Name: Colleen Thayer, MA, APR, CPRC
Year of Presidency: 2001
Where are you now? I am the Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Sarasota and Manatee Counties
What FPRA means to you? Connection and growth – the people I have met through FPRA over the years have helped me become a better public relations professional, have mentored me, have connected me with job opportunities, and become lifelong friends
What was your biggest accomplishment or Ah-ha moment as president of the CWC-FPRA?
That was a long time ago! Several of us were pregnant during that time – so probably the biggest accomplishment was new healthy littles and keeping the chapter moving forward at the same time! I would also say that having a strong team (board members and volunteers) around you is critical. I have always lived by that – I’m certainly not the smartest in the room but can surround myself with great people – then everyone wins and in this case the chapter succeeds
Favorite book or website that you recommend to PR professionals?
Hardball by Chris Matthews. It’s not directly a PR book – more a collection of political stories – but those stories have quite a few PR and political lessons in them that I have been able to carry forward professionally.