President's Message
 During the past week, I've heard from many PRSA members concerned about recent remarks critical of the PR profession. I know this is an issue that has sparked much passion and much controversy. This is clearly one situation that has no simple solution, nor one right answer.
I suggest we take this opportunity to develop a long-term approach, directing our efforts in constructive and creative ways to communicate the value of public relations to all of our audiences — friends, civic groups, schools, co-workers, business leaders and families.
For example, one of our members is going to ask for a few minutes at her Rotary meeting to answer questions and to reinforce what PR can do and should do for a company. I learned from a former chapter president that the Orlando Chapter of PRSA was involved in helping the Central Florida CrimeLine start up locally here in the late '80s. Seriously, who hasn't heard of 1-800-423 TIPS? CrimeLine has provided great value for law enforcement, victims of crime and the greater community at large. Public relations may be considered a modern-day profession, but is deeply rooted in history. One example is the Boston Tea Party. I'd be very willing to assert that the Boston Tea Party was a local event planned, geared toward community, government and media relations, to bring attention to the issue of liberty.
The public relations profession is broad, and practitioners vary from generalists to those who specialize in specific areas such as marketing communications or investor relations. The common denominator is that PR professionals provide strategic counsel between an organization and its publics, so that meaningful dialogue is achieved and business goals are accomplished.
There are hundreds of examples where PR made a huge difference in this community, and I'm not the expert. You do this everyday in your professional lives, and I know you have great success stories to share. We'd love to hear from our members about some of these stories and highlight them in this newsletter. This is our natural platform where we do our best work. The best way to convey the value of public relations is to lead by excellent example — and then tell somebody about it!
Best regards,
—Andrea Finger, APR
PRSA Orlando November Meeting: Rick Walsh, Sr. VP Corporate Affairs, Darden Restaurants
Sponsored by Florida's Blood Centers and Walt Disney World Resort
For more than 20 years, Rick Walsh has helped serve as the voice and the conscience of Darden Restaurants. Today, as Darden's Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and a member of the Darden Executive Committee, Rick is responsible for all corporate internal and external communications, environmental and government relations, creative and print services, travel and meeting planning services, media, public, diversity and community relations, including the Darden Restaurants Foundation.
This 1977 UCF grad (B.A., Political Science) has shepherded his company and our community through tremendous periods of growth, often accepting tasks that others might find daunting, like taking the lead on Mobility 20/20. Despite the referendum's loss, Rick and Darden Restaurants prevailed as true leaders in the corporate social responsibility arena. In 2004, Rick was ranked 11th on Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell's list of the 25 most powerful people in Central Florida.
Now, set to retire at the end of the year, Rick will share a fraction of what he has learned throughout the past two decades.
Date: Thursday, Nov. 16
Time: Networking begins at 11:30 a.m. Lunch begins at noon
Place: The Citrus Club, 255 S. Orange Ave., 18th Floor, Orlando
Cost: $20 for Members, $30 for Guests, $15 for Students
Click here to RSVP. You can pay online using PayPal, or pay at the event using cash or check only. Entrée is Grilled Chicken with Garlic Alfredo. Dessert is N.Y. Style Cheesecake.
Please include your name, company, title, phone number and e-mail address. Cancellations received after Nov. 13 and no-shows will be billed.
Is your company interested in sponsoring a luncheon? For a $500 sponsorship, your company will receive:
- Name and logo on PRSA Orlando's Web site
- Name in PRSA Orlando's newsletter
- 10 complimentary admissions to the sponsored luncheon
For information on sponsorship packages, contact Mike Ertel at ertel@voteseminole.org or Dan Ward at dward@thestrategicfirm.com.
From Donkey Kong to the Xbox: PRSA has come a long way, baby!
December luncheon reflects on PRSA Orlando's history, honors past presidents
It was 1981 when Americans were introduced to Donkey Kong, the DeLorean, MTV and witnessed the grandiose wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana. It was also the year the Orlando Regional Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America was chartered.
Over these past 25 years, 26 courageous men and women stepped forward to lead the organization as chapter president. They were at the helm for some of our nation's biggest PR triumphs and blunders. We honor two posthumously. We'll honor all the others at the December luncheon.
Please note, the December luncheon takes place on the FIRST Thursday of the month — Dec. 7.
Date: Thursday, Dec. 7
Time: Networking begins at 11:30 a.m. Lunch begins at noon
Place: The Citrus Club, 255 S. Orange Ave., 18th Floor, Orlando
Cost: $20 for Members, $30 for Guests, $15 for Students
Click here to RSVP. You can pay online using PayPal, or pay at the event using cash or check only. Entrée is chicken bistro. Dessert is Citrus Club classic key lime pie.
Please include your name, company, title, phone number and e-mail address. Cancellations received after Dec. 4 and no-shows will be billed.
This is a meeting you won't want to miss! Try to match the news event with the past president who reigned that year (click here for a printable PDF entry form). Bring your entry to the luncheon Thursday, Dec. 7, for your chance to win fabulous prizes!
New Members
PRSA Orlando welcomes the following new members:
- Katie Lister, Junior Achievement of Central Florida
- Stacie L. Feldman
- Catriona M. Harris, PR@vantage
- Brianna Marie Schweitzer, Junior Achievement
- Kelley M. Teague, Metroplan Orlando
- Katherine Allen Row, Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida Inc.
- Rick L. Van Warner, The Parquet Group
Ten Minutes/Ten Questions
Name: Wendy Shill Kurtz, APR, CPRC
Occupation: President, Elizabeth Charles & Associates, LLC
PRSA Involvement: Currently serving as Chairman of the Sunshine District, one of ten districts nationwide; previous district leadership includes service as secretary and board member; chapter leadership included stint as Assembly Delegate Alternate for the Orlando Chapter.
