It’s been a whirlwind first month of the FPRA year.
I’ve traveled around the state – wearing my FPRA Hawaiian shirt – installing chapter presidents and their boards, meeting members and even prospective members. I’ve visited 13 chapters since late August and will visit the other two chapters later this month.
SMART.
We had our first webinar last week. Heidi Otway, APR, CPRC, from the Capital Chapter, did a great presentation on “Why PR Practitioners Should Embrace PESO.”
This webinar is available to view in the webinar archives found in the member section of FPRA.org. Our next webinar is scheduled for later this month and will be covering the topic of what makes people care.
The Counselors’ Network will have its Behind-the-Scenes event later this month in Pensacola with the Blue Angels flying demonstration team and several chapters already have Accreditation sessions going on.
The FPRA Snapshot continues to provide great information on a variety of PR news and topics around our chapters and the nation. The email goes out every Friday and you can subscribe to it by clicking here.
ENGAGED.
I’ve heard a lot of great networking stories on my installation tour. One great example is from Joey Mazzaferro, the president-elect of the Gainesville Chapter.
Read his networking story here.
Here’s another engaging story (which also falls under the SMART category):
Just as I was installing the Jacksonville Chapter’s board, they found out their speaker was stuck in traffic and wouldn’t be able to make it. So newly installed Jacksonville Chapter President-Elect Warren Jones, APR, CPRC, improvised by leading a crisis communication discussion. Several veteran members, including new Jacksonville Chapter President Andrea Siracusa, APR, provided real-life examples of how to handle crisis communications. For the 15 or so PR students from nearby colleges there, it was a great example of being engaged on the fly.
And talk about being engaged … at the Tampa Bay networking event to install Barbra Hernandez, APR, CPRC, and her board, five non-members showed up! Hopefully, they’ll be members soon.
FUN.
We’re having fun with the membership renewals. We had an incentive to the first 100 members to renew and Whitney Day, of the Capital Chapter, won an FPRA Hawaiian shirt. So, my one-of-a-kind shirt becomes a two-of-a-kind shirt!
The fun continues. VP of Member Services Whitney Lee has secured – with the help of a couple of Orlando Chapter members – two tickets to Universal and a two-night stay at Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando. That package will be awarded to one of the first 500 members to renew.
Remember, the deadline to renew is Oct. 31. Don’t be scared … renew now!
BTW, I was Finding My Balance last weekend in downtown Tampa and peeked inside the Marriott Waterside, the host of our 81st Annual Conference in August. We’re already working on speakers and events and the room rate will be $129. It’s gonna be good!
