Scholarships allow FPRA members to catch “The Big Picture”!

In addition to recognizing excellence in public relations, the Annual Image Awards on April 14, 2010, provided the backdrop for awarding six Southwest Florida FPRA members with scholarships to attend the Florida Public Relations Association’s (FPRA) 2010 State Conference: The Big Picture: Bringing PR Leadership and Strategy into Focus, August 8-12, in Naples, Florida, at the Naples Grande Beach Resort.

All six recipients were awarded scholarships based on their current and past leadership contributions to the Southwest Florida Chapter of FPRA, a statement of what they hoped to gain personally and professionally from attending the state conference, and financial need.

Symbolic of the generational diversity in the public relations industry today, scholarship recipients this year represent professionals at various points in their career, from relatively recent college graduates, to Southwest Florida industry icons.

Recipients will share lessons learned and valuable tips garnered at the state conference with the SWFL Chapter membership during a panel discussion at the August business meeting.

Full conference scholarship recipients:

Angie Strait
PR Coordinator
Lee County Port Authority

Carla Ulakovik
Community Project Specialist
East County Water Control District

Partial conference scholarship recipients:

Susan Bennett, APR, CPRC
President
Susan Bennett Marketing & Media

Danielle Flood
PR & Communications Manager
ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organizational)

Kerri Goldsmith
Administrative Assistant
HBK Source Financial

Samantha Scott
President
Pushing The Envelope

CPRC tip: Fake it until you make it!

Submitted by Mary Briggs, APR, CPRC

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received is from my fellow PR pro, Teri Hansen, APR, of Priority Marketing. She probably doesn’t recall this conversation, but it has been burned into my memory. About twenty years ago, Teri approached me after an FPRA chapter meeting. I was surprised when Teri said I had been tapped to serve as the Chapter President. What, me? I was in my twenties and felt waaaaay too young and inexperienced to take on such an important role. When I expressed this to Teri, she said something I will never forget. “Fake it until you make it,” she said. “Act like you know what you are doing, and pretty soon, you will.”

I’ve always treasured that advice, so I’m passing it along to you. Present yourself with confidence and you’ll find your colleagues believe that you really do have what it takes. Act poised and professional, and voila, you are! Don’t let others see your uncertainty. Take on that stretch assignment and then go burn the midnight oil to figure out how to get it accomplished.

The thing about faking it is that pretty soon you aren’t faking it at all. Your positive thinking and can-do attitude will eventually turn you into a genuinely confident and poised PR professional! I’m not advocating arrogance, or encouraging you to think you are Superwoman. Be realistic, but aim high! Believe you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, and others will believe it too.

Now you know my secret. After 25+ years experience in public relations, sometimes I still second guess myself and occasionally question my abilities, but I never let them see me sweat, and neither should you!

Mary Briggs, APR, CPRC, is a marketing consultant and co-owner of Briggs & Rogers, a public relations and advertising firm based in Fort Myers, Florida. The firm specializes in media relations, marketing communications, branding, and issues management.

Mary is a certified public relations consultant, co-chairs the Southwest Florida chapter’s Credentialing Committee and serves on the Executive Committee of the FPRA State Board of Directors. Mary was named the 2006 Public Relations Professional of the Year by the Southwest Florida chapter of FPRA and has received numerous awards for her marketing and public relations programs.

APR Accreditation Study Tips!

Studying for your APR credentials? FPRA Accreditation Chair, Mary Briggs, offers some insights to help you prepare.

• Create flashcards from the study materials (this helps with the material that is pure memorization).
• Attend the chapter study sessions. You’ll learn from other members of the group and it will help keep you on track.
• The day before the exam, do a last minute cram, then get to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.
• Create your own case studies. Look at issues being covered in the local media and create a plan or part of a plan on how you’d handle it.

Call or email Mary to get more info or visit http://www.fpra.org/Professional_Development/APR.aspx for more information on the APR process .

What would you like to do in FPRA next year?

