FPRA - Florida Public Relations Association Blog

We have received the go-ahead from FPRA's Executive Committee to offer live blogging of this year's FPRA Annual Conference in Kissimmee. Last year's conference blog was a tremendous success, and we even picked up a few awards along the way for our efforts.

The conference blog will feature session recaps, photos and interviews, as well as posts that provide an insider's look at an FPRA conference.

We have a couple of bloggers who have expressed an interest, but we could use one or two more. Are you interested?

All you need is a laptop computer and the ability to write. Don't worry about the blogging part... we'll show you how the blogging software works and get you set up with a Wi-Fi account at the hotel.

If you are interested, please contact Chris Gent at cgent@kua.com or 407-933-9836.

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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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Last night was a special night for Kathleen Giery, APR, CPRC. Kathleen received the John W. Dillin Professional award. I spoke to Kathleen about the award and her longtime involvement with FPRA. Click here to listen to the interview: KathleenGiery.MP3

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At last night's Golden Image Awards gala, the FPRA 2006 Annual Conference Blog was honored with a Judges' Award.

(left to right) Josh Hallett, FPRA State President Jessica Rye, APR and Chris Gent.

In 2006, a volunteer blog team -- Chris Gent, Josh Hallett, Bob O'Malley, APR and Jennifer Wakefield -- came together to produce the first-ever blog of an FPRA Annual Conference. The blog enjoyed tremendous success, drawing 1,264 unique visitors during the 3-day conference that generated 4,775 page views. The blog also boasted 69 posted articles, 82 visitor comments, 363 photos and 11 hallway interview podcasts.

Thanks to the vision of FPRA Immediate Past President Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC and the staff of the FPRA state office for supporting and encouraging this endeavor!

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In between the two morning sessions on Wednesday I caught up with incoming State Association President Suzanne Sparling, APR. We talked about conference (of course) and her upcoming year. Click here to listen to the interview: SuzanneSparling.MP3

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Cynthia Gordon, VP of Corporate Communications and TV Program Development at Universal Studios, gave an interesting presentation on “The New Media Roller Coaster Ride.” She described how Universal used bloggers, appropriate Web sites, YouTube and much more new technology to market their brand and events, such as the popular Halloween Horror Nights.

Universal will soon come out with a new Harry Potter theme park, authenticated by J.K. Rowling herself. Webcasters and fans of the adventure stories were allowed to get a sneak peak at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure. By using new media technology Universal created a BIG buzz about the theme park and invited average media users to help spread the word. Over 300 Million critics with blogs & digital videos are available for hire as potential marketing executives. Maybe you can be one of them.

It’s funny to me how people over 35 seem to be so surprised by new media. As students, we are probably under 25 and we grew up in a time where new media wasn’t really new to us; it’s just the way it is and we grew up with these new advancements. To us catching up on our news online or watching the latest events unfold on YouTube isn’t shocking or amazing to us. This is just the way it is. What I mean by this is we aren’t awestruck enough to let this new technology scare us or intimidate us. We can utilize our skill and knowledge to expand our PR strategies.

Maybe this is our “in” to impressing our bosses and becoming indispensable.

Blogs, podcasts, Facebook/MySpace, links, Web sites, all those “techy” words; to us they are every day vocabulary and we probably know more about them then we think. Just ask someone over 40 if they know the basics of Web site design. Maybe you’ll get a yes, but I assure you the average wouldn’t know.

For instant, my mother once asked me to look up a Jacksonville number while I was in Tallahassee. Then she said, "Oh, you can't because you don't have a phone book." I was like, "Mom, its called Google!" She just didn't think of that because it wasn't second nature to her like it is to me. So study up on new media because it might be our golden ticket to becoming the new giants of PR.

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Well, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Yes, Josh, I am actually posting on the FPRA blog while listening to our speaker. This is an out-of-body experience. I just wish John Dillin was here to see all of this—he wouldn’t believe it!

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As a first-time blogger for conference, this has been a very rewarding experience for me. It has been more work, yes, but my hope is that this information will be useful and beneficial for those who were unable to attend conference, and, for those of us (me included) who wished we could be in more than one session at the same time.

