2018 – The Best is Yet to Come
A new year is upon us and with it comes excitement and opportunities. Many of us will make New Year’s resolutions to make 2018 our best year ever. The same can be said for the Florida Public Relations Association. We want this to be a great year for our members and the Association.
Ever wonder how your professional work measures up to your peers? Many of our local chapters are gearing up towards their Image Awards competition. If you haven’t participated in FPRA’s Image Awards, I highly encourage you to do so. If you know me, I’m a very competitive person; however, that is not why I enjoy participating in Image. For me, it’s an internal challenge to become better, not so much a competition with other people. I use the process to evaluate how I build projects within my company and determine whether I am using best practices. Reach out to your local Image Chair or the state’s VP of Golden Image, Laura Byrnes, APR, CPRC, if you want to learn more.
Another way to make 2018 your best year yet is by earning your accreditation or certification. Not having studied public relations in school, I had to find a way to show that I understand the industry. The best way to do that was earning my Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) and then eventually my Certified Public Relations Counselor (CPRC) designation. Many local chapters are starting APR study sessions this spring and our state VP of Accreditation and Certification, Ginger Broslat, APR, CPRC, will be offering a spring CPRC session as well.
We’re also preparing for our 80th Annual Conference, which is going to be one to remember. Our VP of Annual Conference, Nicole Stacey, is in discussions with some renowned speakers that will sharpen our PR knowledge, leadership development skills and explore personal growth opportunities. We’re excited to share more in the coming months.
Finally, what resolution will you choose to help you find balance in your life? Is it traveling more, training for an event, spending more time away from your electronic devices or simply spending more time with your family? I wish you the best in this endeavor and would love to hear your stories of balance. Post them to our FPRA Facebook page or send me a personal email. Hopefully we can all work together this year to find our balance more often.
Here’s to a fantastic 2018!
Ryan Gerds, APR, CPRC
President
Florida Public Relations Association
