A Special Women’s Day Profile in The Tinley Park Patch

Apparently I am “someone to know” according to new editor of online news platform The Tinley Park Patch, Erika Hobbs.

Tinley Park Mom Stephanie Pyrzynski: Someone You Should Know https://t.co/ZDldgZtCAd pic.twitter.com/2WKWUZqweh

— Tinley Park Patch (@TinleyParkPatch) March 7, 2019

Back in early January Erika Hobbs contacted be through the Tinley Park Mom Facebook page:

Hi! – this is Erika Hobbs, and I am the new Patch editor for Tinley. I’m wondering if you’d like to meet up for coffee in the next few weeks. I’m looking to meet people, find out what interests them, and get a lay of the land.

Erika Hobbs, January 10, 2019

I was totally flattered. Was Tinley Park Mom getting a reputation as a source of information about all things Tinley Park? Maybe, I don’t know, but for sure something I had done in the social media marketing or SEO of the blog website reached an editor.

We were supposed to meet up for coffee on February 8th and I honestly didn’t know it was about profiling me. Erika couldn’t make it because a story came up that she needed to cover in the city. She asked if I could talk to her over the phone instead. I agreed but staid at the local Tinley Park coffee shop D12 Café and enjoyed me s’mores latté. Then wham! The day before Women’s Day arrives and Erika shares the link to the profile on the Tinley Park Patch website.

A profile on me came out on Women’s Day in the local paper The Tinley Junction last year while I was pregnant with my daughter Eileah, and that was really cool. But now after having been doing this blog and the social media community I’ve grown to 379 members, I’ve suddenly been declared as “someone to know.” I’m no expert on Tinley Park, I just try to keep in the know, am involved on a civic level with the Village government and the Chamber of Commerce, but I honestly don’t write or visit enough places as I’d like to. I’m super busy taking care of my daughter, my home, my husband, dog, and our business. It’s so not easy, but I find a way to fit in Tinley Park Mom because I really believe in it. In a perfect world, every town would have a designated mom who oversees a mom group and a source of information (such as a blog) for local moms to be connected and feel support.

I’m honestly not sure how much impact I’ve had but I’m encouraged by our Facebook group that has grown steadily in the last almost two years. I’m not the only posting on it anymore, moms are actively reaching out for help, recommendations, and advice. Any from a few I’ve learned that there are hangouts and friendships being made outside the group. I want to keep that momentum going, it’s been a slow healthy flame that I hope catches fire. Right now I’m really happy with our modest group of moms and the way the blog has been going. And I’m going to enjoy that huge compliment from Erika of being “someone to know.” No one has ever called me that, and I really hope others regard me as worthy of that title. I’ll keep trying.

You can read the full interview at the Tinley Park Patch here.