Houck Agency

05/19/2026

The awards tour continued at Ursuline High School this week, where Jim Houck stopped in to recognize students who competed in the 2nd Annual Scholastic Journalism Awards, hosted by the Youngstown Press Club.

Congratulations to Novella Poole, who earned 3rd place in the Video Package category, as well as Noah Bell for participating in this year's contest.

Well done!

05/08/2026

Jim Houck had a great time visiting Katie Nobles' class at Mahoning County Career and Technical Center and Valley STEM + ME2 Academy this week to recognize the winners of the 2nd Annual Scholastic Journalism Awards, hosted by the Youngstown Press Club .

Houck Agency sponsored the contest this year.

With 102 student participants across 11 categories and six counties, it's great to see this many young people learning the fundamentals of journalism-style reporting and writing.

It's clear that Katie’s mentorship and newsroom experience has rubbed off on her students. They did great work here, including taking 1st Place in the “Feature Story” category and 2nd in “Video Package.”

04/30/2026

In March, president/CEO Jim Houck had the chance to sit down with six of the leading marketing minds in our region for The Business Journal - Youngstown Publishing Co. roundtable to discuss where the industry is headed.

A lot of ground was covered: AI and how to use it without losing your voice, shrinking attention spans, the importance of consistency and what it actually takes to do this work well for clients.

What stood out most was the broad agreement that the fundamentals have not changed. Know your audience, be consistent, tell real stories and build real relationships. The tools evolve, but the principles do not.

Click here to read the full article: https://businessjournaldaily.com/adaptability-and-willingness-to-learn-are-marketing-necessities/

02/13/2026

💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛

There's a lot to love about the work we do at Houck Agency.

Our president/CEO Jim Houck and account executive Amy Hudzik went on the road recently to present to a class at Warren G. Harding High School about the importance of a marketing campaign.

The students are part of WSCN - Warren Student Communication Network, and they're helping us with an initiative at Harding for our client, Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition.

We talked through why strategy matters, how to sharpen messaging and how to pick the right channels to get that message to the targeted audience.

They. 👏 Nailed. 👏 It. 👏 Now, their ideas will turn into ACTION - creating content for social media, ads and other promotional material. The best part was seeing them connect the dots in real time.

Such a great experience, and we're excited about what's to come on this project.

02/09/2026

We have a work anniversary at Houck Agency!

Last week, we celebrated three years with Amy Hudzik. She’s incredibly talented, locked into the details and the kind of person who makes the office better just by being in it. She does outstanding work for our clients and is always willing to go above and beyond.

Amy has a natural way with people, builds real relationships and brings a fun, positive energy to everything she touches. We're so lucky to have her at Houck Agency.

Congratulations, Amy! 👏

01/07/2026

High school journalists are doing important work, and it’s good to see that effort recognized.

The Youngstown Press Club has announced its annual high school journalism contest. Houck Agency is serving as a sponsor, supporting student journalism and the next generation of newsroom and media relations talent.

Click below to read more about this year's contest!

Local high school students and their advisers can win prizes of up to $200 in the second annual Youngstown Press Club Scholastic Journalism Awards contest.

12/25/2025

It’s Christmas on a Thursday, which felt like permission to bring back this holiday season.

So here we are, sharing a few Christmas photos from long before Houck Agency existed. Back when Christmas morning meant sitting on the floor, tearing into wrapping paper, half-opened gifts everywhere and feeling rebellious eating candy before breakfast.

Fast forward to now and we’re excited for another year of storytelling with our clients who make the work fun. Merry Christmas from all of us at Houck Agency! ☃️

11/20/2025

We entered our first industry award competition in 11 years and made a solid first impression.

The Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition stakeholder newsletter we produce took home the Gold Award at Greater Cleveland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Cleveland Rocks Awards, topping its category after being evaluated by Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) - Chicago Chapter judges. The entry was up against submissions from across the Cleveland and Akron markets.

The publication goes out twice each month to more than 700 people across the manufacturing and workforce landscape. Every issue is built to give stakeholders a clear view of what’s happening: program updates, collaboration efforts, member news and trends that influence the sector.

Click here to read more from The Business Journal - Youngstown Publishing Co.: https://lnkd.in/g7pb-Gh3

11/07/2025

The Houck Agency team took a trip to the state capitol this week for The Ohio Manufacturers' Association Workforce Summit, where manufacturers, educators and workforce leaders came together to share challenges, exchange ideas and find solutions for growing Ohio’s workforce.

Lt. Governor Jim Tressel took the stage in the afternoon to introduce the new Ohio Manufacturing Workforce Blueprint, following a full morning of conversations on AI, upskilling, retention and outreach to future workers. Breakout sessions and panels highlighted real issues and fresh approaches from across the state.

We helped shape some of what attendees saw and heard, from visuals and t-shirts to storytelling that brought the data and impact to life.

Our friends at Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition were part of it too, sharing how programs like WorkAdvance are helping more Ohioans find strong careers in manufacturing.

10/24/2025

When it comes to business or swimming with the sharks, there's a certain amount of risk involved. 🦈

Our area is full of innovation and amazing ideas. It was great hearing entrepreneurs make their pitches during the YBI's annual Shark Tank event. Jim Houck, president/owner of Houck Agency, had the opportunity to attend thanks to our client Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition.

YBI has made a huge impact on the Mahoning Valley and is entering a new era with continued growth and expansion. Congratulations to the Shark Tank finalists and YBI on its success.