Jason A. Merrell
2800 La Frontera Blvd., Apt. 1010 Round Rock, TX 78681 (210) 268 - 7826 Email: jasonm57@yahoo.com
Professional Skills
Journalism I have a strong education and history with Journalism after five years as a Public Affairs Specialist on Active Duty for the U.S. Army – currently, I am enrolled as a Reserve Soldier for a Public Affairs Detachment in San Antonio. I’ve interviewed and shadowed many top officials of the United States Government including Honorable Dick Cheney, former Vice President; Honorable Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense; Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth O. Preston, CSM of the U.S. Army; and many top officials in the Military Intelligence Field. My military experience in journalism has taught me the fundamental principles that will ensure success with any potential employer: motivation, punctuality and an inequitable drive to succeed. Graphic Design In addition to be trained in the field of journalism, I’ve had extensive training in graphic design. From designing and laying out a 40-page quarterly magazine, to designing ads for a professional design company, I have become well-rounded in this field. Photography Through my experience as a journalist, I began my interest and career in photography. As my training and experience progressed, I’ve had photos used by such publications as: Stars & Stripes, The Army Times, The INSCOM Journal, The Morning Calm, and Soldiers Magazine. Recently, I have been photographing properties to provide visual evidence for property tax cases handled by Bence Property Tax Management.
Professional Experience
Bence Property Tax Management December 1, 2008 – Present Harlingen, TX Photographer. Trained in property tax management. Tasked to photograph clients’ properties in a professional manner that would facilitate cases handled by Bence Property Tax Consultants.
Ad Ideas, L.L.C. September 1, 2008 – November 14, 2008 San Antonio, TX Graphic Designer. Trained in yellow page sales and design. Created and contributed to full color print advertisements for several dozen yellow page directories across the United States. Learned and applied creative, modern design techniques to improve the quality of ads, and make them more relative to their customer base. Customer Service. Ensured that the product being made for the customer is compliant with their complete satisfaction. Took orders in detail to ensure coworkers are able to carry out the job in my absence.
FX Imagery April 15, 2008 – September 1, 2008 Richmond, VA (worked remotely) Graphic Designer. Facilitated the visual development of websites through any graphical elements that are desired. Particularly in the areas of photo restoration/manipulation, and logos. Content Editor. Ensured that all content throughout the website or publication is accurate, professional and grammatically correct. Customer Service. Ensured that the product being made for the customer is compliant with their complete satisfaction. Took orders in detail to ensure coworkers are able to carry out the job in my absence.
Jason A. Merrell (Resume Continued)
Military Experience
United States Army November 12, 2005 – April 15, 2008 th 470 Military Intelligence Brigade San Antonio, TX Public Affairs Representative. Established positive relations with local media outlets. Trained peers on reacting and dealing with civilian media representatives. Answered and facilitated all media queries, and visits. Created and ran an internal quarterly publication to keep members of the unit informed, entertained and content with the brigade. Ensured all brigade events ran smoothely and received positive media attention. Graphic Designer. Kept quarterly publication visually appealing through modern layout and design techniques. Created any elements necessary to ensure that all brigade events were professional and visually appealing. This included invitations, name plates, flyers, banners, T-shirts, programs, posters, slide shows, videos, logos, etc. Photographer. Ensured that all brigade events were photographed and filed in an efficient manner. Responsible for editing all photos to the satisfaction of the commander. Facilitated visual elements required for the quarterly publication and graphical designs through the use of several fields of photography. Editor. Communicated through correspondence, e-mail, personal visits and telephone calls with subject matter experts to verify facts and figures of all content for the quarterly publication before print. Journalist. Wrote and edited articles in accordance to the AP Stylebook – including news, sports and features – focused on the brigade to inform, entertain, and generate positive feedback from readers. Conducted interviews and ensure all information is accurate. Non-Commissioned Officer. Lead and mentored all junior soldiers in the standards designated by Army doctrine, and ensure the company was being represented in a disciplined and professional manner at all times.
November 11, 2003 – November 12, 2005 United States Army st 501 Military Intelligence Brigade Seoul, Republic of Korea Public Affairs Representative. Established positive relations with local media outlets. Trained peers on reacting and dealing with civilian media representatives. Answered and facilitated all media queries, and visits. Created and ran an internal quarterly publication to keep members of the unit informed, entertained and content with the brigade. Ensured all brigade events ran smoothely and received positive media attention.
Graphic Designer. Kept quarterly publication visually appealing through modern layout and design techniques. Created any elements necessary to ensure that all brigade events were professional and visually appealing. This included invitations, name plates, flyers, banners, T-shirts, programs, posters, slide shows, videos, logos, etc. Photographer. Ensured that all brigade events were photographed and filed in an efficient manner. Responsible for editing all photos to the satisfaction of the commander. Facilitated visual elements required for the quarterly publication and graphical designs through the use of several fields of photography. Editor. Communicated through correspondence, e-mail, personal visits and telephone calls with subject matter experts to verify facts and figures of all content for the quarterly publication before print. Journalist. Wrote and edited articles in accordance to the AP Stylebook – including news, sports and features – focused on the brigade to inform, entertain, and generate positive feedback from readers. Conducted interviews and ensure all information is accurate.
Jason A. Merrell (Resume Continued)
Technical Skills
Operating Systems Windows Vista/XP/2000/98/NT/95/3.1, Mac OS X and Mac OS X Leopard. Software Adobe Photoshop 7.0 – CS3, Adobe In-Design, Adobe Illustrator, Pagemaker, Freehand, Font Book, Sony Vegas, Final Cut, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer. Equipment Canon Digital Rebel, Canon Digital Rebel XT, Nikon D1, Nikon D40X, Nikon D80, Canon Lenses and Accessories, Nikon Lenses and Accessories
Professional Education
University Of Phoenix Axia College Online Bachelor in Communications (In Progress – 3.4 GPA)
Military Education
Defense Information School Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland Basic Public Affairs Specialist (Writer) Graduate Defense Information School Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland Advanced Editor’s Course Graduate Primary Leadership Development Course El Paso, Texas Honor Graduate
Additional Training
Adobe Photoshop CS2 Training Seminar – The Power of Curves 2007 Adobe Photoshop World Conference, Boston 2007 Canon Live Studio Photography Pre-Conference Class, Boston