This year's blog team is currently meeting to finalize coverage of the conference. The team consists of Donna Foster, Chris Gent, Josh Hallett, Valerie Norman and Paul Ramey, APR. Click here for their bios.
The 68th conference of the Florida Public Relations Association has wrapped up in Amelia Island, Fla.
Lots of great sessions, networking, awards, fun... and even a few surprises. It's been fun. Thanks, Suzanne Sparling, APR for all your hard work in pulling this conference off.
We've also had lots of fun with this conference blog. Thanks to those of you who visited, who commented and sent nice notes along the way. We tried our best to convey to you the look, feel and flavor of an FPRA annual conference. I hope we succeeded.
We hope that those of you who visited will make plans now to attend next year's conference in Sarasota. The investment will pay huge dividends for both your current employer and your career as a public relations professional.
In closing, we wanted to share the final Web stats for the entire three days conference. The event may be over, but the information shared these past few days will remain on this blog for you to refer back to in the future.
Total unique visitors: 1,264Total page views: 4,775
And to borrow a line from a recent Green Day song:
"It's something unpredictablebut in the end it's right.
hope you had the time of your life."
We hope you did.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, made a visit to the FPRA annual conference this morning. Well, not the REAL Mark Twain... but an actor named Bob Valentine from Murray State University who shared Clemen's humor and wit.
Mark Twain was born in Florida... Florida, Missouri that is.
Here's some of his most memorable quotes from today's presentation:
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed.
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
FPRA's 68th Annual Conference is almost over and it has been a wonderful experience, with some great surprises. Work has already begun on next year's conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Fla. Erin McLeod is the incoming Vice President of Annual Conference and is responsible for planning the event. I spoke with Erin about next year's event and what she has in store for us. Click here to listen to the interview: ErinMcLeod.mp3.
The final individual award given out tonight was the John W. Dillin Award.
The John W. Dillin Professional Award for service to the Florida Public Relations Association has been established as the highest, most prestigious award of the Association. The award honors the spirit and dedication of FPRA’s first president and founder, Lt. Col. John W. Dillin, and his lifetime of service to and support of the Association.
The purpose of the annual award is to recognize an FPRA member for his/her outstanding contribution to the Association and the field of public relations.
Drum roll, please... the winner of the 2006 John W. Dillin Award is:
LYNN SCHNEIDER, APR, CPRC - Public Relations Director, Shell Point Retirement Community - Member, Southwest Chapter
The Golden Image Awards have become a standard of public relations excellence in the state of Florida. Winners demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning and design. The awards competition includes four divisions of categories: Public Relations Programs, Printed Tools of Public Relations, Audio/Visual Tools of Public Relations and Student Projects in Public Relations. To qualify for judging, an entry must incorporate sound public relations research and planning. Entries also must meet the highest standard of production, execution and evaluation of results and budget.
Thanks to Trista Wallace, APR and her committee for putting together a wonderful evening!
And the winners are...
Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Golden Image Award Winners Announced" »
Chris and Josh have taken some great photos of the conference. A few have been posted on this blog, but many more are posted at Flickr (over 200 so far). Click here to see them. I think my kids will like this one the best:
Something new this year is the inclusion of more networking time! Because the FPRA conference is always jam packed during both day and night with activities, this is a very welcome addition.
FPRA realized that while members enjoy the professional development opportunities, we really wish we had just an hour or two during the day to network with our fellow professionals from throughout the state.
Kudos to Suzanne Sparling, APR and her conference committee for adding this enhancement to this year's conference.
We thought you might like to see the view from the cheap seats of those blogging this conference. Chris, Josh, Bob and Jennifer are seated on the back row (with very nice folks from the Ocala Chapter!) surrounded by power cables, cameras, conference schedules, etc.
Here's the nice folks from the Ocala Chapter...
Cynthia Lambert of METROPLAN Orlando is attending her first FPRA Annual Conference. I talked with Cynthia about her first conference experience and her years as a student member. Click here to listen to the interview: CynthiaLambert.mp3.
Is Dino from the Flintstones a Dog or a Dinosaur?
That little item popped up during the Q&A after Shirley's keynote. Context: at the Cartoon Network they actually had a meeting debating that subject. What do you think?
Rick Oppenheim, APR, CPRC has attended just about every conference for the past twenty years. In a quick conversation Rick looks back on conferences past and the benefits that FPRA has provided him. Click here to listen to the interview: RickOppenheim.mp3.
That's what Josh told me this morning after my lack of posting yesterday.
