Shailee Williams

Speaker Story
12 April 2017
MWF 11:15
Word Count: 323

Waco Chamber of Commerce Talks Perception

Perception becomes reality, Baylor guest speaker Julina Macy said. But different from reality,
everyone has their own perception of the world.

Macy, the director of communications for Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, is a veteran in
the world of public relations. A 2005 University of Houston graduate, she started off her career
working on various media related jobs, and after working her way up the ladder, eventually
became a board member of the Central Texas chapter Public Relations Society of America. With
all of these life experiences under her belt, she knows a thing or two about an outside public
perceptions.

Waco has been on the map for a lot of different reasons, Macy recalls about the citys
reputation. But now people are forgetting about our past and are looking towards the future.

To Macy, there is a difference between the internal and external perceptions of Waco. One deals
with what the rest of the world knows about Waco, and the other deals with the everyday
atmosphere for its residents. However, they have both been seen in a more positive light in recent
years.

Despite the Waco Chamber of Commerces efforts to grow the citys annual events list, there are
still perceptions that only see one aspect of Waco, Texas.

We posed a question to a Baylor research class on internal perceptions: whether or not people
liked watching Fixer Upper, Macy said. One student said that show is the only reason Waco
is growing.
Arizona junior and journalism student, Emily Smith, was able to notice more good that came
from the HGTV hit than just national attention.

Before learning about Wacos new maps and trolleys, I had never realized how much of an
impact Magnolia had on our city, Smith said. It has made Waco more of a community and not
just another tourist stop.