Enjoying Your Summer?

Hopefully you’ve had time to recharge this summer – on a hot sandy beach, in the cooler highlands, or maybe just hanging around without deadline pressures.  The chapter leadership has been active on many fronts – inducting new members to the Chapter’s Public Relations Hall of Fame, preparing for the 2007 call for nominations, updating our chapter bylaws (some of which we’ll be seeking your approval for later this fall), and planning a record number of events for August and September, including our signature Thoth program on Sept. 28 which includes an afternoon seminar series, sponsors exhibition, and silent auction.  Most of these activities are covered in the newsletter and more details are available at www.prsa-ncc.org. Watch your mail (snail and “e”) for more information.

We are thinking of cooler months too. In November, we will be hosting a National Capital Chapter Member and Alumni Reception at the International Conference in Salt Lake City. We also will be providing scholarships to PRSSA chapters to help defray the cost of attendance. Stay tuned for more details. We hope to see you there.

Please check out the “Upcoming Events” calendar for PD workshops, networking events, APR preparation, and a special 9/11 remembrance event being held on Sept. 12 at the U.S. Navy League in Clarendon. If you have any questions or feedback, please drop me a line – tschario@gwu.edu.

Cheers,
Tracy A. Schario
PRSA-NCC President

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2006 Thoth Seminar & Awards Gala Celebrating Excellence in PR!

Thursday, September 28, 2006
National Press Club, Washington, DC

This year’s annual Thoth program promises to be one of our best ever.  We start the day at 1pm with the Thoth Seminar featuring keynote speaker Ron Nessen, journalist-in-residence at the Brookings Institution and former White House Press Secretary. There will also be a sponsors exhibition where you can learn more about the latest PR tools and several professional development panels exploring issues and best practices. The reception, sponsored by PR Newswire and MulitVu™, begins at 5:30. We will once again have entertainment this year, as well as dessert and coffee to conclude the evening.  We hope you can join us for a memorable Thoth program, our signature event.

For the first time in its history, the prestigious Thoth Gala will have a philanthropic component.  This year, the Gala will feature a silent auction to help raise funds for the Circle of PR Friends Pam Miles Campaign.  The Campaign was developed earlier this year to support, Pam Miles, our 2004 Chapter President and long-time member of PRSA, who is in need of a life-saving lung transplant.  She has persevered for many years with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic and fatal disease that affects the lungs and digestive system, but recently her condition has deteriorated. Unless she receives a lung transplant within the coming months she is not expected to survive. The silent auction will provide an opportunity for friends, colleagues and guests to contribute to the Campaign.  Auction items include two open tickets to London, MP3 players, a wine tasting for six, a dinner party for six at the Art Institute of Washington, tickets to the Ford Theater, specialty baskets (books, Spa, kids), to name some and more! 

Register online: www.prsa-ncc.org or call 703-691-9212.

Three Inducted Into PRSA-NCC Hall of Fame

Three accomplished communications professionals were inducted into the National Capital Public Relations Hall of Fame on June 6 at The Georgetown Club. Michael G. Carberry, president of CARMA International; Michael K. Deaver, vice chairman international at Edelman; and Beverly Jackson, former chief of public information at the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse join the distinguished ranks of more than 60 D.C. public relations leaders who have made an impact and lasting contribution to the profession.

“These three PR professionals are the best representation of what our profession is about,” said Charlie Brotman, PRSA Hall of Fame member and master of ceremonies for the event.  “They show us what the ‘good ole days’ really mean.”

Tracy Schario, PRSA-NCC president, added, “This year’s inductees remind us that the practice of public relations requires tenacity, creativity and honesty, along with a commitment to enjoy your work so that results may follow.”  AARP sponsored the event.

Carberry began his career as an advertising manager at the U.S. Postal Service and has served as a founding partner of Porter, Novelli & Associates. He later served as CEO of both Henry J. Kaufman & Associates and Earle Palmer Brown. Carberry is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and an adjunct professor at Georgetown and American universities. 

Deaver has earned the reputation as one of the nation’s premier image-makers. Deaver spent more than 20 years as one of Ronald Reagan’s closest advisors and is widely credited with structuring the Reagan communications program. Active in national and international politics, he regularly meets with international dignitaries and is a New York Times best-selling author.

