Hello and welcome to the 2018-19 year for the Florida Public Relations Association. I am so honored to follow in the footsteps of Ryan Gerds, APR, CPRC, as state president.
We have a great group of chapter presidents to lead the way this year and a great group of folks on the Executive Committee. Our goal is to make your membership in FPRA as valued as it can be.
Let’s start off with membership. You should have received your renewal letter so be sure to fill it out by the Oct. 31 deadline. Some of you saw me debut my FPRA Hawaiian shirt at annual conference, as well as several chapter installations I have had the pleasure to do so far.
So, if you are one of the first 100 members to renew, you will be entered to win a custom-made FPRA Hawaiian shirt!!
Your membership allows you to attend events hosted by any chapter, not just the one near you. It gives you access to a wealth of information on our state website. We have 30 webinars free for you to download. We also have white papers, like the one Joe Curley, APR, CPRC, wrote 12 years ago about membership that still applies today.
As I’ve traveled to different chapters, I’ve shared my theme for this year which is Smart. Engaged. Fun.
SMART is what we as an organization can do for you, the member. We’re looking to have our first webinar later this month, rather than start in October (more info here). We sent out a survey about the Image Awards process and we’ll be taking a hard look at ways we can develop more tools for you to submit a strong, award-winning entry. Of course, there are other smart things to do like LeadershipFPRA and earning your accreditation.
ENGAGED is what you can do for yourself. Get involved in a chapter committee, attend the meetings, workshops, networking events and get to know as many other members that you can.
You never know what kind of job it might lead you to. Here’s a neat networking story from one of our members in the Treasure Coast Chapter. We’ll be sharing more networking stories from our members throughout the year.
FUN. That goes without saying and it ties back to Ryan’s effective theme from last year, Find Your Balance. FPRA’s Executive Committee is all volunteers and we’re in this profession because of our love of the craft. We need to make sure we’re enjoying it and I swear on my FPRA Hawaiian shirt that I’ll do my best to make sure it’s fun.
Speaking of fun, go ahead and put in your budget to attend the 2019 Annual Conference Aug. 4-7 at the Marriott Waterside in downtown Tampa. We’re already in the works to line up great speakers and fun events.
If you have any questions, please contact your chapter president and you certainly can reach out to me at gapaulus@southernco.com, call or text at 850-525-7510, @gordonpaulus on Instagram or even snapperchat me!!!
