Sponsorship Savvy –

How to Attract Potential Donors for
PRSA Chapter Programs

PRSA SE District May Affinity Call

When: Monday, May 20 @ 3 p.m. EDT/ 2 p.m. CDT

Dial-In:  218-844-0850 / Access Code:  570772#

This month you’ll learn:
- Formulas for success
- Smart thinking and considerations
- Demonstrating value
- Creative ideas to launch and enhance your program

This session will be led by Robert Udowitz, who was instrumental in building the PRSA National Capital Chapter’s highly successful sponsorship program. Under Robert’s leadership, the PRSA NCC, which is the largest in the nation, secured more than $60K in annual sponsorship dollars! Robert also will be joined by PRSA National Capital Chapter President-elect Rebecca B. Andersen, M.S. IMC, APR.

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Need Members? How to Recruit and Keep Them

When: Monday, April 22 @ 3 p.m. EDT/ 2 p.m. CDT

Due to technical snafu,  the call was not able to be recorded.

This month we’ll hear from two Georgia members about their chapter’s plan to drive new members.

The membership committee for the PRSA Georgia Chapter created a plan in 2012 centered on personas of their membership.

The plan discussed how each audience segment should be approached about the features and benefits of becoming an active participant in the second largest chapter in the nation.

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With the ever-evolving role of public relations, it’s more important than ever to keep up with trends, identify industry best practices and gain practical insight into the profession.

Come to Charlotte with us on April 9-11, 2014….

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PRSA SE District March Affinity Call
Developing Programs for New Professionals

To hear the playback, dial 218-844-0951; enter 570772#; select March 25 session.

Want to learn more on how to develop programs for new professionals?

Learn how one of the leading chapters, Georgia, is leading the way.

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PRSA SE District February Affinity Call
Developing Programs for Seasoned Professionals

Speaker: Mary Beth West, APR

To hear the playback, dial 218-844-0951; enter 570772#; press # for last-recorded session.

One of the greatest resources any PRSA chapter has is the wealth of expertise represented among its senior-level practitioners.

This session will include a host of ideas, approaches (including do’s and don’ts!) and topics to energize and re-engage senior-level pros in your chapter.

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By Jessica Gisclair
President, PRSA Tar Heel Chapter

“Perception is reality.” I don’t know who said it first. Some would argue it was Edward Bernays or Ivy Lee. Others would choose Lee Atwater. But, I could easily argue that I heard it most often from Rick Hodson.

Rick, a dear friend, colleague and former president of the Tar Heel Chapter — whom many of you knew personally — passed away on January 3. He will be dearly missed.

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The Mayans were wrong and we are still here.  Hooray!

That means another year of making New Year’s resolutions. Boo!!

However, without having that pesky “end of the world” prophecy hanging over our heads (for now), we have a fresh start in 2013.

As PR professionals, we are now free to capitalize on the many opportunities that may be presented to us.

So where to begin?

Here are a few suggestions:

• Be true to yourself…since no one else will be as honest with you as you.
• Follow your gut instincts…but do some research to be sure.
• Work hard…and remember to make time for other things important in your life.
• Do the work no one else wants to do…it will help you succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
• Measure it…after all, plans without goals are just dreams.

Moving Forward

We have a fantastic board of directors this year, who are dedicated to helping achieve the two goals I’ve set for us in 2013:

1. Engage PRSA Southeast District members through effective programming, communication, and involvement.

2. Strengthen PRSA Southeast District by increasing our collective “voice” at the national level.

All of us on the Southeast District board look forward to serving our membership in 2013 and to helping achieve our goals for your District.

Throughout this coming year, we’ll be working to provide exceptional value for your District membership and want you to contact us with any ideas that you might have to keep us on track.

