapel was doing, and coordinated media coverage to further spread the word.

Fallon is also a volunteer and presenter for Media and Marketing for Middle School, a vocational mentoring program at the Zanetti School in Springfield. When asked where her career might take her, Fallon said she has yet to think that through. For now, she’s focused on what she and Lashanna might do next weekend, and what route the next walk with Riley might take.

—George O’Brien