I look forward to getting back home and having a chance to look through the blog and review conference when I have more time.

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What's the saying, "What happens at conference, stays at conference?" This entry falls into the category of, 'you had to be there..."

Pictured below is the 'Velvet Hammer'. What is it? You'll need to ask. Just check in with: Rayburn, Oppenheim, Gernert, Savage, McShaffrey, Preston or a few other long-time members.

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Listed below is the schedule for Day 3 - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 of the FPRA Annual Conference.

7:30 am - 12:00 pm: Registration Desk Open

8:00 am - 9:15 am: Power Networking Breakfast

8:15 am - 9:15 am: Counselors' Network Business Meeting

9:25 am - 9:30 am: Announcements

9:30 am - 10:35 am: The New Media Roller Coaster Ride

10:45 am - 11:50 am: Ten Traits of Really Great Leaders

11:50 am - 12:00 pm: Conference Finale

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We've wrapped up another busy day at the FPRA annual conference. Here are the Web stats for Tuesday, Aug. 7:

Total unique visitors: 395
Total page views: 1,328
The average visitor on Tuesday stayed on this blog for 5 minutes, 9 seconds.

Thanks to those of you who visited us today. We'll have more stuff for you on Wednesday as we wrap up this year's conference.

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All the awards have been given out at the 50th anniversary Golden Image Awards banquet and the evening's activities have drawn to a close.

Pictured above is this year's Dick Pope All Florida Golden Image Award winner: City of Tallahassee and VancoreJones Communications, Inc. with their entry, Successfully Changing Your Most Important Citizen Service.

Special thanks to April Herle, APR, CPRC and her committee for putting together a wonderful evening!

And rest of the winners are...

Download the Complete List of Golden Image Awards Winners

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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 2007 John W. Dillin Award is:

Kathleen M. Giery APR, CPRC
Public Relations Director
LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services, Gainesville, FL
Gainesville Chapter

Send Kathy a congratulatory email at gierykm@lifequest.ufl.edu

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The next individual award given out tonight was the Doris Fleischman Award.

The Doris Fleischman Award honors unrecognized contributions an individual FPRA member has made to the public relations profession and/or to FPRA. In essence, this is an “unsung hero" award intended to reward that individual who consistently provides support and assistance to the Association.

The award was established to honor the achievements and contributions of Doris Fleischman, business partner and wife of Edward L. Bernays, the “father” of public relations. It honors those FPRA members who, like Ms. Fleischman, make contributions to the field of public relations through consistent, tireless efforts. It is meant to honor a member for his/her “behind the scenes” work and FPRA volunteer efforts that go unnoticed by chapter members and are not recognized by other awards programs.

Drum roll, please... the recipient of the 2007 Doris Fleischman Award is:

Amelia Woodbridge
Partner
McBride Woodbridge Marketing, LLC, Indialantic, FL
Space Coast Chapter

Send Amelia a congratulatory email at amelia@ mcbridewoodbridge.com

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As part of tonight's Golden Image Awards ceremony, three individual awards were given. The first award was the 2007 Member of the Year Award.

This award is intended to recognize one member who has made a significant contribution to the Association through outstanding leadership, demonstrated enthusiasm, extraordinary involvement and loyal support. The recipient is selected by the FPRA State President.

Drum roll, please... the 2007 FPRA Member of the Year is:

Erin McLeod
Chief Operating Officer
Senior Friendship Centers, Sarasota
Central West Coast Chapter

Send Erin a congratulatory email at emcleod@seniorfriendship.com

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The Golden Image Awards competition is conducted annually by the Florida Public Relations Association to recognize outstanding public relations programs in Florida and to encourage and promote the development of public relations professionalism in our state.

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.

There are several different levels of awards:

Award of Distinction - presented to all the entries that meet the standard of excellence set by a panel of judges.

Golden Image Award - Presented to the top-scoring entry in each category.

Judges’ Award - Presented by a panel of judges for an outstanding entry that achieves maximum results while using a minimum amount of money.

