Linda Clark, Communications Specialist in the Public Information Office (Pub Info), has retired after 20 years of service with GUC. Her role began in 2004 as the manager and editor of Spotlight and evolved over the years into much more.

Pub Info staff is responsible for implementing an extensive communications plan designed to enhance GUC’s image. They do this in a number of ways through a variety of print and digital communications tools and community outreach. As communications tools evolved and grew over the past 20 years, so did Linda’s responsibilities. 

Linda eventually became responsible for keeping our website, guc.com, updated with the latest information and tools. She managed the last four redesigns of our website, which was a big undertaking. One of the redesigns won a national award. The newest website features she assisted with are the live chat that our customers can utilize during business hours and language translation that converts our webpages to a handful of other languages on demand.

Linda also assisted with media relations, helped coordinate community events, continued to contribute stories to Spotlight, handled many of Pub Info’s administrative tasks, and worked on a variety of projects with the rest of the Pub Info team. She was instrumental in ensuring that every piece of information released by Pub Info was grammatically correct and that GUC’s “brand voice” remained consistent. 

“I’ve always been proud to tell people I work at GUC,” said Linda. “Life as we know it wouldn’t be the same without the services we provide. Being a small part of that gave me a good feeling throughout my career. I got so much more than a paycheck working at GUC and built some great relationships. I will treasure my GUC friends and miss seeing them every day.”

Linda was also instrumental in building our Lighthouse process from the ground up. She was on the initial Steering Team that spent countless hours researching, learning, and then building Lighthouse, including several years of tweaking it to what it is today. “One of my proudest accomplishments at GUC is Lighthouse,” she said. “I’m proud of the success we had in getting it off the ground.”

One of the Pub Info projects that Linda says stands out for her the most was the GUC Centennial celebration in 2005. “It was really fun gathering historical information we used in the Centennial publications and celebrations. It was neat to see how things were way back in the day.”

Originally from northern Virginia, Linda came to Greenville to attend East Carolina University’s School of Music. She played the clarinet and thought that she’d end up with a career as a music educator. She wasn’t happy as a music major but did love ECU and writing, so she switched over to the English Department, graduated, and became a permanent Greenville resident. Before joining GUC, Linda worked in various non-profits writing and managing a variety of programs.

In retirement, she looks forward to spending more time with friends she hasn’t been able to visit as often as she wished. She has an adult daughter, Miranda, and son-in-law, Logan, in Greensboro who she looks forward to visiting more often. “I’ll also spend quality time with my dad in Virginia,” Linda said. “That’s one of the many blessings of retirement – time to catch up with friends and family. And I want to continue my new hobby of gardening. My cats, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, will enjoy my retirement, as well!”

Linda, we thank you for 20 years of being GUC’s “grammar queen” and wish you the very best in retirement!