Mitch Edwards, APR
2013 PRSA Southeast District Chair

 

Members of the PRSA Southeast District join with members of the Memphis Chapter in mourning the recent loss of Memphis Chapter President Holden Potter. He passed away Dec. 23 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis following a brief illness. According to family members, a memorial service is anticipated at Calvary Episcopal Church after Jan. 4. Holden will be remembered as a skilled communicator, energetic organizational leader, and dedicated community servant.

PRSA SE District officers for 2012 are ending a successful year for the Southeast District, and incoming officers for 2013 have exciting plans for the new year. For example, a district leadership rally – for incoming chapter officers throughout the district – is planned for the fall of 2013, to be hosted in Nashville. Chapter officers will share best practices and gain inspiration and skills for effective local chapter leadership.

The district leadership rally held Nov. 2 in Charlotte, N.C., was attended by chapter officers from most chapters in the region. A similar rally was held in Birmingham in 2011 and in Atlanta in 2010. These events include keynote speakers and breakout sessions for chapter presidents, presidents-elect, secretaries, treasurers, ethics officers, accreditation chairs, program chairs, and other committee leaders.

The PRSA Southeast District Conference held in September 2012 in Chattanooga was well received by more than 130 chapter members from throughout the district. The Lookout Chapter hosted the conference, lining up exciting keynote speakers and networking receptions at the Chattanooga Aquarium and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield headquarters.

The next district conference – for all district PRSA members – is planned for spring of 2014 and will be hosted by the Charlotte Chapter in Charlotte, N.C.

A Twitter account was established for @seprsa, and a “Southeast District PRSA” page was added on Facebook.

District officers for 2012 were:
• Chair: Chuck Norman, APR, North Carolina
• Chair-elect: Mitch Edwards, APR, Alabama
• Treasurer: Natalia Flores, APR, Charlotte
• Secretary: Kelly Davis, APR, South Carolina
• Immediate Past Chair: Melanie Davis, APR, Alabama
• Director-at-Large (2-yr term, 2011-12): Kevin Lusk, Lookout
• Director-at-Large (2-yr term, 2011-12): Penny Cothran, APR, South Carolina
• Director-at-Large (1-yr term): Stephen Loudermilk, Georgia
• Director-at-Large (1-yr term): Vickye Hester, APR, Memphis
• Web/E-newsletter: Bonnie Riechert, APR, Fellow, Nashville

Norman is owner/principal at S&A Cherokee, Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Edwards is SVP of marketing, sales and business development at HighGround Solutions, Birmingham. Flores is director at Fusion Communications, Charlotte, N.C. She’s a native of Argentina. Kelly Davis is owner at Davis Public Relations and Marketing, LLC, Columbia, S.C., and is a director-at-large on the national board of directors of PRSA. Melanie Davis is assistant director of communications at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Lusk is communications/membership/development manager at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society. Cothran is communications director at SC Bankers Association, Columbia, S.C. Loudermilk is global director of media and analyst relations at LexisNexis, Alpharetta, Ga., and is the incoming chair of the PRSA National Tech Section. Hester is communications specialist at Methodist Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis. Riechert is chair of the department of public relations at Belmont University, Nashville.

The Southeast District’s Charlotte Chapter is featured prominently in PRSA’s December 2012 issue of Tactics. The article, “The Charlotte Chapter’s Role in the DNC,” on page 10, describes the contributions and experience of the 27 Charlotte Chapter members who were among 400 volunteers working with the Democratic National Convention Sept. 2-6 in Charlotte.

“The greatest challenge was helping coordinate media interviews for more than 15,000 media representatives from around the world,” according to the article by Sharon Harmon, APR.

Volunteering her skills and expertise at the DNC was “an exciting, hectic and fascinating experience,” said Janet C. Hart, APR. Hart helped book and facilitate TV interviews with speakers as they walked off the podium. Other volunteers reported on speeches and collected quotes for the demconvention.com blog and for social media sites including Facebook and Flickr. Contributing to the “worldwide media event” will be remembered as “one of the major highlights in all of our public relations careers.”