Grand Golden Image Award - Presented to the best Golden Image Award-winning entry in Divisions B and C.

Dick Pope All Florida Golden Image Award - This is the big Kahuna of awards for the year. It is presented to the best Golden Image Award-winning entry in Division A.

Watch for my later post with a complete list of tonight's winners!

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We're now at the halfway point of the conference and figured it was a good time to ask what you think about our conference coverage thus far. Tell us the good, the bad and the ugly. We'd prefer if you left your email so we can respond to you, but if you feel the need to be anonymous, go ahead.

What has been your favorite portion of the conference coverage?

Do you like the fact that we've included commentary on the sessions or would you just prefer the facts from presentations?

Do you like the fun stuff and hallway interviews?

Suggestions?

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This session was designed for those thinking about becoming a Certified Public Relations Counselor. The interactive session had 14 attendees, and reviewed various aspects of the exam and how to prepare for it.

CPRC exists because FPRA felt there was a need for a professional certification to recognize professional growth and achievement of senior members who have already earned their APR, and who have more experience than someone who has been in the field for a shorter amount of time.

The oral component was added because that’s often what is required in a professional setting, especially in an agency setting where making presentations is something you do everyday.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Session 4C, Demystifying CPRC - Dr. Bob Davis, APR, CPRC" »

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One of FPRA's dynamic duos, Dr. Jay Rayburn II, APR, CPRC, PRSA Fellow and Joe Curley, APR led an afternoon breakout session on setting up your own business. There are a number of successful independent practitioners within the field and within FPRA. But what does it take to go out on your own? Jay and Joe shared some secrets.

First up was Joe Curley. Joe said that starting a business can be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life, or the biggest drains. Often creative individuals aren't well suited for things like taxes and running a business. However, when you're starting you need to do much of that work. But it's important to shed those responsibilities quickly. You're time is best served doing billable work, not doing the books.

As to when to start your business? Joe says don't do it right out of school, get some agency or corporate experience first. Take advantage of the time you work for an agency. First off the mistakes don't cost you, it costs somebody else. Agency work is also great for networking and building relationships.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 4B, Meeting the Challenge: Employee to Employer! - Becoming Your Own Boss Has Risks and Rewards - Joe Curley, APR and Dr. Jay Rayburn, APR, CPRC, Fellow PRSA" »

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Immediately after his address Aaron Cushman talked briefly with Erin McLeod about a topic he forgot to mention. Chris Gent was there with the trusty recorder. Click here to listen to the interview: AaronCushman.MP3

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With a passionate heart, Rick Oppenheim, APR, CPRC, unlocked Pandora’s Box of job searching tips. As a student, if you attended one presentation, the handouts given at this one are worth more then gold. It seems PR should really stand for perfect representation when searching for a job. It's a nerve-racking time for students, but hopefully these tips will help you make it through the storm and seem as perfect as possible.

Rick's "Five Essential Traits for Public Relations Success" should be read every month and burnt into our memories. So here they are!

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Student Track - Launching Your Big Career in PR" »

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This discussion was led by Denise Feiber, APR, a Counselors Network and FPRA Gainesville Chapter member. Denise is a past president of the Gainesville Chapter and served on the State FPRA Executive Committee for two years as Communications Director. She currently is Public Information Director for the Florida Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Industry, where she is required to give interviews both indoors and in the field.

Viewers will decide within 8 seconds if a spokesperson appears credible. In today’s 24-7 news cycle, public relations professionals have to be prepared to answer the media’s call. Whether you are in and out of the field or in a studio, this session provided a few tips from experienced industry pros on how to be prepared for your moment in the spotlight.

A hand-out was distributed with some helpful hints, (click on read more information below for link to downloadable, printable pdf) but here a few items discussed during lunch that are not in the handout:

- just as you try to take control of the time and circumstances for an interview, you also should try and take control of the interview area, as far as the specific location based on lighting, wind, etc. Have a good side? Ask the reporter if you can face in a certain direction, etc.

- it’s always a good idea, for both men and women, to keep a pair of casual shoes, even tennis shoes, in the office, for those unexpected visits to the field. No one expects you to wear $150 dress shoes while you’re climbing dirt piles at the construction site or working in an orange grove.

