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PRologue: Honoring Stars in PR and Full Steam Ahead into FallGreetings Colleagues: A hearty congratulations to this year’s Thoth Award winners—true stars in PR! A total of 23 Thoth Awards and 25 Certificates of Excellence were presented at our casino-style Gala last month to representatives of public relations agencies, corporations, government agencies and trade and professional associations. Held in the hip Hotel Monaco’s Paris Ballroom, a room chock full of PR experts and guests enjoyed the Las Vegas style atmosphere, complete with assorted casino tables, and mingled with fellow members from the public relations field while celebrating the successes of the best campaigns and components in the greater Washington D.C. area. And the fall has just begun! Some of our newest members may not be aware that many of our Chapter’s best and most well attended events take place in the fall, so don’t miss out! Mark your calendars for a fun evening of networking and socializing at the Oct. 7 happy hour at Piola in Arlington, organized by the PRONet committee. And, after two successful half-day programs this year, we are offering more topics in this format to allow members to drill down deeper into subject matter and get specific, one-on-one feedback from workshop instructors. Register today for our Oct. 16 half-day workshop focused on teaching you everything you ever wanted to know about creating a powerful social media strategy. Also, please SAVE THE DATE for this year’s Holiday Reception! Planned for Thursday, Nov. 20, at Elizabeth’s on L, this evening event is going to be a great way to wrap up the year and ring in the holidays. I look forward to seeing many of you at these and many other great fall programs. See the “Next Up” section on the right side of the newsletter for hotlinks to register, and click the “Events” tab on the National Capital Channel to keep updated (don’t have The Channel yet? Download here for FREE now!). Sincerely, Heathere Evans-Keenan, APR PRSA-NCC President, 2008
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Ruder Finn and Jamestown 2007 Win Best of Show at Thoth Awards Gala More than 200 area communicators celebrated the accomplishments of public relations professionals at the annual PRSA-NCC Thoth Awards Gala in September. The “Best of Show” PRSA-NCC Thoth award for public relations excellence was presented to Ruder Finn and its client, Jamestown 2007, for creating, executing and promoting an integrated communications plan for “America’s 400th Anniversary”, an 18-month commemoration that honored the founding of Jamestown, Va. Visit the PRSA-NCC Web site for a recap of the event and a complete list of winners.
PRSA-NCC Selects Bethany House PRSA-NCC’s Public Service Committee has selected Bethany House of Northern Virginia, Inc. as its “local” cause to receive pro bono PR services. Bethany House is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence in the DC-metro area. As its “international” cause, the committee is also assisting the Save Darfur organization. For more information about the organizations PRSA-NCC is supporting, read Amanda Piasecki’s article on the PRSA-NCC Website. Want to join the group that is making the world a better place? Space is still available for interested volunteers to become involved in the Public Service Committee. Contact deborah@saintblackwell.com for more information or to sign-up.
40th Anniversary PRSSA UMD Celebration to Feature Social Media Discussions
The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter at the University of Maryland, College Park is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a special lecture and keynote presentation by notables in the industry. Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman Public Relations, as well as honorees James E. Grunig and Larissa A. Grunig, professor emeritus and emerita, will discuss the topic everyone wants to learn more about: social media. The event will be held on October 30, 2008, at the Nyumburu Cultural Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. The cost is $55 for PRSA members, $65 for non-members, and $10 for PRSSA members/students and includes cocktails and hor d’oeuvres. Register by sending a check to: The University of Maryland, College Park Foundation #21-20020, Attn: E. Toth- Grunig Lecture, 2130 A Skinner Building, University of Maryland at College Park, MD 20742-7635. For more information, contact eltoth@umd.edu.
PRSA-NCC Gets Social
PR PRO’s To Gather for Happy Hour at Piola in Arlington on Oct. 7 PR professionals are invited to celebrate happy hour with the PRONet committee on Tuesday, Oct. 7, from 5:30-8 p.m. at Piola, 1550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209. The PRONet committee is dedicated to creating networking and education opportunities for the chapter. The $10 fee includes one free drink and appetizers. RSVP by Oct. 3 to Alex Meerovich at a.meerovich@max-well.com or call 202-454-3403.
The Secrets to Networking in the Intelligence Community A Success The PRONet committee held a highly successful panel discussion on Networking in the Intelligence Community on Thursday, Sept. 18. Addressing an audience of more than 40 people, the panel discussed topics such as the tension inherent in doing public relations work in a classified environment, what approaches work best with intelligence professionals, the promise and peril of using open source intelligence, and points of similarity in intelligence and PR work. The panel also shared revealing anecdotes from its years in public service, including a story about how President Reagan was almost unable to dedicate the new NSA headquarters because someone was concerned about the First Lady’s security classification level. The venue was provided gratis to PRSA by the Johns Hopkins University Communications in Contemporary Society graduate program, located at 1717 Mass Avenue in DC.
