Keri Potts, ESPN’s Public Relations Senior Director of College Sports, speaks to members of FPRA’s Counselors’ Network. To join CN, FPRA members must have their APR and CPRC credentials.
This one-of-a-kind credential was developed to recognize the professional growth and achievement of senior FPRA members who have already earned the APR designation. As such, candidates must have at least 10 years of professional practice in public relations before sitting for the exam.
The exam is administered throughout the year, and consists of two sections. First, candidates must complete a 14-question written exam with essay topics drawn from case studies. Second, candidates must give a 20-minute presentation to a panel of certified evaluators, to be followed by a 10-minute Q&A.
For the oral portion of this exam, candidates choose one of several fictitious scenarios that pose a PR challenge for a company or organization and then make a presentation, approximately 20-minutes in length, as if to make a recommendation to the company/organization leadership. Candidates receive the scenarios seven days before their scheduled presentation dates and have that one week to prepare.
Candidates who successfully pass both the written and oral part of the CPRC exam earn the Certified Public Relations Counselor (CPRC) credential. Continued membership in the Florida Public Relations is required in order to maintain use of the CPRC credential. For an official listing of those PR practitioners who are certified, click here.
FPRA members who are certified are invited to join the Florida Public Relations Counselors’ Network (CN) for additional professional development and networking opportunities.
FPRA charges a $250 fee for administering the CPRC exam. Download CPRC FAQs or the exam fact sheet for more information. Download an application here.
Earning my CPRC credential in 2008 was significant to my career because it helped distinguish me from my peers and fine-tune my proficiency. In the field of public relations, continuing professional development is vital to success and a healthy growth pattern. This is even more so for the PR counselor. Not only is our field vast and complex, it relies on understanding the best methods of communications delivery, strategies and tactics. As a PR counselor, my clients depend on me to guide them through the strategic planning and methodology needed. They rely on my instinct as a communicator, my past experiences and knowledge acquisition over the years, and need me to blend all of these with new trends and skills. As a certified PR counselor, my clients can rest assured that I bring that full body of expertise to the table and that I have a whole body of fellow CPRC colleagues – that stand behind my credentials – for which I have access to as well. To me, the latter is the most significant and valuable benefit to earning my CPRC.
Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC
Principal
Hart & Associates, LLC