For a complete list of on-camera tips, Download file here.

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Each of the conference participants has grabbed a boxed lunch and joined one of 13 interactive roundtable discussions facilitated by senior PR practioners. Our blog team has divided up and will report back shortly on the discussions held at their respective tables.

Roundtable topics:
- Social Media - Josh Hallett
- Handling the Bad News and Bad News Media - Bob Gernert, Jr., APR, CPRC
- Lobbying - Kate Gooderham, APR
- Building a Relationship with Your CEO - Joe Curley, APR
- Research for PR - Dr. Jay Rayburn, APR, CPRC, Fellow PRSA
- Public Relations & Branding - Dr. Bob Davis, APR, CPRC
- How to Write Winning Public Relations Objectives - Tina Haisman, APR
- Turning Competition Into Collaboration: Building Business/PR Relationships that Matter - Dee Zulauf, APR
- PR for Fundraising Events - Thomas Nunan, APR
- Thinking Outside the Box: New Ways to Attract Attention to your Product/Work - Michelle Bono, APR, CPRC
- PR for Non-Profits - Rachel Smith, APR, CPRC
- Publicity - Adrienne Moore, APR, CPRC
- Tips for Looking Cool Under Pressure During On-Camera Interviews - Denise Feiber, APR

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Public relations legend Aaron Cushman reviewed highlights from his career and discussed campaigns that failed and what he learned. He also shared a few humorous personal anecdotes involving famous clients from diversified fields of entertainment, sports and Fortune 500 companies. And more importantly, what has happened with the media in the last 10 years.

The utilization of public relations techniques is now being used by Al Queda, Middle East insurgents, Iran, North Korea and playing a key role for our government, military and the domestic political scene as well.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: General Session C, The World Turns on Public Relations - Aaron Cushman, APR, Fellow PRSA" »

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If you've been to conference before then you know 'Photo Joe'. But do you know Joe's last name? I talked to Joe about his years of loyal service to FPRA and some of the memories (and photos) Click here to listen to the interview: PhotoJoe.MP3

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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.

Now you have a face to go with the name!

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On Public Affairs and WW II:
FPRA Founding President John W. Dillin, APR, CPRC would have taken pride in Mr. Burson's roots in the profession. John and six others founded this association in 1938 ... prior to World War II. One of the roles John played in his WW II tour in the Air Force was the development of the public affairs concept in the armed services. He was quite proud of having had a hand in that military communications function.

Women's Dominance of the Public Relations field:
Mr. Burson has witnessed public relations evolve from a field dominated by men to today's 85/15% female/male practitioners. He noted that he felt more gender balance (closer to 50/50) would be in order. You can also see the evolution of the field in the past-president's gavel passing line (not that its scientifically relevant). I'd like to learn what our female practitioners feel is/are the reason(s) for the gender disparity? Are "salary levels" causing men to pursue other professions?

A "Fine" Situation:
Last but not least ... to the individual whose cell phone rang during Mr. Burson's remarks ... they make those things with both a vibrate setting and an on and off switch. I would suggest to the FPRA Board that a $50 fine be levied against anyone whose phone audibly rings in a conference session -- payable to the FPRA Scholarship fund for use in scheduling sessions on telephone etiquette and common courtesy. The Counselor's Network has had such a policy for several years.

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Did you know that Web sites are going to have scents that you can smell? Did you know there is a new online currency in a virtual world called Secondlife? Discover what it takes to be on the cutting edge of marketing’s next generation of internet marketing. This knowledge-packed presentation provides tactics and strategies that you can apply immediately and successfully. About 80 attendees were at this session.

New technology is moving so quickly is it difficult for even the experts to keep up with. Sometimes you just have to try something and see if it works for you, your company.

