Posted in PRSA News at 11:11 am by Aaron Wall, APR
It is with great sadness I inform you of the passing of our chapter founder and friend, John Davidson Spinks. John will be greatly missed, though his contributions to the public relations profession in our region and beyond will thankfully live on for generations.
John set the standard of ethical and professional behavior for our chosen profession and I feel honored to have met and known the man after which the highest honor in our chapter is named. Hopefully you had the opportunity to meet this great man of vision, innovation and sense of humor. John was one of the great ones and a true pioneer. I know his name and constant example of excellence will live on as one of the forefathers of public relations as we know it.
A memorial service will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the Berrier Building in Arbor Acres on Saturday June 5 at 2 p.m. The family requests that any memorials be made to Arbor Acres, The United Methodist Retirement Home in Winston-Salem. Online condolences may be made through www.salemfh.com.
High Point Regional started “Patient Blogging” in March of 2005 to great acclaim locally, nationally and internationally for having one of the first known, hospital-based, patient blogs. In 2006, we were awarded PRSA’s Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation for innovative use of the tool.
Since we originally launched the blog, we’ve learned a great deal about what works and what doesn’t. As you’ll see in the following video, the oldest rule of communication still holds true…it all comes down to content and story. Take a look and tell me what you think, then see Cathy’s story at www.chemofieldtrips.com.
Thank you mentioning me in the July newsletter. I resigned my position as board secretary with sadness, but for a very happy reason. I got married in March and moved to the Charlotte area in April. I continue to work with my clients in the Triad area and have expanded my business into the Charlotte market. I’m going to miss all of the Tarheel members and hope our paths will cross often in the future. I sincerely value my time on the board, the friendships I’ve developed and the many opportunities the chapter has afforded me through the years. I will certainly do all I can to help the new secretary settle in.
I may be gone from the Tarheel chapter but I’m not gone from PRSA. I am transferring my membership to the Charlotte chapter. I trust they’ll be as terrific as all of you and hope I can continue to contribute to PRSA as time moves forward.
by Beth A. Bartlett, Professional Development Committee
This year’s Professional Development Seminar topic has been determined… “What Now? Getting News Out in a Newspaper-less Age” will be the subject of focus for the day-long seminar, which will take place at High Point University. Mark your calendar today!
The seminar will examine how PR has changed over time and what that means for the future of this profession – specifically, how to get news items out if we can no longer depend on newspapers, the significant effects of politics on media, and the ever-changing media landscape.
The chapter’s planning committee issued a survey in April to gauge member interest and feedback on previous seminars to help plan for 2009. If you have additional thoughts since you filled out the survey, the chair is Elizabeth McKinney, APR, and the members are Tarah Jakubiak, John Luecke, APR, Samantha Hargrove, and Beth Bartlett. Feel free to contact any one of us with any input or questions you may have.
Be on the lookout for further posts with additional information regarding speakers!
Posted in PRSA News at 4:39 pm by Stephanie Skordas
Five reasons why you should attend Tuesday’s PRSA Tar Heel meeting at the Airport Marriott:
1. Our speaker is KD Paine, a social media measurement maven/guru/diva. Not only should you see her in person to soak up all her social media measurement wisdom, but you should follow her on Twitter and read her blog too.
2. In addition to a fabulous speaker, these chapter meetings give you a chance to network and make connections with folks in your field.
3. Have you priced webinars, teleseminars and conferences these days? Our monthly meetings are an economical way to continue your professional development. Many organizations are cutting back on professional development for staff members, and this is an affordable way to keep growing and learning and honing your personal brand, even if your organization doesn’t pick up the tab.
4. You could find your next job at meeting like this one.
5. Okay, I admit it. The desserts. They’re always scrumptious.
Register today at www.prsatarheel.org. Don’t wait til the last minute. I know folks who are driving over from the Triangle to attend this event. The desserts taste much better when you actually have a seat at the table.
