FPRA - Florida Public Relations Association Blog

The first full day of the FPRA Annual Conference has wrapped up. We hope this blog has provided visitors with a window into our informative and fun conference... as we celebrate seven decades of enhancing the profession. 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: 804
Total page views: 3,019
The average visitor on Monday stayed on this blog for 4 minutes, 26 seconds.

Thanks to those of you who visited us today. We'll have even more stuff for you tomorrow... including a complete list of our 2008 Golden Image Awards winners. Be among the first to hear who will be taking home the state's top PR awards for 2008.

See you tomorrow.

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It's no secret that the folks at Gaylord Palms Resort are concerned about every detail which could enhance the resort experience for their guests. Here's an example.

We normally don't feature conference bathrooms on this blog, but you have to check out these sunrise/sunset photos of the innovative bathroom stall lighting. And compact flourescent lights no less! Yep, you guessed it - a "green" latrine.

Earlier this year, Gaylord Palms Resort received the Florida Green Lodging Certification from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

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On the heels of the Dillin Dessert (hopefully this will not be too chocolate infused or caffeine infused)…comes breakout 2C…WOW! Polarize to Magnetize.

If the name WOW! wasn’t enough to get conference attendees to come to the session, WOW! posters were strewn across the hallway in HUGE red letters, enticing professionals further down the hall.

Carrie Englert Zimmerman, dynamic in bright yellow, truly has the WOW! factor as a former Olympian and first woman to ever receive a “perfect 10” in the floor exercise category. Carrie, president of the largest PR firm in Florida, is geared up to discuss the role of public relations as a catalyst in building business.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 2C, WOW! Polarize to Magnetize - Carrie Englert Zimmerman" »

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Nancy McCarthy, APR, vice president of accreditation for FPRA, led one of the Monday afternoon breakout sessions and unveiled the mystery behind becoming accredited. She also shared some tips to help those pursuing Accreditation prepare for what may be a defining moment in career development. Overall, now is a great time to pursue Accreditation - given the current state of the market, what better time than now to do something for yourself and set you apart in the industry. And most of all, it’s fun to have letters after your name…

Coined ‘A step by step guide to becoming You, APR’, Nancy discussed the accreditation process and covered the Research section of the KSAs in addition to quizzing the group with a couple test questions. It’s important to know that the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) is the governing board of Accreditation in Public Relations. Information is available at praccreditation.org – wealth of information available there.

Dr. Jay Rayburn, APR, CPRC, sat in on the presentation and provided insight into how the exam was developed. He also mentioned that one mistake people make when preparing for the Examination is thinking that they “know” this or that…start writing it down and it’ll make an impression. Also advised that you put the time in and get involved in study groups and other resources available to you. The goal is to help you succeed.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 2B, APR Review and Study Session - Nancy McCarthy, APR" »

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Project Hometown as a 501c(4) tax exempt organization created to promote new and renovated community venues designed to significantly enhance the quality of life of all central Floridians through arts, education, entertainment and sports.

The goal to build a new performing arts center, new events center, and renovate the Citrus Bowl Stadium.

Challenges were to educate the community on the tourist tax. The tax could only be used to enhance tourism and entertainment in the community, but could be partially used to build these venues. Therefore, by using the tax as a partial funding source coupled with with a variety of other funding sources, this would accomplish full funding for the projects.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 2A, How to Educate and Motivate Your Hometown - Christina Johnson" »

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At the conclusion of the Presidents' Luncheon, 11 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: Suzanne Sparling, APR (2008); Jessica Rye, APR (2007); Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC (2006); 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); Karen Plunkett, APR (1991); Bob Gernert, Jr., APR, CPRC (1985).

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FPRA Immediate Past President Jessica Rye, APR took the stage and announced that Carole Savage, APR, CPRC is the recipient of this year's Past Presidents Award. Carole is the volunteer and disabilities coordinator for CLM Workforce Connection.

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The Chapter President of the Year is Barbara-Anne Urrutia of the Southwest Florida Chapter! Barbara is the public relations manager for Lee County Port Authority in Ft. Myers.

