The PRofessional

February 2009

In This Issue

• President's Message
• FPRA & AdFed Collaborative Luncheon - March 5 
• CWC Blog Update
• CWC Member Awards - Submit your nominations today! 
• Image Awards Updates
• 2008-2009 Media Directory
• Membership Update
• Upcoming Workshop - Social Media's Legal Issues
• Volunteer Opportunity
• 2008-2009 CWC FPRA Media Directory
• CWC Job Bank

President's Message

Debby Steele, CWC/FPRA President

It is hard to believe that our FPRA CWC year is at its halfway mark. The past six months have been jam-packed with great professional development opportunities. 

We recently held our third annual collaborative event with Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County. The half-day workshop, Low Cost Tools to Boost Your Bottom Line, PR Strategies for Small Businesses, was very informative. You can find highlights of the event on our website. Many thanks to Diane Andrews and Emily Sperling of EDC, Sally Hill from Suncoast Workforce, and Cathy Crowder of KSC Advertising for their efforts in making this a very well-attended and successful event.

Our recent luncheon featuring Matt Sauer, editor of the Herald Tribune, was chock-full of helpful information. Everyone appreciated the Q & A portion with Matt, which gave us the opportunity to find out how to get our news in print. Visit the website for a great blog with Matt.

Julie Platt, Vice President of Accreditation, along with the entire chapter was thrilled to congratulate Joe Curley, APR, CPRC, on completing his CPRC accreditation. The APR designation signifies a high level of professional experience. Joe has held this accreditation level for many years. The second tier of accreditation for a public relations professional is Certified Public Relations Counselor (CPRC). This recognizes the professional growth and achievement of senior APR members. Joe is truly an inspiration to all of us. If you are interested in APR or CPRC accreditation, please contact Julie Platt at jplatt@scbb.org. 

We are really looking forward to the second half of the year. At our next meeting on March 5, we will join forces with the Advertising Federation of the Suncoast. Together, we will provide a panel of experts who will share best practices in public relations and advertising, helping us to position our businesses effectively in today’s economy. You will find more detail on this professional development opportunity in this newsletter. 

Our annual Image and Chapter Awards will be held April 7. You may be asking yourself “How, or why, would I want to enter a public relations project that I have worked on in this competition?” It is truly a great way to showcase your work. It helps you to analyze your public relations efforts, and it is an honor to be recognized for your PR excellence. The Call for Entries has been mailed to our members, and you can download a copy from the CWCFPRA website. 

Chapter Award nominations will be accepted via a survey which will be posted on our website. The evening of April 7, will give you a chance to honor your fellow chapter members and outstanding Image Award recipients. 

Peg Palmer, V.P. of Special events and Amanda Eyer are already planning a great May professional half day seminar. Check the website often for updates for this event. 

We promised you in September that we would strive to bring you the best in PR educational programs and social networking opportunities and we are on track to do just that. Our event calendar is planned, so be sure to save-the-dates. We look forward to seeing you at the March 5th luncheon.

Best Regards,
Debby Steele
CWC/FPRA President

AdFed & FPRA Collaborative Luncheon - March 5th

Best Practices in Public Relations & Advertising
How to position your business effectively in today's economy! 

The Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association and the Advertising Federation of the Suncoast have joined forces to provide an extraordinary line-up of experts who will share successful strategies in a tough economy. Hear from Maria Brous, Director of Media & Community Relations with Publix, Sam Stern, CEO with CAP and Wes Roberts, Publisher with SRQ Magazine and more.

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Bird Key Yacht Club
301 Bird Key Drive, Sarasota

Event registration is $25.00 for members and $30.00 for non-members. For more information and to register, visit www.cwcfpra.com or email rsvp@cwcfpra.com.

CWC Blog Update

The CWC Blog is dedicated to the members of our CWC Chapter. We cover a number of PR topics and have visitors to the blog daily but the coverage of our professional development luncheon remains the top draw. That post alone draws a third of our traffic. If you missed our recent professional development luncheon, An Hour with Matt Sauer, (SHT Business Editor and Pulitzer Prize nominee) you can visit the CWC blog for a full report as well as photos to see who attended.

Here are the numbers to date:

• According to SiteMeter, we had 108 Visitors in January.
• We’ve had 63 visitors since the beginning of February and one third of these came to the blog in the two days following Matt Sauer’s presentation.
  
  Questions, comments or suggestons for our emerging communications team? Want to blog about a PR topic? Contact Suzanne Dameron at suzanne@aspirepr.biz.
  
  Want to comment on a blog post: There’s a comment section at the end of each post.
  
  We look forward to hearing from you.

Submit Your Nominations for the 2008 FPRA Central West Coast Chapter Awards by Tuesday, March 2!

Submit Your Nominations for the 2008 FPRA Central West Coast Chapter Awards by Tuesday, March 2! 

Each year the Central West Coast Chapter of FPRA honors deserving individuals and chapter partners in the following categories: 

• Member of the Year - Serving as an active member in a professional association requires a significant commitment of time and energy. We recognize those individuals who go above and beyond to ensure the success of the chapter. The recipient participates in chapter programs and projects and is supportive of fellow public relations professionals. 
• Rising Star - This award has been established to recognize members who have contributed significantly to chapter activities and to their own professional development. This person is involved energetically and enthusiastically in chapter projects, exhibits a desire to pursue leadership opportunities in FPRA and displays a professional attitude and exercises professional conduct. 
• Ginnie Duffey-Troyer Professionalism Award - Named in honor of former Central West Coast Chapter and FPRA state association president, Ginnie Duffey-Troyer, APR, CPRC, this award is given to a member who displays the highest level of professionalism in the public relations field. 
• Promoting the Profession - This honor recognizes an individual from the Central West Coast chapter who exemplifies the high standards of the public relations profession. This person supports the chapter to help raise the level of professionalism and promote FPRA in our community. 
• Joseph J. Curley PR Lifetime Achievement Award - Named in honor of this year's sponsor, the recipient is selected based upon lifetime contributions to the public relations profession. This recipient does not have to be a member of the Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association. Leadership, career achievements and commitment to ethics should be considered. 
• Business Partner of the Year - This award is presented to a local Sarasota/Manatee area business or organization that has provided exceptional financial and/or in-kind support for the Chapter's activates for the past year.

