"Finish Strong"

The final quarter of the 2008-09 FPRA year begins with those two words of encouragement from Association President Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC - "Finish Strong". There were knowing smiles around the table from Executive Committee members who have served as chapter leaders as the rest of us took a much needed pause to catch our collective breath. Spring is always a busy time for FPRA, led by Local and Golden Image Awards programs. Followed by the June 5 deadline for the chapter newsletter competition, the chapter Web site competition and the legendary Chapter Management Notebook. Our chapter has been so busy this year, I'm wondering if it will all fit into a 4" notebook!

Congratulations!
Southwest Florida Chapter - you have much to be proud of! We finished second in the Annual Conference Chapter Challenge; third in the quarterly stats for membership growth (Phyllis I am bringing the chocolate cigar home to you!) and garnered kudos from our liaison Jennifer Moss, APR for excellent programming (thank you Deborah) and our social media efforts (thank you Carla). And Mary Briggs, APR, CPRC is on the proposed slate of officers for the 2009-10 Executive Committee as VP of Professional Development! The slate will be voted on at Annual Conference.

10 Minutes to a Better Future
Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC, VP of Accreditation and Certification gave us props for our thorough coverage of all the credentialing tools and information on our Web site, including the recently produced APR and CPRC videos. They are approximately 10 minutes long each and give you the why and how to pursue professional credentialing. Jeff reminds us that if you're sitting on the fence, the first part of June is the last chance to complete your requirements, in order to be recognized at this year's Annual Conference.

I'm Hot Stuff! Ask me why?
So reads the buttons Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC passed out, promoting our "Hot Stuff for Cool Cash" FPREF fundraising auction. Yes...complete with Donna Summer background music!

"Sustainable" is the password for the FPRA 2009 Annual Conference swag bag. If you or your clients have a product you'd like to get in front of over 200 public relations professionals, contact VP of Annual Conference Karen Smittle at karen.smittle@CH2M.com

Did you know FPRA has an entry in wikipedia? Read it here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Public_Relations_Association

And all the photos from official FPRA functions and meetings can be found on FPRA's flickr photostream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fpra/sets/72157618263958172/