PRSA Orlando Newsletter

"Traveler's Scale Back to Save Their Vacations." " Consumer Confidence at 16-Year Low." " Lawmakers Confront Task of Deeper Cuts." "Home Prices Drop Nationwide."

With headlines like these, it's a wonder anyone wants to get out of bed in the morning. Clearly our nation, and our community, is feeling the crunch of an "impending recession" everywhere from the market to the pump. Many local companies are facing serious set backs in stock prices, sales and layoffs.

As public relations practitioners, many of us are considered departmental "overhead." Should we be concerned about our jobs during these tough economic times? Yes and no.

It could be said that communities come together when times get tough. As a PR community, now is a good time to share the importance of public relations with our clients and management. We all know that public relations is a very effective means of communications without the same costs associated with advertising. With a competitive global economy, companies can count on PR as a very cost-effective marketing tool.

As practitioners it's important that we stay nimble and have the ability to change as the market changes. We must remain optimistic that these times of uncertainty will pass, and perhaps use the economic downturn to explore new opportunities and offerings for our clients and organizations.

One new offering I look forward to seeing in our community soon is commuter rail. Please join us on the Third Thursday, April 17, as we discuss what Central Florida has in store as commuter rail nears reality in our community. And hopefully we can all look forward to a more positive economic outlook in the not- too-distant future as well.

Dawn Vaughan, APR

It's a car, it's a plane, it's an ultra-fast and efficient light rail!

Last year, Florida's Department of Transportation and CSX entered into a $491 million agreement to bring commuter rail to Central Florida - an unprecedented move that business and civic leaders say will spur economic growth and improve Central Florida residents' quality of life.

While funding and planning for the project are already in place, several obstacles have slowed the state's multimillion-dollar deal, in which CSX plans to sell the 61-mile freight line that runs through downtown Orlando to the state so that Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties can begin running commuter trains.

However, last week during an exciting two-hour debate the state's House Infrastructure Committee gave a critical first approval to a legal liability arrangement - which means the project will continue chugging along, with the first leg scheduled to open in 2010.

Join us as Gary Cease, CSX corporate communications director, talks about exciting plans as he walks us through the "Railroad Renaissance," circumstances (overcrowded highways, more consumer goods coming from overseas, truck driver shortages and escalating fuel prices) that make railroads relevant today as an environmentally, friendly way to move freight and people. He'll also navigate discussions on how these benefits can be accelerated through public-private partnerships, like the FDOT-CSX transaction, and how PR efforts and issues management play an integral role in achieving business objectives and bottom-line results.

Menu: Entrée: Blackened Chicken; Dessert: Key Lime Pie. A vegetarian meal also is available.

Where: The Citrus Club , 255 S. Orange Ave., 18th Floor, Orlando
When: Thursday, April 17, 2008. Networking/Registration begins at 11:30 a.m.; lunch begins at noon.

Cost:
$25 for Chapter Members
$40 for Non-members
$15 for Students

Walk-ins are welcome, but seating is not guaranteed and admission will not be discounted.

Parking: Limited parking is available in the Citrus Center parking garage, accessible from Jackson Street. Additional parking is available at the Lincoln Tower and SunTrust Center garages, both accessible from South Street.

To RSVP, please visit PRSA Orlando.

Chatting Up A Charity: The Central Florida Zoo is our featured charity for April, May and June.

Sponsors: April's luncheon is sponsored by Consensus Communications and Progress Energy.

To learn how your company can become a sponsor, contact Heather Morgan or Jessi Blakely.

The Central Florida Zoo is dedicated to preserving the beauty and wonder of animals and their habitats. The Zoo is committed to sharing its knowledge, engaging visitors, and celebrating our natural world.

First established as the Sanford Zoo in 1923 with a collection of donated animals held by the Sanford Fire Department, in 1941 the Zoo was relocated to new facilities in downtown Sanford, on the site of the present City Hall. The Zoo of today opened its doors at its present site on July 4, 1975 and continues to grow as Seminole County's premier recreational and educational attraction.

Discovering animals is just the beginning. Over 75,000 school children participate in formal education programs every year, fostering an appreciation for animals and the importance of biodiversity. Programs integrate mathematics, language arts, geography and social science into a fun day of learning.

Conservation of animals is paramount; many endangered species entrusted to the Zoo's care may soon be extinct in the wild. Captive breeding programs may be their only hope for survival. Species Survival Plans(SSPs), coordinated through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, are attempting to maintain genetic diversity to ensure healthy, vigorous animals to reproduce now and in the future. Beyond this, SSPs participate in a variety of other cooperative conservation activities such as research, public education, reintroduction and field projects. The Central Florida Zoo participates in 12 SSP programs.

For more information, visit www.centralfloridazoo.org or call 407.323.4450.

