I hope that those of you who attended FPRA’s 81st Annual Conference are still LIVIN’ THE DREAM!!!
Curtis Zimmerman opened the event with an inspiring message that had everyone juggling (or dropping balls on the floor of the Tampa Marriott Water Street). It ended with Tim Walsh sharing that we all are not that far removed from helping others on the other side of the globe.
In between, we had public relations speakers and events that made for a great conference.
If you were not able to attend I hope you will go to fpra.org and check out the blogs from each session. And those of you who did attend, can read the blogs of the sessions you weren’t able to make.
The neat thing about annual conference was that it goes beyond the circle of FPRA. Stephanie Metrie from Fort Lauderdale and Trevor Davis from the Grand Cayman Islands were among the non-member public relations professionals who attended and both said they really enjoyed the conference.
That’s a tribute to Jessica Potts, our VP of Annual Conference and Cheray Keyes-Shima, APR, CPRC, our executive director and her staff, who worked tirelessly for months preparing the conference.
To see my good friend, Chris Gent, APR, CPRC, accept the John Dillin Award, and to see the surprise on the face of Pamela Nulman, APR, CPRC, when she received the Doris Fleischman Award were priceless.
We made more than $8,800 for the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation at the silent auction during the sunset dinner cruise.
And Wendy Crites Wacker, APR, CPRC, our VP of Golden Image, made the banquet one to remember. More than 300 attendees were part of an event in which more than 120 awards were presented. It definitely was a golden night.
Dare I say, annual conference was smart, engaged and fun.
On Sept. 1, Alyson Lundell, APR, CPRC, officially takes over as state president. She has some wonderful ideas and plans that she and her incoming Executive Committee have already started working on to transform FPRA.
I’m so excited to be a part of her team and I thank all of you for allowing me to serve this past year as your state president. I had an incredible time.
Gordon Paulus, APR, CPRC
President
Florida Public Relations Association
