Our State Board convened in mid-February for a great weekend of work. While in these meetings, I’m always impressed and grateful to be surrounded by such a committed group of PR professionals that see the value in FPRA and want to continue to build on our rich past and work to make our Association stronger and better.
Speaking of making things stronger and better, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our Association’s Joe Curley Rising Leader (JCRL) Awards program, which is now accepting nominations until the end of March. If you haven’t met Joe Curley, APR, CPRC, yet, I hope that you will at this year’s 80th Annual Conference, which is expected to be spectacular!
I had the pleasure of meeting Joe at a chapter meeting in 2005 when I first joined FPRA. Joe is a former state president, last year’s Member of the Year Award recipient and a true advocate for FPRA and the PR profession. Like so many other leaders in our Association, Joe was always there when I needed counsel. Joe was the first to tell me that one day I would someday serve as FPRA’s State President. When he said this 10 years ago, I laughed. Time proved that Joe was right, and I couldn’t be more honored to serve as your FPRA State President.
Joe’s passion for FPRA and his desire to want to help young professionals led him to propose a Rising Leader program in 2009 to the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation (FPREF) Board. That following year, FPRA announced the Joe Curley Rising Leader Award. Since this time, this program has grown to include a Rising Leader Class and more professional development scholarship offerings than ever before. To apply for the many opportunities afforded by this program, I encourage you to learn more now and apply before the March 31 deadline. I do hope to see you on stage at conference for one of these awards. If not for the JCRL Awards, I do hope it will be for the receiving of one of our coveted Golden Image pyramids!
As you know, FPRA’s Image Awards are in full-swing now. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to document your great work or are in the process of doing so now with the uploading of your Image entry. If for some reason you’ve run short on time, you still have plenty of time to be ready to submit for Golden Image. This year’s Golden Image deadline is May 21.
Great things are happening within FPRA! Remember you get out of FPRA what you put into FPRA. It’s time to jump in and reap the benefits and let the Golden Times Roll (hint you don’t want to miss this year’s Golden Image Gala)!
All the best,
Ryan Gerds, APR, CPRC
President
Florida Public Relations Association