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This year's Outstanding Chapter of the Year award goes to the Central West Coast Chapter! Congratulations to Chapter President Dee Zulauf, APR and her board. Dee is a partner in the Sarasota PR firm EnviZage.

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The winner of the Most Improved Chapter award is the Volusia/Flager County Chapter! Congratulations to Chapter President Pat Kuehn, APR and her board. Pat is the community information specialist for Volusia County Government in DeLand.

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One of the highlights of the President's Luncheon is the Dillin Dessert. Named in honor of the founder of FPRA, Lt. Col. John W. Dillin. The dessert is sponsored by the Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter.

This year's dessert is a Caramelized Hazelnut Chocolate Terrine, a rich European chocolate mousse with caramelized hazelnuts and bittersweet chocolate glaze, Frangelico Anglaise. Enjoy!

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The awards portion of the annual Presidents' Luncheon has just wrapped up in the main ballroom of the Gaylord Palms Resort.

FPRA State President Suzanne Sparling, APR took to the stage and recognized the outgoing president of each of FPRA's 15 chapters. They are as follows:

Elizabeth Caire Couch, APR - Capital Chapter
Dee Zulauf, APR - Central West Coast Chapter
Becky T. Murphy - Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter
Sheila Zachow, APR - Gainesville Chapter
Scott R. Saunders - Jacksonville Chapter
Carla Groleau - Nature Coast Chapter
Elaine Ashman - Northwest Florida Coast Chapter
Anita T. Winter - Ocala Chapter
Jamie D. Floer, APR - Orlando Area Chapter
Ashley Hodge - Pensacola Chapter
Barbara-Anne Urrutia - Southwest Florida Chapter
Linda Herridge - Space Coast Chapter
Dan McLean, APR - Tampa Bay Chapter
Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC - Treasure Coast Chapter
Pat Kuehn, APR - Volusia/Flagler County Chapter

Next, Jessica recognized the outgoing members of the outgoing 2007-08 Executive Committee:

Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC - President-Elect
Jessica Rye, APR - Immediate Past President
Nancy McCarthy, APR - VP of Accreditation/Certification
Melanie Mowry-Etters, APR, CPRC - VP of Annual Conference
Wendy Crites Wacker, APR - VP of Chapter Services
Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC - VP of Communications and Public Relations
Sheridan Becht, APR - VP of Finance
Rachel Smith, APR, CRPC - VP of Golden Image
Jennifer Moss, APR - VP of Member Services
Dr. Bob Davis, APR, CPRC - VP of Planning/Research
Trista Wallace, APR - VP of Professional Development
Paul Ramey, APR - VP of Technology
April Herrle, APR, CPRC - Counselors' Network Chairman
Lynn Schneider, APR, CPRC - FPRE Foundation Chair

Nancy McCarthy, APR, Vice President of Accreditation/Certification was next on stage to recognize those individuals who received their APR (Accredited in Public Relations) and CPRC (Certified Public Relations Counselor) certification this past year. This is the largest group of newly accredited members in more than a decade. Congratulations to

APR
Vanessa M. Bouffard, APR
Jessica Clark, APR
Trent Flood, APR
Stacey Getz, APR
Kristin Jimenez, APR
Kelly King, APR
Erin Morton, APR
Wendy Jo Moyer, APR
Vivian Myrtetus, APR
Doreen Overstreet, APR
Kate Parmelee, APR
Geo Ropert, APR
Rebeca Lynn Searcey, APR
Katherine Weitekamp, APR
Sheila Zachow, APR

CPRC
Julia Babair, APR, CPRC
Terrie Glover Ard, APR, CPRC
Kate Gooderham, APR, CPRC
Tina Haisman, APR, CPRC
Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC
Kara Winton, APR, CPRC

Florida Public Relations Education (FPRE) Foundation Chair Lynn Schneider, APR, CPRC took the stage and announced the recipient of the Bob Davis Foundation Scholarship Award. The scholarship is named in honor of long-time FPRA member Dr. Bob Davis, APR, CPRC. Bob is a retired professor from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The recipient of this award was Megan Burgess, a student at Florida State University.