However, as Bob noted yesterday, the wireless account only allows for two users and there are four of us. While Bob did decide to shell out the $9.95 per day for access, I did not. I have my Treo for work but was not able to post from it.
I'll be updating throughout the day and giving you a recap of yesterday soon.
Last night's Scholarship Fundraiser grossed $9,052 for the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation.
Congratulations to the Jacksonville Chapter for planning and hosting this year's fundraiser.
It's Day 2. Sunrise was at 6:47 a.m. Current temperature in Amelia Island, Fla.: 76 degrees.
Today's another full day... featuring Shirley Powell, Senior VP of Corporate Communications for Turner Broadcasting; Dr. Robert J. Parkinson of Northwestern University; Dick Martin, former Executive Vice President of PR at AT&T as well as roundtable lunch discussions, an inside look at the Terri Schiavo case, the annual chocolate break and the Golden Image Awards Gala this evening. Josh will post the full schedule shortly...
In addition, today we have a separate track for our student members from throughout the state.
Vist with us once again as we explore the power of FPRA!
Since Chris started off the day with a sunrise photo....here is the view out my window. We'll see you tomorrow.
Well, the first full day of the FPRA Annual Conference has wrapped up. We hope this blog has provided visitors with a window into our fun and informative conference... and the power of FPRA. We provided summaries of some of today's presentations. We uploaded hundreds of conference photos. And we racked up some impressive site traffic statistics for the first day:
Total unique visitors for Monday: 530
Total page views: 1,590
The average visitor is staying on this blog for just under 4 minutes
Thanks to those of you who visited us today. We'll have even more stuff for you tomorrow... including a complete list of our 2006 Golden Image Awards winners. Be among the first to hear who will be taking home this year's top PR awards.
If you're not familiar with the Golden Image Awards program, we provided a short tutorial.
We just finished uploading all the photos from tonight's scholarship fundraiser. Head on over the Flickr to check them out.
Tonight was the annual scholarship fundraiser to benefit the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation. The auction featured dozens of items, including weekend getaways, airline tickets, sports tickets and collectibles, artwork and much more. The fundraising total is currently being tabulated and will be announced in the morning.
Josh will have a complete photo recap of tonight's event in just a few minutes over at Flickr.
Many thanks to the Jacksonville Chapter for hosting this fun and worthwhile event!
Get involved. Your FPRA membership is only what you make of it.
During the President's Luncheon on Monday Kathy Giery, APR, CPRC encouraged members to become involved in the organization. I sat down with Kathy and asked her about how she became involved with FPRA and what the association has meant to her. Click here to listen to the interview: KathyGiery.mp3.
How would you like be responsible for organizing a conference for a group of public relations professionals? This year, Suzanne Sparling, APR had just that task. Suzanne served as Vice President, Annual Conference and is our 'host' at the lovely Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. As things wound down on Monday afternoon Suzanne and I talked about conference and her pirate name. Click here to listen to the interview: SuzanneSparling.mp3.
If you've ever met Del Galloway, APR, CPRC you will always remember him. Immediately after the President's Luncheon we talked with Del about his involvement with FPRA (Del was State President in 1990) and PRSA (Del was recently PRSA National President). For those of you at work, please note the word 'thong' is used in this interview. Click here to listen to the interiew: DelGalloway.mp3.
Our next interview is with FPRA legend Bob Gernert Jr., APR, CPRC. Bob served as state president in 1985 as well as executive director for 10 years. In this quick conversation Bob looked back at his time in FPRA. Click here to listen to the interview: BobGernert.mp3.
At the conclusion of the Presidents' Luncheon, 14 former FPRA State Presidents gathered on stage for the annual "passing of the gavel." This is a fun time for each former state president to share highlights and funny stories from their year as state president.
Pictured above, from left to right, are: Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC (2006); Leah Lauderdale, APR, CPRC (2005); Carole Savage, APR, CPRC (2004); John McShaffrey, APR (2003); Kathy Giery, APR, CPRC (2001); Rick Oppenheim, APR, CPRC (2000); Lynn Schneider, APR, CPRC (1999); Jay Rayburn, II, Ph.D., APR, CPRC (1994); Donna Davis, APR, CPRC (1992); Karen Plunkett, APR (1991); C. Del Galloway, APR, CPRC (1990); Bob Davis, Ph.D., APR, CPRC (1988); Bob Gernert, Jr., APR, CPRC (1985); Joe Curley, APR (1982).
A tradition at FPRA's annual conference is the presentation of the Dillin Dessert by the Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter. The dessert is named in honor of FPRA's founder, Lt. Col. John W. Dillin. He was a great lover of chocolate. This year's dessert is a chocolate banana mousse bar.