Posted in PRSA News at 2:28 pm by elizabethmckinney
by Bob Conn, APR Vice President, Professional Development
Save the date–Thursday, Sept. 10– for our annual Professional Development Seminar–an opportunity for a more intensive education opportunity than is available in our monthly luncheons. The chapter’s seminar committee is already hard at work planning the all-day meeting, which will be at High Point University. So block out the whole day now, or even schedule a vacation day, for a seminar you won’t want to miss.
Last year’s Professional Development Seminar at Elon University focused on communicating in a crisis and featured speakers who had handled some of the biggest PR crises in the past several decades. The 2007 seminar, at the Victory Junction Gang Camp near Randleman, focused on new technologies.
The committee is using the results of the recent chapter survey that got reaction to the prior seminars to help them plan this year’s seminar. Thank you for taking part. (If you haven’t taken the survey, do so now.)
Over the next several weeks, the committee will be planning the program. Watch this space for details!
If you have additional thoughts since you filled out the survey, the chair is Elizabeth McKinney, APR, and the members are Tarah Jakubiak, John Luecke, APR, Samantha Hargrove and Beth Bartlett. Feel free to talk to them or to me.
Posted in PRSA News at 11:22 am by kathrynwilliford
At last night’s April PRSA Young Professionals Meeting, we were honored to have David Mullen, Account Supervisor at Mullen (no, they’re not related) share his social media insight and expertise. Over bruschetta and the Village Tavern’s famous crab dip, David discussed the difference between social media and user generated content, shared ways we can use social media to extend our client’s reach, and gave tips for making our online content more engaging. He also reminded us that social media is more than just Twitter and Facebook. From blogs to message boards to YouTube and Flickr, there are so many different channels out there and it’s important to think holistically. As marketers, we’ve always been told that the more often you see a message, the more likely you are to remember it. David says this same adage applies to social media – by sharing your client’s message over multiple channels, connecting those channels and making it easy for others to share and comment on it, you have a greater chance at achieving social media success.
And here’s a little trivia for you…how many U.S. journalists reported reading blogs to get story ideas? The answer: a whopping 84%. So, don’t overlook the importance and influence of bloggers because you never know when blog coverage could turn into national newspaper coverage.
Do you want to make new PR connections? Would you like to hang out with other young PR professionals from the Triad? PRSA Tar Heel’s Young Professionals group welcomes the Triad’s up and coming PR practitioners as well as those from any other communication related fields. It’s the perfect setting to bounce around those on-the-job questions and challenges. Our monthly socials and professional development activities provide a relaxed environment to meet new people. Each month in 2009, we will select a different Triad location to host the meeting.
Our kick-off social for 2009 is a Meet & Eat at Solaris Restaurant in Downtown Greensboro on Tuesday, January 27th from 6 to 7:30 pm. Solaris offers great drinks and we’ll provide the tapas!
We hope to discuss the exciting ideas we have for the year ahead and also want to get feedback from members on their needs as young pros. The group is designed to help the city’s young professionals through peer support, leadership opportunities, professional development and job assistance.
Also in 2009, the group will officially be recognized by national PRSA as a New Professionals section. More details on this to come at the meeting including the formation of the executive board. The executive board members will help coordinate and plan activities for Young Pros. If you are interested in becoming a board member, please email youngpros@prsatarheel.org.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting and kicking off a great year for the Tar Heel PRSA Young Pros!
Tonight marks the third gathering of the PRSA Tar Heel Young Pros group. At 6 p.m. you will find us at Liberty Steakhouse in High Point enjoying drinks, appetizers and networking. We will also be joined by a special guest, Jackie Hirschaut, the VP of PR and Marketing for the American Home Furnishings Alliance. We are thrilled that Jackie is going to speak to our group about her work for the AHFA, and in particular, the work she does during the High Point Furniture Market. As everyone here knows, the Furniture Market in High Point is one of the largest trade shows in the world, bringing thousands of people to the Triad twice a year. Jackie will give us the inside scoop on all the PR, marketing, media relations and event planning that goes into making this show a success.
So if you’re free tonight, come out and join us! There’s no age limit – we welcome all public relations and communications professionals that have been in the field for less than five years – or six ; )