Person who has most influenced your life: My parents. Dad taught me I could do anything I put my mind to if I stayed grounded in my principles, and Mom instilled in me a great sense of creativity.
Quote to live by: "Focused mind power is one of the greatest forces on Earth" (Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series) and "Never underestimate the power of a good pair of black pants" (this quote is my own personal creation based on years of experience).
What made you choose PR as a profession: Actually, I fell into it. Both my undergraduate and graduate degrees are in business. In high school I worked at a hospital and wanted to be a hospital administrator, but my first job out of college was as a marketing assistant at Ticketmaster. I was involved with a variety of PR activities, including the grand opening promotion for the O-rena (I guess that really dates me, huh?) and enjoyed the event production and promotion work so much I changed course.
Best PR advice you ever received: "Just be yourself."
Greatest accomplishment: Getting my MBA. There were moments when I thought graduate-level differential calculus might get the best of me, but like the quote says, "focused mind power..."
Favorite thing to do on the weekend: Spend "down" time with my husband, Dean, and our two shelties, Rusty and Faith (you can check out the adorable bundles here). I also love catching up on missed episodes of Criminal Minds and a few other crime dramas (thank goodness for TiVo!).
Something nobody really knows about you: I'm a technology junkie, which is why I have to reformat my hard drive a couple of times a year. I'm always downloading new software and beta programs, trying new tricks with my computer. I've also logged more than a few hours on the Xbox 360 (just to stay on top of what the kids are doing, of course).
Member News
Congratulations to Dan Ward, APR, recently named partner with Curley & Pynn Public Relations Management Inc.
Congratulations to Linda Costa, APR, president and founder of Costa DeVault — a wordwise company, for winning a Summit Award, presented by the Central Florida Women's Resource Center.
Join the Sunshine District Conference Committee
The annual PRSA Sunshine District Conference is in Orlando in 2007! So, the Orlando Chapter is charged with organizing this great event — and we want YOUR help, input and expertise to make this the best Sunshine District Conference yet!
If you'd like to get more involved with the chapter and network with key professionals in the field, join the Sunshine District Conference Committee. The commitment is only for a few months, so it's easy to work into your schedule! For more information on volunteering for the committee, contact Dawn Vaughan at dvaughan@floridasbloodcenters.org or Lorelie Johnson at lorelie.johnson@mybrighthouse.com.
Membership Information
Get a one-year membership to your local PRSA chapter for free!
That's right. Those of you who join PRSA during the month of November will receive a one-year membership to the local chapter of your choice for free! (Of course, we hope you'll choose the Orlando Chapter). That's a $50 savings.
PRSA National and Chapter memberships offer:
- Access to a broad spectrum of local and national professional development opportunities
- Local and national networks to help you in your career
- Valuable information services through National's Professional Resource Center
- Complimentary subscriptions to the award-winning publications PR Tactics and The Strategist
- Career development resources and tools
- Opportunities to develop your leadership skills
- Access to professional interest sections and affinity groups
- And much more
This offer is valid for:
- Members joining at the full member rate of $290 ($225 national dues + $65 initiation fee)
- Former members who have been inactive for at least one year
Associate Members are not eligible for this offer, but are still welcome to join.
How to join and receive the one-year free Chapter membership: Use the online or PDF application at prsa.org under the "Membership" button. Be sure to indicate promotion code Nov2006 to receive the special offer. If you are already a member, please pass this information along to your friends and colleagues who might be interested. For more information, contact Mason Moore, Vice President of Member Recruitment for the Orlando Chapter, at mmoore@fhbnet.com.
Looking for freelance writers
Central Florida Doctor magazine is now interviewing freelance writers to fulfill the growing needs of the lifestyle publication. No experience in medical or healthcare writing is necessary, as most articles are features or human-interest pieces. Send resume and writing samples to editor@cfdoctor.com, or call (407) 691-5135 for more information.
PR grant available for nonprofits
For the fourth consecutive year, CyberAlert Inc. will award public relations grants to a minimum of 10 not-for-profit organizations in the United States and Canada. Each grant consists of one full year of free press clipping/media monitoring service from CyberAlert, ranging in value from $2,700 to $3,900.
CyberAlert is accepting grant applications until Dec. 31 and will announce recipients in early January. A simple and secure grant application is available online at https://secure.cyberalert.com/grants.html.
A complete copy of the news release announcing the program can be seen at http://www.cyberalert.com/prgrants_news2007.html. The news release includes some previous PR grant recipients.
Founded in 1999, CyberAlert is a worldwide press clipping, media monitoring, broadcast monitoring and Web clipping service. Its CyberAlert® 4.0 worldwide news monitoring service monitors more than 25,000 online news sources each day in 17 languages. The company's TV broadcast monitoring service monitors the closed caption text of more than 2,100 news programs on more than 500 TV stations in the Top 100 markets in the United States. To monitor consumer discussion (online word-of-mouth), its NetPinions service monitors more than 95,000 Web message boards and UseNet news groups for consumer insight about companies, products, key issues and trends, and its BlogSquirrel service monitors more than 5 million blog postings each day from 20 million blogs worldwide.
Check out the Job Bank
Keep checking PRSA Orlando's up-to-date job bank for the latest openings in Central Florida.
Or, if you're looking for the best talent in the area, post your company's open positions on the site.
Recent postings include available positions at:
- Lakeland Regional Medical Center — Lakeland
- Florida Hospital DeLand — DeLand
- Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
- HD Supply — Orlando
Click below to check it out!
Submissions
To submit stories or ideas for the PRSA newsletter, please contact Communications VP Michelle Lynch.
Past issues
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