FPRA - Florida Public Relations Association Blog

At last week's Image Awards gala hosted by FPRA's Orlando Area Chapter, the FPRA 2007 Annual Conference Blog was honored with an Image Award and a Judges' Award.

In 2007, a volunteer blog team -- led by Chris Gent and Josh Hallett, with writing assistance from Paul Ramey, APR, Donna Foster and student Valerie Norman -- came together to offer live blogging of FPRA's 69th Annual Conference. The blog enjoyed tremendous success, boasting 85 articles, 89 visitor comments, 793 photos and seven podcasts, while drawing 2,207 unique visitors and 7,108 total page views.

Thanks to the vision of Immediate Past President Jessica Rye, APR and the FPRA Executive Committee for supporting and encouraging this endeavor!

Chris accepted the award on behalf of the team. Josh Hallett was somewhere in the deserts of Wyoming and couldn't attending the awards gala.

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This month's Orlando Area Chapter luncheon will feature Dale A. Brill, Ph.D., Director of the Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. The program theme is "Courage to Let the Consumer Have Control."

Dr. Brill will seek to assure us that content is still king, but the tables have turned on who controls it. Kick off your shoes with Dale as he guides us through VISIT FLORIDA's recently released web project known as Open Florida. Learn from the trials and tribulations of navigating in a world where the consumer's control has never been greater.

The luncheon will take place on Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater at Loch Haven Park, 812 E. Rollins St. in Orlando. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m.; lunch and program begin at noon.

Register online at www.fpra-orlando.org.

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If you've ever called the FPRA State Office in Sarasota, you've probably heard -- "FPRA, this is Amanda" -- on the other end of the line. Just who is this Amanda? Why, it's Amanda Stillings!

Amanda serves as office administrator for FPRA as well as office administrator for KSC, Inc., a Sarasota-based advertising, public relations and marketing agency.

I learned today that our beloved Amanda is leaving us next week for a new job opportunity in Sarasota. As you all know, Amanda has been the glue behind FPRA these past six years… answering the phones, processing new members, processing conference registrations, preparing and mailing out annual conference packets, processing Golden Image entries… the list goes on and on and on.

I hope you will take just a moment to thank Amanda for her many contributions to our organization. She is an important part of the FPRA family and will be greatly missed.

Amanda’s last day is January 11. Her email until then is stillings@kscadvpr.com.

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The Orlando Area Chapter of FPRA scored the equivalent of a touchdown on Nov. 29 with its Backstage Pass tour of Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, home of the University of Central Florida Knights.

More than 60 public relations professionals -- including members of the Space Coast and Ocala Chapters -- gathered at the 45,301-seat stadium for a VIP tour. The tour included stops at the recruiting club, home locker room, digital production studios, press room, luxury suites and presidential suite.

At lunch, the group gathered inside the 4,200 square-foot Club Lounge where a panel of UCF employees shared the strategies, experiences and challenges of opening a new football stadium.

The panel included Cynthia Sucher, Associate VP for Community Relations; Joe Hornstein, Assoc. AD for Athletics Communications; Grant Heston, Assistant VP for News and Information; and Fred Kittinger, Associate VP & Director of State and Local Government Affairs. The panel discussion was moderated by Brian Craven, Director of Public Affairs and Communications for Bright House Networks.

Also during the lunch, Dr. Bob Davis, APR, CPRC, ABC presented six FPRA Roast & Toast scholarships to the following UCF students enrolled in the university's Nicholson School of Communications: Tabitha Bernabe, Matt Harper, Jason Holic, Melissa Patterson. Allie Schwartz and Juliann Whitebread.

Congratulations to these deserving students and thanks to everyone who participated in the Backstage Pass event!

Click here to view the complete photo set from Thursday's event.

Photos: Chris Gent

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Make plans to attend the Orlando Area Chapter's backstage tour of the Bright House Networks Stadium, the new home of the University of Central Florida Knights.

Dave Hansen, UCF's Senior Associate Athletics Director, will give us a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, including the Knights' locker room, recruiting lounge, and then to Roth Tower where we'll enjoy lunch and experience the club seats, suites and operational areas. Dave will also discuss the public relations strategies used to open the stadium.

