President of Moxie Publicity Melissa Kucirek Reveals Her Top Five

MY FIVE: A series where we ask Omahans to share their five favorite things

Meet Melissa Kucirek, this week’s My Five Feature!

By: Xitlally Velasco

Melissa Kucirek, pronounced kah-chur-ick, is President of Moxie Publicity, which specializes in media relations and finding creative ideas to engage guerrilla marketing efforts. She has been self-employed since 2009 and is based in Omaha. She’s a two-time University of Nebraska– Omaha graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2001 and a Master of Arts in Communication in 2004.

She has more than a decade of experience in the concert and live entertainment industry. She has cultivated a passion for media relations and pitching stories to national, secondary, and tertiary media.

Kucirek is known for her spirit of collaboration and candor and has gained a reputation for getting results without compromising her professional integrity. Kucirek has been a vital team member for numerous projects and served as head of publicity and promotion for diverse acts and an ever-increasing roster of bands, venues, promoters, and nonprofits.

Some of her clients include The Rascals, Great White, The Prince Experience Starring Gabriel Sanchez, Jessie Haines, and The Waiting.

Without further adieu, her five favorite things…

1. Grandma Rosie’s Cookie Jar.

“I feel like this jar is a tiny reminder that she’s encouraging me to be myself, and that she’s looking out for me.”

- Melissa Kucirek

My late, paternal grandmother had such a wonderful heart. I have several of her items, but her cookie jar is the one that I see the most. It’s in my kitchen, and I see it every morning. I love the cracked lid because her humor and her personality were a bit off kilter. I feel like this jar is a tiny reminder that she’s encouraging me to be myself, and that she’s looking out for me. I don’t actually keep cookies in it. I keep spare change. I could write a book on the little anecdotes and offbeat stories from Grandma Rosie, but in a way, the pennies in that cookie jar are like pennies from heaven.

2. Running Shoes.

“It helps me channel my energy and my thoughts into something else.”

- Melissa Kucirek

I’ve always been involved in sports – it just happened to be in volleyball for the majority my school years. Those days are behind me and my new passion is running. I find myself willing and wanting to accomplish a mile, or two, or three, or even six, week after week. During the COVID downtime, I wasn’t getting to the pool as much to swim laps, and just slowly started running outside. It helps me channel my energy and my thoughts into something else. It’s weird, too, when you are running around your neighborhood, you always seem to see a house on the block that you never really notice when you’re in a car. My favorite is running on the trail and making it past my previous run’s turnaround point.

3. Ticket Stubs.

I work in the concert industry and I’m spoiled that I get to see a ton of shows side stage. There is truly nothing like the live experience – that moment right when the lights go down for the first song. I save the tickets, the passes and sometimes the programs for my collection. I’m saddened when I get tickets to a show and it’s mobile only.

4. Notebooks.

“ I crave my spiral notebooks. They are definitely a security blanket. I’m a tactile learner.”

- Melissa Kucirek

I’ve tried Google sheets, Monday, AirTable, and I’m sure there are several other online-only databases and workflow tools. I crave my spiral notebooks. They are definitely a security blanket. I’m a tactile learner. My success for the amount of concerts and live events I’m working on any given day relies heavily on my memory. Me putting pen to paper really drives that artist, date, and venue home. I also write a daily to-do list and ‘do the worst first’.

5. Framed Krug Park Photo.

I wrote my master’s thesis on the July 24, 1930, Krug Park roller coaster crash. The rich history of the park, and it’s role as an entertainment destination fascinated me. I’m a huge Omaha history enthusiast in general, but Krug Park’s tragedy intrigued me. I keep this photo around because I always wondered what it would be like to actually be at that park during its heyday and the way it captures the amusement park. The stillness of it. I also think it’s hilarious to think that those poor women were wearing such heavy dresses on a summer day. Could you imagine?

Xitlally Velasco is a University of Nebraska at Omaha journalism student with a concentration in public relations and advertising and a minor in Psychology. Velasco is the Digital Content Curator at Lozafina Marketing and Public Relations. Send your tips and story ideas to office@lozafina.com