May 30^th was a scorcher in New York City: 90 degrees and humid.  But that didn’t stop 18 CooperKatz team members from running or walking their way to the finish line of the American Heart Association’s 2013 Wall Street Run & Heart Walk.

The CooperKatz team raised nearly $1000 for the event, which was a three mile run / walk that wove through the Financial District near Wall Street and ended in Battery Park City.

July 17 of 2012 was not a particularly cool day for most Americans, given the heat still scorching many parts of the U.S.  But it was certainly “cool” for Carrier, as it celebrated the 110^th anniversary of its founder Willis H. Carrier’s invention of the air conditioner.

When I was invited to attend the Council of PR Firm’s annual Critical Issues Forum this past month for a program centered on “Social Revolution,” I’ll admit I was excited and, more importantly, intrigued.

As a recent college graduate – I’ve been working for a year and a half here at CooperKatz – social media has been omnipresent both in my education and my post-college work life. I was interested to hear what the various industry speakers and panelists would have to say about something I’ve considered a permanent fixture on my personal landscape for almost six years.

The decision by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to downgrade the United States’ sovereign debt from AAA to AA+ elicited an avalanche of commentary from the industry, the media, the government and the public.

The main dialogue focused on whether or not S&P made an appropriate decision (not to mention the issue of that $2 trillion calculation error). But the controversial move also reignited ongoing debates over the state of the credits rating industry – specifically the role and position of the “big three” (S&P, Moody’s and Fitch) – in the wake of the financial crisis where the ratings agencies gave AAA status to mortgage-backed assets that quickly turned toxic.

This offered up a powerful opportunity for a new market entrant to voice its perspective on the significant and systemic problems with the credit ratings “status quo,” and the changes needed to re-establish credibility.

Last week, a team of 10 CooperKatz employees had the pleasure of assisting Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH) host its annual fundraising event, Skating with the Stars 2011.

For the second year in a row, the CK team worked on a pro bono basis with FSH to help members of the press, event attendees and VIP guests enjoy the event at the Trump Wollman Rink in Central Park.