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 Lindsay Becker
Why did you join PRSA? I became a member during graduate school. My advisor was very involved and reinforced the value of PRSA in advancing our industry. How long have you been in the PR field? One year What skills are required to do your job? I’m in Lockheed Martin’s Communications Leadership Development Program, which requires rotations in different areas of communications. I’m currently focusing on employee communications and community relations. My previous rotation focused on media relations and marketing communications. What’s your greatest career achievement? Being selected for Lockheed Martin’s Communications Leadership Development Program. Where would you like to see yourself in five years? Focusing on media relations for Lockheed Martin in a manager role. How do you begin each day? Sifting through email and catching up on the news. What’s your dream job? Professional equestrian. Who’s your role model, and why do you admire him/her? Eleanor Roosevelt – she was a woman who got stuff done and did it her way. What’s the last book you read or movie you saw? The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson Tips for maintaining the elusive work/life balance? Make yourself a deadline of when you’re leaving for the day and stick to it. There’s always more work to be done, so realize you’re never going to accomplish everything in one day. 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. |
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What are the benefits to earning higher education in the public relations field? Are there any graduate programs you would recommend?—JS, Bethesda Dear JS: I found getting a Master’s degree in Public Communication from American University to be extremely valuable, personally as well as professionally. I had been working in PR/communications for nearly 20 years without ever having taken a course in the subject. But I felt there was something missing. As a mid-level manager for a professional association, I realized that all of my decisions regarding communication strategy and tactics were based on my own experience. How much better would it be, I thought, if I could benefit from the experience of others? That, of course, is why you go to school. And so when I heard of the Weekend Graduate Program in the AU School of Communication, which allowed me to continue to work full-time and attend classes on Saturday, I jumped at the chance. It was well worth the time, effort and cost. I was introduced to Communication Theory and gained an appreciation for the need to reach the right audience with the right message. PR writing gave me the opportunity to stretch my writing skills beyond the basic news release to include writing speeches, newsletter articles, public service announcements and op-ed articles. PR management focused on the need to be able to manage people as well as communications programs. I also was exposed to current trends in communication: the significance of the Internet and the growing importance of international PR. I actually conducted research and worked with a team on developing, conducting and evaluating communications campaigns. The culmination of the program was a research project that explored a communications issue in considerable depth. The most important benefit of an advanced degree, however, was the sense of self-confidence I had when I was on the job. For the first time, I could recommend a course of action based on widely accepted academic as well as professional best practices. In addition to the professional benefits, I could take pride in the achievement of earning a graduate degree in my chosen field. It was a lot of work, but it paid off. There are a number of excellent graduate programs in PR/communications in the DC area. The University of Maryland has always had an excellent reputation for its school of journalism as well as its public relations program. George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management offers a Strategic Public Relations Program. And of course, American University offers a Master’s as well as Doctoral degrees in public relations, advertising and applied communications. Before you enroll in a graduate degree program, you should know that most employers don’t require a graduate degree in PR for most positions. However, having a Master’s degree will certainly make you a more attractive candidate than someone who doesn’t. Regards, Fred Whiting, APR Do you have a question concerning the practice of public relations that would be of interest to others? Ask a PRofessional! Click on Programs/Mentoring/Ask a Professional or just click here to pose your question and receive a personal reply. Your question and the answer may appear in a future issue of the PRSA-NCC Chapter newsletter. |
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| Next Up |
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| October 7 PRONet Happy Hour Piola 1550 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22209 5:30-8 p.m. Oct. 15 October 16 |
| BENEFIT BAZAAR |
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Group Memberships It pays to join PRSA with your co-workers! Groups of ten or more individuals from the same organization receive special rates on PRSA dues (for the first year) along with other financial incentives when they join as a group. The group may include new or former PRSA members. All members of the group must join as the same member type: Member or Associate (less than two years' experience). Up to two individuals in each group of ten may be current PRSA members rolled in to the group. Group members need not all be at the same location or in the same state. Group memberships are individual (not corporate) memberships, but are transferable between members of the organization. Members of a group receive all PRSA member benefits. For more information about groupmembership, e-mail malia.moore@prsa.org |
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Newsletter Committee Members: Heathere Evans-Keenan, APR (President) If you’d like to submit an idea for an article or share your feedback, please email us at newsletter@prsa-ncc.org. |