You can submit name(s) for one category or all categories by Tuesday, March 2. The recipients will be selected by the CWC/FPRA Chapter Awards committee chaired by the past-president, approved by the CWC Board of Directors, and announced Tuesday evening, April 7, during the CWC/FPRA Image and Chapter Awards Gala at the Meadows Country Club. Click here to access the survey and submit your choices with a brief reason why you are recommending the individual or CWC partner.

Last year's award recipients are listed at http://www.cwcfpra.com/about/awards.cfm. Chapter award recipients dating back to 2006 can be found at http://www.cwcfpra.com/about/awards.cfm.

Image Awards Reminders

Image Awards Reminders
For those of you who are entering this year’s Image competition … please note the important dates and changes below! 

Image Entry Deadline
Friday, February 27, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.

All entries and entry fees must be mailed or hand-delivered to KSC, Inc., 40 Sarasota Center Blvd, Ste 107, Sarasota, FL 34240. Any notebooks that do not arrive by 5:00 p.m. will not be accepted.

Call for Entries Changes
Big changes were made to this year’s Call for Entries. Please see below and please be sure to read and reread the Rules for Entry!
• No more slide carousels, VHS tapes, cassettes or photos allowed
• The two-page summary must be a Word document and use Times New Roman
• The budget portion of the two-page summary will need to include the total cost of staff time for the entire number of hours worked on the project (you don’t have to share your hourly rate or number of hours worked, just the final amount and this includes internal staff)
• Division A had no changes
• Division B categories, Still Photograph and Newspaper have been eliminated (If you have one of these to enter, you can enter in the “Other” category)
• The Brochure categories have been combined
• Division C had a major overhaul
• Podcasts are now included in the Audio Presentation category
• New category added: Electronic Communications
• Web site now includes both internal and external
• Presentation category has been updated to include PowerPoint, online seminars and web conferencing
• The word “film” has been deleted

Sponsors and Silent Auction Items Needed 

The Image/Chapter Awards Banquet is scheduled for Tuesday, April 7 and the Image Committee is looking for any interested event sponsors and silent auction donations.

Please let us know if you are interested or have a generous donation at barth.kate@gmail.com.

If you have any questions about the Image Awards or Banquet, please contact Kate Barth, at barth.kate@gmail.com.

Membership Update

Welcome New Members!

Kevin McKenney—Safe Children Coalition/Sarasota Family YMCA

Members Enjoy These Benefits: 

• Access to mail or email contact info for all state members (over 1500) or specific chapter members. Create Excel files through step-by-step prompts.
• Pay reduced fees for chapter professional development luncheons, special events, and state conferences.
• Network with local, state and national public relations and organizational leaders. 
  
  Please contact Kyla Yaeger Weiner, VP of Membership for more information at kyla.yaeger@suntrust.com.

Abel Band Attorneys Discuss Social Media's Legal Issues

Abel Band, Chartered attorneys William P. Cox and Douglas A. Cherry will lead a panel discussion of legal and business issues facing social media Feb. 24 at Canvas Café from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The program, “Post dot.com: The Coming of Age of Social Media,” will feature local experts on social media who will discuss personal and business applications of social networking platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook as well as other social media tools. 

Panelists include Kent Kirschner of Neighborhood America; Suzanne Dameron, CEO & President of Aspire Green Branding & Social Marketing; Bill Jula, Co-Founder and CEO of Fast Pitch!; Amanda Eyer, Digital Strategist with atLarge, Inc.; and Douglas A. Cherry, Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law of Abel Band, Chartered. 

To download a registration form, or for more information, visit the events page at www.abelband.com. For information about the program, contact Will P. Cox (941) 364-2733 or wcox@abelband.com or Laurel M. Corriveau, client relations manager, at (941) 364-2750 or lcorriveau@abelband.com. 

The program is sponsored by The Florida Chapter of the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) and 82 Degrees Tech. William P. Cox, Esq. is Co-Founder and President of the Florida Chapter of the FCBA. Douglas A. Cherry, Esq. is a board member of 82 Degrees Tech.

Volunteer Opportunity

The Manatee Chapter of American Red Cross is seeking PR/Marketing professionals to serve on their Marketing/PR Committee. For more information, contact: 

Bobbi Larson, Chief Executive Officer
American Red Cross Manatee County Chapter
2905 59th Street West
Bradenton, FL 34209
Phone: (941) 792-8686
larsonb@manateeredcross.org

2008-2009 CWC FPRA Media Directory

Get Yours Now! 

Having a hard time keeping up with the media layoffs and changes? You’ve already got enough on your plate so let FPRA do the work for you. Purchase your 2008-2009 Media Directory, the area’s most comprehensive list of local and regional media for print, broadcast and social media. Updated in October, the Directory lists the many changes in media over the past year. As an added value, we will send you quarterly updates to keep you abreast of the most recent changes in media across the board.

They are going fast so get yours now! Download this form, fill it out and send it in with your money and we’ll mail a directory to your doorstep.

CWC Job Bank

Check out the CWC FPRA Job Bank for more information on these current openings:

Marketing Manager - Talent Acquisition Resources

Community Relations Coordinator - Longboat Key Club and Resort