Jackson is recognized for her exemplary career in communications at some of the finest Washington-based organizations: Children’s Hospital, Smithsonian Institution, Wolf Trap, and the White House News Photographers Association. She served as president of Jackson/Summers Association and is a founder of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

The Hall of Fame launched in October 1999 in conjunction with the chapter's 50th anniversary celebration. Criteria for admission into the Hall of Fame include significant accomplishments in the field of public relations and the community and at least 20 years in the profession, with 10 of those in the Washington area.

We sincerely thank AARP for their contribution to the Hall of Fame dinner.  The proceeds from this sponsorship will be used to fund the chapter’s educational initiatives, including the Betsy Plank Endowed Scholarship and scholarship support to PRSSA chapter and educators to attend the 2006 PRSA International Conference.

Inside PRSA-NCC’s 2006 Executive Board

By Kisha Wiggins

Sally McDonough is a PRSA-NCC vice president and a vice president with the Social Marketing Practice at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide/Washington.  A national award-winning practitioner, Sally brings more than a decade of media and marketing experience to helping national organizations and government agencies integrate marketing communications strategies, including media, public affairs, partnerships and special events. Sally provides strategic counsel, with a specialty in partnership outreach, event management and media relations to a number of public health initiatives with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, including the award-winning The Heart Truth/Red Dress, a program designed to educate women about heart disease, and the Jones Apparel Group’s cause initiative.

Five years ago Sally joined PRSA as an independent practitioner who craved professional outlets and training programs. “I've remained active because I feel rewarded when I bring meaningful programs and events to my professional colleagues. I have the opportunity to engage with a wide cast of public relations professionals”. In addition to serving as an executive board member, Sally oversees the awards and professional development programs.

Upon choosing this career path, her journey began “Like so many of us who are practitioners in Washington, DC, I got my start on Capitol Hill.  I started out as a staff assistant and found that my work in constituent outreach and press affairs was where I was most passionate and successful.  So, I moved away from legislative affairs and into press.”

Maintaining a work/life balance is critical.  Sally’s method is simple.“I am a mom of a toddler, Sarah Grace, and I am having so much fun hanging out with her.  The simple things in life are so much brighter when you watch your child experience them for the first time. And,  sure, taking walks take a lot longer, and although my dog Guinness gets a bit short on patience, it is so entertaining to watch Sarah Grace stop to smell every flower (or weed) and pick up every twig we pass.  And, for a nice change of pace from my week, I find that I am perfectly content taking a long time to move a short distance.”

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Qui Diaz

Communications Coordinator
National Council of Nonprofit Associations

Though public relations is part of Qui Diaz’s professional background, it has only recently become more of a priority in her position as Communications Coordinator. Diaz joined PRSA in January 2006 to expand her PR skills and interests while broadening her network of PR contacts.

1. What’s your greatest career achievement?
   Maintaining a passion for the nonprofit industry while working in it. At my age, other options can appear very seductive and I strive to keep my goals in perspective and aligned with my desire to better our communities and world. I believe that applying my skill set and knowledge to nonprofits is a means to that end.
   
   
2. Where would you like to see yourself in five years? 
   Continuing to make an impact for a meaningful mission. Perhaps more focused on a particular cause, such as adoption or microfinance, and managing or directing communications-related efforts for an organization working with that cause.
   
   
3. Who’s your role model, and why do you admire him?
   I’ve always loved Jim Henson and the magical worlds he created for the young and old. My favorite Henson creation is Fraggle Rock. Wikipedia perfectly articulates why I am a fan of the show and its creator: “The ideals of friendship, being true to yourself and learning to love those who are incredibly different, were the cornerstone of Jim Henson's work…he considered it to be one of the purest and most successful expressions of that vision.”
   
   
4. Tips for maintaining the elusive work/life balance?
   I end my day by walking home and I know that after I pass a certain street, I have to leave work at work. In that sense and on all levels I try to keep my personal and professional life separated. One caveat: it is okay to be friends with co-workers. For some, we spend more time with them than with our own families.

Prepared by Chanda Gilmore. If you’ve joined the chapter within the past six months and would like to receive a questionnaire, please contact newsletter@prsa-ncc.org.

To view past new Member Spotlights, visit the membership section of the Web site – http://www.prsa-ncc.org/content/blogcategory/26/100/

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