Double click the arrows to preview the event video teasers. Video 1 (2:56), Video 2 (:51)

The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 29 at Bright House Networks Stadium. Click here for directions.

Register online at www.fpra-orlando.org.

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Nearly 300 bloggers and blog enthusiasts from throughout Florida and across the nation gathered at Rollins College in Winter Park today for BlogOrlando.

Sponsored by the Orlando Area Chapter of FPRA, the day kicked off with a keynote presentation by social media expert Shel Israel of Silicon Valley, Calif. The remainder of the day's sessions were divided up into four separate tracks: Public Relations/Communications, Media, Technology and Life/Local.

The day concluded with a presentaton by blogger Chris Heuer of San Francisco, Calif.

Visit the BlogOrlando account on Flickr to see images of the day.

Thanks to FPRA's own Josh Hallett who coordinated this informative and engaging event!

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Just a quick reminder that the Orlando Area Chapter of FPRA is helping sponsor BlogOrlando next week. This FREE un-conference is being hosted by Rollins College in Winter Park. The PR/Marketing track features an all-start line-up of social media experts from around the country. Registration closes next Monday night

Opening Keynote

The State of Social Media in the World
Leader - Shel Israel, CA - Global Neighbourhoods
Keynoter Shel Israel recently conducted a 10 week Global Survey of the state of social media on behalf of enterprise software giant SAP. He interviewed more than 50 people in 20 countries on four continents. His primary finding: social media is evolving at different rates in different corners of the globe, but it is changing all cultures and businesses. It is beginning even to change some governments.

Israel will report on his finding, some of which are quite surprising most of which indicate that social media is rapidly changing the entire world and in a great many ways, it is for the better.

PR/Marketing Track

Blogger Relations and Ambassador Programs
Leader - Tom Biro, NJ - Open the Dialogue
Working at MWW, Tom spearheaded the Nikon D80 Blogger outreach program. Tom will talk about working with bloggers and building ambassador programs.

Using Blogs for Product Development
Leader - Dave Coustan, Atlanta, GA - Earthlink
Dave Coustan, corporate blogger for EarthLink will talk about how organizations are using blogs as communication tools to develop better products by (gasp) actually asking people what they want.

Crisis Communication
Leader - Laurie Mayers, MI - MS&L
How do you handle a crisis via blog, or created via blog? Laurie Mayers of MSL (think the GM Fastlane Blog) will talk about how GM handles ‘issues’ online, and the limitations of what a publicly traded company can say on a blog.

Customer Relationships with the Rabid Crowd
Leader - Jake McKee, Dallas, TX - Community Guy
As former director of global community development for LEGO, Jake knows a thing or two about working with passionate users. What can your organization do to develop deeper, longer term relationships with your audiences?

Tourism and Social Media
Leader - Annie Heckenberger, Philadelphia, PA - Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
As the social media guru for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation Annie oversees a number of social media programs used to promote Philly. Annie will discuss how tourism groups are adapting to the new media landscape.

Business Blogging the Next Steps
Leader - David Parmet, Pound Ridge, NY - Marketing Begins at Home
David Parmet returns to BlogOrlando to lead a session on the business blogging. We’ll assume you know what a blog is….and start to talk about what some of the next steps are.

Participation is Marketing
Leader - Geoff Livingston, Alexandria, VA - Buzz Bin
In the end it’s all about getting involved. Geoff will touch on a number of topics presented during the day…the foundations are honest, open communication. Can you do it?

Continue reading "BlogOrlando 07 Next Week" »

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Over a thousand canceled flights. Hundreds of stranded passengers. Millions of dollars in lost revenue. What would you do if you were an airline in this situation?

Find out at this year’s FPRA Professional Development Workshop on Thursday, October 25 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando.

Jenny Dervin, director of corporate communications at JetBlue Airways, will share how her company dealt with the winter storms crisis and how they came out the other side as a stronger airline.

Additional breakout sessions will include: preparing your company’s crises plan, pitching to opinion editorials and alternative outlets, creating creativity in PR and more.

Make sure to mark your calendar for this half-day workshop and luncheon. Stay tuned for details!