The FPRA year is far from over, but it’s time to begin planning for 2010-2011 already! According to our chapter bylaws, nominations for the Officer and Director positions open on April 1 of each year, and within 30 days a slate must be presented to the current Board for review. The approved slate is then presented to the general membership by June 1 of each year and is voted on at the chapter’s annual business meeting, held in July. This process is guided by our chapter bylaws and it all takes place in time to coincide with the statewide annual conference in August, when the President and President-Elect are sworn in as members of the Board of Directors on the state level. Depending on the dates, during our chapter’s August business meeting, outgoing Leadership Team members are recognized, incoming Officers are sworn in and Directors and Leadership Team members are installed. Then, before you know it, it’s September 1 and the new FPRA year begins! What would you like to do in FPRA next year?

Full job descriptions for each Leadership Team position can be found on the chapter Web site at http://fpraswfl.org/leadership-opportunities.html.

Send your nominations to Nomination Committee Chair Ginny Cooper at ginny@mycoopergroup.com. Nominations will close on April 23, 2010.

Please be advised that the Board adopted a policy in 2008-09 that all members of the Leadership Team must have been a member in good standing of FPRA for at least one year prior to assuming leadership responsibilities.

FPRA State Conference Scholarships Available

You don’t want to miss The BIG Picture: Bringing PR Leadership and Strategy into Focus. August 8-11, Naples Grande Beach Resort

You have probably heard the saying Either Go Big or Stay home. Well this year we get to do both as members of the FPRA Southwest Florida Chapter with the 2010 FPRA Annual State Conference “The BIG Picture: Bringing PR Leadership and Strategy into Focus” being held August 8 – 11, right in our own backyard at the beautiful Naples Grande Resort.

This year our Chapter is offering three full conference scholarships to members. The scholarship covers the registration fee for the entire conference and events, however, recipients are responsible for their own personal expenses such as hotel and transportation.

If you are interested in applying for a conference scholarship please submit a short essay (two or three paragraphs) covering the following:

• Involvement in FPRA (past and present)
• Financial Need for scholarship.

Applications should be emailed to Pam Nulman, APR, CPRC, by March 26, 2010. Scholarship recipients will be announced at the Image Awards the evening of Wednesday, April 14.

Catch the latest information on “The BIG Picture” on the annual conference Facebook fan page and on the FPRA You Tube channel.

PRU This Friday, January 9 - Register Now!

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR
New Social Media, Economic Downturn, Crises Communications, Natural Disaster Response, Reputation Management to be Addressed at PRUniversity 2009

In September 2007, a University of Florida student was tasered for resisting law enforcement personnel during a presentation by U.S. Senator John Kerry. The incident was videotaped by several people in the audience, uploaded to YouTube, and by the next day more than 500,000 people had viewed the video. Then CNN and the network news latched onto the story and “don’t tase me, bro” had gone viral. How the University’s public relations department handled the viral media storm will be the topic of the keynote presentation by UF associate vp of public relations Joe Hice, APR, at PRUniversity 2009 – Weathering the Storm, Southwest Florida’s premier annual professional development seminar presented by the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association.

Other presenters include Sarah Owen, executive director of the Community Cooperative Ministries Inc., recently named by the News-Press as one of the “People to Watch” in 2009. Owen will discuss how a well-planned, compelling, unified message and a new brand identity gained buy-in for the successful merger of three local not-for-profit agencies, each with its own mission, employees, facilities and board of directors.

Chris Gent of the Kissimmee Utility Authority will explore blogs, podcasts, Flickr, instant messaging and other new social media, explaining how they can benefit your business, and when they can be detrimental. With more than 200 local, state, national and international awards to his credit, Gent is on the cutting edge of social media.

To hear these vibrant speakers and other local experts address timely topics from surviving the economic downturn to successful reputation management, register for PR University at www.fpraswfl.org. The full day seminar will be held Friday, January 9 from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Hodges University. The afternoon includes a unique hands-on tabletop exercise, “Coping with Disaster”, which will provide valuable experience in preparing your company for the worse. Several registration options are available, including morning-only, lunch-only and afternoon-only attendance. For more information call PRU Co-Chair Tina Haisman, APR, CPRC at 239-418-1157.