NAU alumnus Scott Hanson stays connected with NAU by acting as a professional advisor for public relations students.
NAU alumnus Scott Hanson, BS Telecommunications ’83, is president and owner of HMA Public Relations in Phoenix, Arizona. He started with the firm in 1986 after specializing in sports journalism at NAU. Hanson is a member of the Public Relations Society of America’s distinguished College of Fellows. He shares his PR knowledge with students at NAU as the professional advisor for NAU’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter.
You started your career while at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. What did you do?
I began working at KNAU-FM and NAU-TV as a sophomore. For KNAU, I was the weekday sportscaster for Tim Hattrick’s morning show. At NAU-TV, we televised NAU football, basketball, and hockey games to the Flagstaff market. We also had a weekly sports magazine show called The Sports Page, which I co-hosted with Andy McClure, that aired throughout Flagstaff.
My sophomore year, I also began working at KNAZ-TV, then an NBC affiliate in Flagstaff. I worked there throughout the rest of my collegiate days and for another two years after I graduated. I was the station’s sports director and did everything from sports anchor, producer, reporter, and weekly coaches’ show host. I think I even took out the trash.
You then started working for a public relations agency in Phoenix that you eventually purchased. How did that come about?
In 1986 I left KNAZ and began working for Ed Moser & Associates, a Phoenix public relations agency. In 1988 I became the weekend sports anchor and reporter for KPHO-TV Channel 5 in Phoenix. I worked at KPHO for eight years while also working Monday through Friday at the PR agency.
In 1991, I had the opportunity to purchase the agency, which I did. It was renamed Hanson, Moser & Associates until 2000 when we became HMA Public Relations. The agency is the oldest continuously operating public relations agency in the state, celebrating our 41st anniversary this year.
Do you do anything with sports anymore?
My love of sports has continued. I’ve written two Arizona high school sports history books. Who Is Gym? tells the stories of who, how, and why Arizona high schools and their sports facilities get their names. What’s Your Number? is about all the retired numbers at Arizona’s high schools. I’m also a high school baseball umpire, high school football official, and occasionally have the opportunity to officiate Arizona Cardinals’ practice scrimmages and spring training baseball games.
Were any faculty or staff instrumental in helping you move forward to meet your goals during your time at NAU?
Dr. Hal Hickman, School of Communication, had the biggest influence in getting my TV career started on the right foot. Dr. Dale Hoskins, School of Communication, also played a significant role in guiding me. Also, many of my peers had big roles.
What has been most challenging for you in your career? How did you handle it?
Balance. When I worked at KNAZ-TV I was working 60 hours per week. I was single for most of that time. By the time I was working simultaneously at HMA Public Relations and Channel 5, I was married and had two kids. Nights and weekends were now part of my work week. As my sons got older and became involved in sports and school activities, I was missing more and more of the things that were important to me away from work. It was time to get out of television and focus on HMA and my family. More recently, the pandemic brought its own set of challenges for all businesses, including ours.
It seems that you are very involved with NAU in several ways. Can you briefly explain how you are involved, and why this involvement is important to you?
I have been the professional advisor for the student chapter of NAU’s Public Relations Student Society of America for many years. I am available to mentor the students, speak at their chapter meetings, and have hosted students during their Student/Professional Shadow Days. In fact, we even hired a student who left a résumé at the end of the Shadow Day. When both of my sons were attending NAU, it made it even more of a natural fit for me to help students as best as I could.
Why should other NAU alumni get involved?
My best friends are people I met in Flagstaff. Sharing that common bond, that NAU connection, is what I’d suggest to other alumni to seek out to stay—or get—involved.
What makes you proud to be an alumnus of NAU?
Being associated with so many other successful NAU grads who were classmates creates a certain sense of pride. And the fact that both of my sons are also NAU grads.
Why should a student choose NAU? And why go into communications or public relations?
The campus is spectacular. The community has its own personality. The friendships and bonds you will find and create at NAU will last a lifetime.
The communications industry continues to evolve and grow. Today there are directors of departments overseeing things that didn’t even exist five years ago! Public relations is a truly dynamic field where your expertise in communications and storytelling aligns with business.
Anything else you would like to add?
NAU is a special place, and those who went to school there understand that.
For more information on how you can stay connected with your alma mater and fellow Lumberjack alumni, please visit our Advancement | Foundation page.
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