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Do you remember FPRAonline? I'm not talking about the first web site, I'm talking about the original FPRAonline....from 1995. Yes, a little over 12 years ago the organization created its first online presence with a dial-up bulletin-board system (BBS). It all started on January 3, 1995.

While cleaning out some files this weekend I found a copy of the original install floppy-disk, remember those? I took a photo to post here.

There was also an instruction sheet that came with the disk. Here are some highlights:

Q. What is an 'on-line' service?
A. A computer filled with information that others may access from their computers via modem over telephone lines.

Q. Does it cost to use this service?
A. The cost of operating the FPRA system is included in your membership dues. You will incur long-distance telephone charges.

Q. If I don't use the system will I 'miss' important communications?
A. No, not at present. FPRA will continue to publish written communication via Esprit!, PR Florida and the membership directory. However, over the next several years it is expected that the trend will be electronic delivery of information. At some point in time, the association may deem the online service as the primary method for communicating with members.

Q. What will I find on the system?
A. General FPRA Information, Statewide Job Bank, FPRA Book Source, News, Tips, Accolades, Electronic Mail, FPRA Calendar, State Board Information. In the future: Golden Image Winner Summaries, Shopping Mall, Annual Conference Information.

Quite a look back. While some of the questions are dated, some of the same core issues are still around today. Has electronic communication taken over for print? Yes and no.

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Each year, the Orlando Area Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association presents two of its most prominent and prestigious awards, the Bob Davis Award and Member of the Year.

This year's Bob Davis Award recipient is featured in a separate post.

The Member of the Year award is intended to recognize one member of the chapter who has made a significant contribution through outstanding leadership, demonstrated enthusiasm, extraordinary involvement and loyal support.

This year's Member of the Year award recipient is Chris Gent, vice president of corporate communications at Kissimmee Utlity Authority.

Chris is a past president of the Orlando Area Chapter and has served nine years in various roles on the chapter's board of directors, including chapter management, newsletter editor, Webmaster and vice president of online communications. In addition, Chris served five years on the FPRA state board of directors, including three years on the FPRA Executive Committee.

Chris received FPRA's Doris Fleischman Award in 2001 and the Bob Davis Award in 2004.

(pictured, from left to right) FPRA Orlando Area Chapter President Susan Ennis, APR and Chris Gent.

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The Orlando Area Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association on Thursday, Aug. 23 announced that Cynthia Lambert, public relations specialist for METROPLAN ORLANDO, is the recipient of the chapter’s 2007 Bob Davis Award for outstanding contributions to the public relations profession.

The award is presented annually to an individual for his or her “behind the scenes” volunteer efforts that go largely unnoticed by chapter members and are not recognized by other awards programs.

The award is named in honor of Bob Davis, Ph.D., ABC, APR, CPRC, a professor at the University of Central Florida who has given tirelessly to FPRA and the profession for the past three decades.

Since joining FPRA, Cynthia has served on several chapter committees, including newsletter, 2006 Central Florida Media Roundtable, Roast & Toast and Image Awards. Beginning Sept. 1, she will serve her first year on the board as co-vice president of professional development.

(pictured, from left to right) FPRA Orlando Area Chapter President Susan Ennis, APR, Cynthia Lambert and Dr. Bob Davis

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This morning marks one week since the 69th FPRA Annual Conference officially kicked off in Sarasota. This post will be my final look at blog Web stats related to the conference.

Total unique visitors: 2,207
Total page views: 7,108
The average visitor stayed on this blog for 4 minutes, 56 seconds.

Web stats are an interesting thing. The stats tell me that 44 percent of those who visited this blog in the past week had a computer monitor resolution of 1024x768, followed by 15 percent who had it set at 1280x1024. And the stats tell me that 72 percent of the visitors had Windows XP as their operating system, while 18 percent were using a Mac.

They also tell me from where our site visitors originated during this past week.

Of course, we had lots of visitors from cities throughout Florida, including Altamonte Springs, Cocoa, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Groveland, Indiantown, Maitland, Naples, Orlando, Ormond Beach, Pensacola, Rockledge, Sanford, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa and Winter Park.