Next, Suzanne presented her much-anticipated President's Awards of Excellence for 2008. The following Chapters were recognized:

President's Award for Accreditation/Certification - Southwest Florida Chapter
President's Award for Chapter Administration - Jacksonville Chapter
President's Award for Communications - (tie) Central West Coast Chapter, Space Coast Chapter

Vice President of Communications Paul Ramey, APR came forward next to announce the winners of Best Chapter Web site. The Best Chapter Web site honors went to the Orlando Area Chapter. The runner-up was the Pensacola Chapter.

Vice President of Communications Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC was up next to announce the award for Best Chapter Newsletter. Best Chapter Newsletter - Volusia/Flagler County Chapter

Suzanne came back on stage to continue her award presentations:

President's Award for Community Service - Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter
President's Award for Customer Service - Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter
President's Award for Financial Management - Gainesville Chapter
President's Award for Fundraising - Capital Chapter
President's Award for Image Awards - Ocala Chapter
President's Award for Leadership Development - Orlando Area Chapter
President's Award for Membership - (tie) Capital Chapter, Treasure Coast Chapter
President's Award for Professional Development - Treasure Coast Chapter
President's Award for Professional Recognition - Pensacola Chapter
President's Award for Promoting the Profession - Orlando Area Chapter
President's Award for Senior Member Development - Space Coast Chapter
President's Award for Spirit of FPRA - NW Florida Coast Chapter
President's Award for Student Development - Tampa Bay Chapter

The President's Award for Customer Service is a new award added this year to tie into Suzanne Sparling's focus on customer service to our members.

And now.... the Dillin Dessert!

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Coming up next is the Presidents' Luncheon. This is a very special event which honors the work of outstanding individuals and chapters in the past year, including the coveted Chapter of the Year and Chapter President of the Year awards.

PR professionals who recently earned their accreditation or certification in public relations will also be honored.

The food highlight of the luncheon is the famous Dillin Dessert, sponsored by the Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter. More on that in just a bit.

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Keith Gold, founder and Creative Director with GOLD & Associates, led one of the Monday morning sessions. Keith's career history reads like a listing of America's leading marketing firms, as he has served as Director of Strategic Planning and Creative Services for some of the world's most renowned agencies.

“Creativity takes courage.” – Matisse

Ideas and creativity are the elements that give campaigns staying power. It takes thorough research, but creativity is necessary for a few reasons:

Bombardment: The average consumer receives over 550 offline messages each day. Can you imagine how many additional messages they receive online?

Awareness: Only 2% of these messages are retained! It takes determination, research, and creativity to come up with the message that will stick with your public. Can you name the companies behind campaigns like “What Can Brown Do For You?” or “Where Shopping is a Pleasure?” Do you remember who Clara Peller was? How about “Where’s the beef?” Clara starred in that campaign over 20 years ago but the phrase remains ubiquitous today.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 1B, Ideas Are the Substance of Success - Keith Gold" »

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A New Orleans native, Dr. Joseph V. Trahan, III, APR, Fellow PRSA, has over 25 years of public relations/affairs experience in governmental, association, educational and non-profit public relations. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, United State Army Reserve (USAR), and a former Commander of the 314th Public Affairs Operations Center located in Birmingham, Ala.

Dr. Trahan's remarkable professional profile includes training more than 3,500 people a year in media relations. Perhaps it is the fact he has a Cajun father and Italian mother that lent the voltage to his presentation on how to work with the media more effectively.

Start with the 3“C”s of media relations:
Control – Stay in control.
Competence – Stay in your lane. Don’t veer into areas you aren’t familiar with.
Concern – Prior to 9/11, the poster child for the necessity of concern was Vladimir Putin; when 119 submariners died in the North Sea, he had no response to the media questions about the loss. It came across very poorly on TV.

When a reporter asked the postmaster - what are you telling the American people about the anthrax situation? – the postmaster answered that “We’re telling them that the threat is in the mail.” You have to express your concern about a situation which he never did.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 1A, What to do When YOU are the News! - Dr. Joe Trahan, III, APR, Fellow PRSA" »

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Members of the Counselor's Network enjoy unique opportunities throughout the year. One of those perks is one-on-one conversations with keynote speakers during conference. This morning, CN members spent some quality time with opening speaker Jim Tsokanos.