The base is a french chocolate macaroon covered with bittersweet chocolate mousse. It was topped with banana mousse. After the macaroon and mousse were prepared, they were lightly sprayed with chocolate.
Del Galloway, APR, CPRC always brings the 'fun' to conference. Or in this case, he helps Reese 'get excited' about the President's Luncheon.
Be sure to check out all the photos from Monday.
Between the breakout sessions and lunch I was able to grab Dr. Bob Davis, APR, CPRC for a quick chat. Click here to listen to the interview: BobDavis.mp3.
FPRA State President Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC taking a stroll on a Segway® Human Transporter (HT). This self-balancing personal transportation is designed to go anywhere you go -- even around the halls of the Ritz-Carlton! As Adrienne often says, "It's all good duty!"
During the conference we'll be doing some quick interviews with speakers and members. First up is Jessica Rye, APR, incoming FPRA State President. Click here to listen to a brief interview with Jessica: JessicaRye.mp3.
It's Monday, August 7. Sunrise in Amelia Island was at 6:46 a.m. Here's the view outside our conference hotel.
We've got a busy schedule on tap for today: annual meeting, general session, breakout sessions, Presidents' Luncheon, leadership training for incoming chapter presidents and presidents-elect and the annual scholarship fundraiser this evening. A complete schedule will be posted shortly.
Check back often to discover the power of FPRA!
FPRA State President, Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC, hosted the traditional after-dinner reception this evening. This pre-conference gathering is always a great way to kick off the event. You have time to catch-up with old friends before the full conference schedule kicks in on Monday morning.
Of course we took some photos at the event. Head on over to Flickr to view them all.
The results are in for the annual FPRA golf tournament, held this afternoon to benefit the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation. The winners are...
Closest to the Pin - Mike Smith
Longest Drive (men) - David Hart
Longest Drive (ladies) - Lisa Hall
Best Team - Ginny Cooper, Michael Rein, Bill Weinberg (they each got trophies!)
Worst Team - Sheila McGrady, Mike Smith, Rachel Smith, Brad Zachow (they each got two gallons of Publix premium ice cream - sounds like these guys are the REAL winners!)
Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to Publix Super Markets for serving as major sponsor of this year's tournament.
If you ever ask Joe Curley, APR to help you secure speakers for an event you must remember to pay him in brownies.
We expect to find Joe in a sugar-coma in the morning :-)
And how many outfits should I bring with me? Ah, the questions every woman asks herself before leaving on a trip.
I'm still at home in Orlando and will be driving over to Amelia Island early in the morning with a friend. Therefore, I'm still trying to decide what to bring with me--and how much of it I can actually fit into my suitcase(s).
I quickly glanced at the conference brochure as a reminder of events.
During the day
In previous years, I opted for very professional suits. However, it was quite warm and I wasn't very comfortable. Based on this and the fact that we are going to be on the beach, I think I'm going slightly less formal this year. Just to be safe, I called two of my closest FPRA friends who were already soaking up the sun in Amelia Island today to see what they are wearing to the conference. Both agreed with me.
After the sessions but before the evening events
As a native Floridian, you can find me at the pool or the beach. I'm bringing some comfy beach clothes (and sunscreen).
Scholarship fundraiser
For me, the scholarship fundraiser is one of the highlights of the conference. It's a great chance to get to know other PR professionals from across the state in a relaxed atmosphere. Based on this, I'll be wearing something fun.
Golden Image Awards
The awards ceremony is the event of the year for many FPRA members. It is formal attire and I plan on dressing up like everyone else.
I'm off to finish packing. I'll see you bright and early at the conference.
FPRA members and spouses enjoyed a semi-competitive golf tournament on Sunday afternoon prior to 68th Annual Conference. Five teams (4 foursomes and 1 threesome) braved the 'balmy' conditions to get a little pre-conference tan and socialize.
The golf-highlight of the event was watching David Hart drive the green on the par 4, 6th hole.
That set up his team for an eagle putt.
Results and awards for the tournament will be announced at the reception this evening. The complete photoset can be found here (46 in all)..
Sometimes when I am covering conferences via blog I will write some boilerplate items in advance to save time during the event. For the golf tournament today I wrote the following snippet:
You can always be sure to find Jay Rayburn, Rick Oppenheim and Tom Preston in a group at the FPRA Golf Tournament.
Turns our you can't. Jay was not feeling well last night so he will be arriving later today and Tom will not be making it to conference at all. Rick is all alone....
Always a welcome sign.
I arrived just in time to head out to the golf course to watch/photograph some of the action. Watch for photos soon!
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