We also had numerous visitors from other states, including Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

And we even had a group of individuals following our conference from the countries of Australia, Canada, Fiji, Germany, India, Romania, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

This blog has allowed our Association to reach individuals we might not have reached otherwise. It has allowed us to share information about our growing profession with others living outside the state... and the country. Despite being one of 71 million blogs worldwide, the FPRA Blog found a niche and reeled in more than 2,000 unique visitors in one week.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Thanks, again, to our dedicated blog team who made it happen: Donna Foster, Chris Gent, Josh Hallett, Valerie Norman and Paul Ramey, APR. Special thanks to Tina Haisman, APR for championing the cause with FPRA's Executive Committee and to the FPRA State Office for assisting with promotion and logistics.

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Photo Joe generously provided us with a disk of all the photos he shot before, during and after last Tuesday's Golden Image Awards gala. Josh posted them all this evening over on Flickr.

Check them out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/fpra/sets/72157601288568774/

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In clearing off the hundreds of annual conference photos from my camera, I came across this cute group photo of the recipients of this year's Doris Fleischman Award, John W. Dillin Award and Member of the Year Award -- all showing off FPRA's exclusive set of engraved silver.

(left to right) Amelia Woodbridge, Kathy Giery, APR, CPRC, and Erin McLeod.

Congratulations, ladies!

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This blog enjoyed a steady stream of visitors throughout FPRA's annual conference on Aug. 5-8.

That trend continued today -- one day after the conference -- when the blog drew an additional 295 unique visitors.

Here are the totaled stats since Monday:

Total unique visitors: 1,702
Total page views: 5,622
The average visitor stayed on this blog for 5 minutes, 18 seconds.

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In closing, I wanted to share with you the totaled Web stats for this blog during our three day conference. The event itself may be over, but the information, podcasts and photos we've posted these past few days will remain for you to refer back to in the future.

Total unique visitors: 1,407
Total page views: 4,528
The average visitor stayed on this blog for 5 minutes, 9 seconds.

Thanks for visiting. We hope to see you next year on Aug. 3-6, 2008 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee. Here's a glimpse...

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The 2007 FPRA Annual Conference has drawn to a close. We'll be posting a few recap items over the next few days. I know I had a blast and hope the readers did as well.

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Dr. Jay Rayburn, APR, CPRC, and blogging are not two words you would normally associate with each other. How things change.

During this year's conference Dr. Rayburn wrote his first blog post. I talked to Jay about his history within the organization and the students he's mentored over the years. Click here to listen to the interview: JayRayburn.MP3

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What a great ending to an amazing conference. As a first timer here I am overwhelmed at the "Love Fest" this FPRA conference really is. I hope you read these traits to becoming a leader and take them to heart. Thank you for letting me show you the event through the eyes of a student. I really enjoyed the opportunity and hope to see you all again! -Valerie Norman, hopeful future leader.

10 Leadership Traits

#1 Personal Clarity
Great leaders know:
Who they really are
What they really want in their life
Why they really want it

#2 Courage
Great leaders accept personal responsibility, display courage, and are pro-active

#3 Integrity
Great leaders “walk their talk.” They live with integrity and inspire trust.

#4 Resilience
Great leaders are curious and always searching for a better way. They understand how to accept and initiate change.

#5 Vision
Great leaders see and stay focused on the big picture. Great leaders know the answer to the 4 key leadership questions; where are we going, how do we get there, what resources do we have and need, and how do we measure success. Larry adds a fifth one; are we having fun!

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: My Thoughts on the Ten Traits of Really Great Leaders " »

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In the last session of the morning, Larry Face, President of Next Level Achievement, discussed “Ten Traits of Really Great Leaders” that help us take our leadership skills to the next level. Face began the session by asking the audience to think about someone we think of as a good leader and what traits make them a good leader. The audience listed about 35 traits including intelligence, drive, patience, resilience, ability to make decisions, charisma, fun and enthusiasm. Leadership is about communications. Determining what is important to others as well as yourselves—developing consensus, clarity and execution of strategy.

EQ is more important than IQ in determining a great leader. The speaker said, “the convergence of heart, head and guts (the EQ) is the sweet spot of leadership.” Society operates at it’s best when they communicate with one language, but organizations don’t think of it like that enough.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Closing Session, Ten Traits of Really Great Leaders - Larry Face" »

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