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As we celebrate 70 years of FPRA, Jim Tsokanos’ presentation focused on the future:

- The New Reality and Influencers that are happening in our business

- Understanding the new C-Suite

- Harnessing the Power of Influence

- Ten ways to get ahead in the multilogue

The New Reality and Influencers
The changing face and landscape in our business includes a decline in consumer confidence, a redefining of loyalty and changing expectations.

Firsts - America became a majority non Protestant nation in 2005 and in 2006 the University of California admitted more Asian than white students. Today there are more adults on the planet over age 60 than under age 4.

Many things are changing our business, including: immigration, innovation, globalization (the internet has changed everything and made our entire society more global), saturation (advertising is everywhere, all the time, and we are always bombarded with it), personalization (the consumer is driving the brand and where companies are going) and a severe decline in confidence of institutions

These are issues that are affecting every community.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: General Session A, How to Build a Successful PR Career in the Multilogue - Jim Tsokanos" »

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FPRA Co-Executive Directors Chris Carroll, APR, CPRC (left) and Cheray Keyes-Shima, APR, CPRC

The annual business meeting of the Florida Public Relations Association has just wrapped up.

The following slate of officers was approved by a vote of the membership. This group will make up the 2008-09 FPRA State Board of Directors:

President - Lanette Hart, APR, CPRC (Jacksonville Chapter)
Immediate Past President - Suzanne Sparling, APR (Space Coast Chapter)
President-Elect - Sheridan Becht, APR (Orlando Area Chapter)
VP of Accreditation/Certification - Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC (Pensacola Chapter)
VP of Annual Conference - Karen Smittle, APR (Gainesville Chapter)
VP of Chapter Services - Becky Murphy (Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter)
VP of Communications - Melanie Mowry-Etters, APR, CPRC (Capital Chapter)
VP of Finance - Jennifer Moss, APR (Central West Coast Chapter)
VP of Golden Image - Rachel Smith, APR, CPRC (Capital Chapter)
VP of Member Services - Trist Wallace, APR (Jacksonville Chapter)
VP of Research/Planning - Chris Gent (Orlando Area Chapter)
VP of Professional Development - Dan McLean, APR (Tampa Bay Chapter)
VP of Technology - Paul Ramey, APR (Gainesville Chapter)
Counselor's Network Chair - Carole Savage, APR, CPRC (Ocala Chapter)
FPRE Foundation Chair - Jay Wilson, APR (Space Coast Chapter)

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We kick off our series of conference podcasts with an interview with outgoing FPRA State President Suzanne Sparling, APR. Suzanne is vice president of investor relations at United Way of Brevard County, Inc.

Click here to hear the interview.

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Listed below is the schedule for Day 1 - Monday, August 4, 2008 of FPRA's 70th Annual Conference:

7:00 am - 5:00 pm: Registration Desk Open

7:30 am - 8:30 am: Breakfast with Exhibitors

7:45 am - 8:15 am: Past President's Council Meeting

8:35 am - 8:50 am: Conference Welcome and FPRA Annual Meeting

8:50 am - 9:55 am: General Session A - How to Build a Successful PR Career in the Multilogue

9:55 am - 10:10 am: Break with Exhibitors

10:10 am - 11:10 am: Breakout 1A - What to do When YOU are the News

10:10 am - 11:10 am: Breakout 1B - Ideas are the Substance of Success

10:10 am - 11:10 am: Counselors' Network Breakout 1

11:20 am - 1:40 pm: Presidents' Luncheon

1:50 pm - 2:50 pm: Breakout 2A - How to Educate and Motivate Your Hometown

1:50 pm - 2:50 pm: Breakout 2B - APR Review and Study Session

1:50 pm - 2:50 pm: Breakout 2C - WOW! Polarize to Magnetize

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Leadership Training

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm: Afternoon Meltdown

4:05 pm - 5:00 pm: FPRA State Board Meeting

6:30 pm - 9:00 pm: Foundation Funk-tion & Member Mingle

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