Welcome

• Jeremy Dunstan, Gilbert Manjura Marketing
• Melanie N. Forbrick, Siemens Power Generation, Inc.
• Maryalicia Johnson, Central Florida YMCA

2008 Membership directories are in the mail. If you do not received a directory, contact Lashonda Eaddy.

Congrats to the following:

• Michelle Lynch, Orlando Regional Healthcare, who has been elected to the University of Florida Alumni Association's Board of Directors

As a public relations professional, you must always be alert to improving your value to your organization or clients, so too is Universal Accreditation Board committed to finding ways to make the APR credential more valuable for all of us. That's what accredited members charge us with every day.

After thoroughly studying our current maintenance program and points schedule, we saw an opportunity to encourage APRs to pursue more lifelong learning opportunities. These changes also bring the APR credential more in line with credentialing programs for other professions that place a very strong emphasis on professional development and lifelong learning. In fact, practitioners in a number of other professions only earn credit toward maintenance through continuing education activities.

To maintain your accreditation, you should have accumulated points in continuing education, professionalism or public service within a three-year period. Click here for everything you need to maintain your Accreditation and get involved in the Universal Accreditation Program.

Serving as an instructor at a seminar, workshop or program on public relations, membership of the Chapter local committee and special participation in activities such as mentor, professional advisor, and newsletter editor count toward your three-year maintenance period.

If you are interested in volunteering your time and talent to support APR, contact Laura E. Richeson, APR, or call 407-478-4040.

Vanessa Bouffard, APR
Orange County Animal Services, Marketing & Public Relations

Featured Guest: Lynn Thompson

Welcome to the Media Spotlight¸ your glimpse into the inner workings of Central Florida's diverse and changing media. Each month we'll chat with a different reporter, assignment editor, or writer. April's guest columnist is Lynn Thompson of Central Florida Doctor.

Describe your job? I'm a professional writer and editor, under contract with Beson 4 Media Group through this year to handle editorial duties for Central Florida Doctor and North Florida Doctor magazines. All stories are assigned to freelance writers and photographers.

What time/day is best to call? Leave a voicemail message at any time and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

How do you like to be contacted? (e-mail, phone, fax, mail) E-mails are easier to reference than notes from phone calls.

Which topics are hot right now? Which are not? Our audience is the physician community in Central Florida. Issues affecting physicians are hot for us: feature stories range from political issues that affect how doctors care for patients (like Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement changes taking effect July 1), to human interest stories about local doctors' lifestyles.

We're always looking for brief items about medically oriented events and personnel for the "What's Happening" column. Any story also needs to have a local flavor to it, with local physicians involved in some way. And print-quality photos of those doctors to accompany the story are gold! Read our past issues at www.barbespublishing.com to get a feel for stories we run.

What's your most memorable experience with a PR person? Hard to say; I have done PR for some clients, and full time for several years when I was a "corporate slave" so I'm familiar with the challenges PR people face. It's been interesting to work from the editorial side, where we have limited space in each issue to fill, the number of pages can vary greatly depending on ad sales, and sometimes stories don't pan out and need to have backups available.

Anything else you'd like PRSA Orlando members to know? I'm in Neptune Beach, near Jacksonville, and it's tough to manage a locally focused magazine when you're not in that market every day. I depend on folks who are actually located there to make me aware of issues of importance to our readers and appreciate all input. You guys are the best!

Our single programs, professional development, media roundtable and partner packages offer companies great benefits and a wonderful opportunity to connect with Central Florida's most influential public relations and communications professionals.

Contact Heather Morgan for more details.

Don't Miss This Great Conference

June 19-21, 2008
The Alexander Hotel, Miami Beach

Business is not as usual for today's public relations and communications practitioners. The 24-hour news cycle, a growing reliance on social media and the evolution of online tactics make information both abundant and on demand.

The new era of communications is dynamic, exciting and sometimes daunting. Our line-up of top-notch presenters will show you how to incorporate the latest trends while delivering effective communications plans that are strategic, ethical and immediate.

Join us for the 2008 PRSA Sunshine District Conference, June 19-21 at The Alexander Hotel in beautiful Miami Beach, Fla. We promise sand, sun, fun... and professional development, too!

Career development: Do, explore and read

By Rochelle L. Ford, Ph.D., APR

As children, we learned the fire safety slogan, "Stop, drop and roll." Safeguarding and developing your career in a multicultural context can be just as simple, summed up in three steps: Do, explore and read.

Do
Routine has potential to make your career feel stagnant. To prevent this, learn one thing new each week about public relations, your publics, your organization or your industry. Hours of formal study or expensive, off-site professional development workshops are not necessary; just read, listen to podcasts or review studies online - simple things. The key is doing it now, not waiting for the right price or an order from the boss.

Read the full article online by clicking here.

Post Your Openings On The Job Bank

Looking for the best talent for your company? Then send your job openings to Meredith Spinder, PRSA Orlando's Job Bank coordinator.

PRSA Orlando's up-to-date job bank features the latest openings in Central Florida.