Past Presidents – Where are they now?

Cheray Keyes-Shima, CWC-FPRA President 1996-1997

Where are you now?
KSC Inc.

What FPRA means to you?
I can trace many of my most impactful professional experiences to FPRA. One of the first ones was when I met Edward Bernays, the Father of Public Relations. Mr. Bernays was 100 years old when I met him. Other experiences included attending my first Annual Conference in 1991 with my then mentor Ginny Duffey-Troyer, APR, CPRC; winning my  first Golden Image Award, which was presented to me by Jay Rayburn, APR, CPRC, who I credit for introducing me to FPRA when I was a student in the Public Relations program at Florida State University; and meeting my former business partner of 16 years, and still good friend, Christopher Carroll, APR, CPRC, who also served as FPRA’s Co-Executive Director up until the end of 2014. These events, and people, along with so many others, either inspired me or reaffirmed my dedication to the public relations profession. So you see, FPRA has played a significant role in my life … and still does … not only as a PR counselor, but as FPRA’s Executive Director.

In sum, FPRA has been the catalyst for my continued professional development, my platform for leadership growth, and has provided me with a powerful network to call upon for help when I need it. And in today's rapidly changing world … that's a comforting thing. Our profession has seen drastic changes in such a short period of time — the ability to share news instantaneously, unprecedented journalist access, user co-creation of messages, availability of real-time analytics, the explosion of channels, the proliferation of communication tools and more. It can all be head-spinning. Thankfully, I don’t have to navigate all of this alone, and neither do our members. Thanks to John Dillin, we have FPRA to help us do our jobs better.

What was your biggest accomplishment or Ah-ha moment as president of the CWC-FPRA?
What I’m remembering most from my term as our chapter’s president was the importance of teamwork.

Favorite book or website that you recommend to PR professionals
I recently purchased the following book and I do recommend it to my fellow PR practitioners. “Public Relations and the Power of Creativity: Strategic Opportunities, Innovation and Critical Challenges (Advances in Public Relations and Communication Management)”