Today
- Social networks
- consumer-generated media
- mobile marketing
- click-and-know
- virtual worlds
- scented CD-ROMs and Web sites
- video e-mail
- blog marketing

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 3B, The Latest and Coolest in Internet Marketing - Hillary Bressler" »

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Anand Pallegar from atLarge, Inc. led one of the Tuesday morning breakout sessions. Anand's session dealt with how PR and measurement is adapting to the new forms of media. The digital revolution has happened, it's not going to happen, it's not going on, it's happened.

Convergence is the name of the game today, people and firms are constantly taking on a number of tasks. Anand asks the audience who focused solely on PR and who had mixed roles. The majority of the audience worked in a mixed environment. That is part PR, part marketing and who knows what else. With this convergence, how do we know what's working and what isn't working? How can we measure results?

With the new media model there are a number new factors: citizen journalism, social media, etc. Traditional media sources like radio, outdoor and newspaper have eroding confidence levels. New forms of media are growing in confidence.

One of the new tools of the new media landscape is RSS. RSS allows for content to be delivered in a standard format. Blogs elevated RSS and this connected world. Anand talked briefly about the 1% rule. That is if you have 100 people online, 1 will create content, 10 will interact with it and the rest will read it.

Continue reading "FPRA Annual Conference: Breakout 3A, Measuring and Optimizing PR in the Changing Face of New Media - Anand Pallegar" »

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A typographical error, typo, or fat-finger is a mistake made during the typing process. The term includes errors due to mechanical failure or slips of the hand or finger, but excludes errors of ignorance. Most typos involve simple duplication, omission, transposition, or substitution of a small number of characters. -- Wikipedia

Typos. They impact all of us in public relations. Despite several proofreading passes, we manage to discover the glaring errors only after the brochure, annual report or letterhead has already been printed and delivered to our office.

Sometimes the error is even larger.

Take, for example, the 8' x 24' backdrop on this year's annual conference stage. A few of the conference participants in the audience noticed a typo on Monday. As you can see in the top photo, the theme is listed as "PR: The Convergence of Arts and Science." The 's' in art is not supposed to be there.

After a quick mention to the production folks, the typo was corrected today as is evident in the second photo.

So, what's the biggest typo you've experienced in your career?

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The first session of the morning is led by Harold Burson, APR, Fellow PRSA, Founding Chairman of Burson – Marsteller. The session title was “It’s Time to Speak Up for Public Relations,” and Burson covered the historical, philosophical and legal roots of pr as a discipline that existed long before the term “public relations” came into use and long before it was offered as a commercial business service.

Burson began by saying that PR is an applied social science. We as professionals should use our knowledge to teach communications and to influence others. PR professionals should have knowledge of all sciences—behavioral, social, etc. Burson said he heard someone say PR is doing good and getting credit for it, and the room broke out into laughs. Currently, the PR field is at a very high point. At no time in the past 60 years, has the PR field enjoyed the reputation and status as an important and very necessary institution as it is recognized today.

The PR field has gone through tremendous transformations:

- Early on the field was dominated by men.
- Now pr/communications people are now in positions of top management. Upper management and PR professional now work closely. So close, the speaker joked, that now communications professional know where all the bodies are buried.
- With the advent of cable television, the news day became a 24-hour cycle rather than a twice daily (morning and afternoon)
- Starting in the 1980s, the news media became much more intrusive. In the past, publications like Forbes would only publish stories with happy endings.
- Increasingly, you see fewer CEOs that are ready and willing to speak out.
- Corporations have become much more reactive in their PR. In the past, corporations created programs, and now corporations are so busy reacting that they aren’t focused on the positive stories, social responsibility, etc.
- In recent decades, PR has really been able to define itself as a field and FPRA is aggressive in moving the field in a positive direction.

PR as a commercial function only began in the 1900s:

-WWI created a large propaganda bureau and after WWI many people went into PR.
- The big impetus for PR firms came after WWII when reporters, which were public information officers in the war, returned home from war and started their own PR firms (rather than going back to the newspapers). Burson was one of those reporters who started his own PR firm.
-In 1947, about 500 PR firms existed in NY City. Unfortunately, many of those firms did not make it.

Though PR as a commercial function only began in the 1900s, PR has been a huge part of world history—Rome, American Revolution, etc.

- In 1865 (Stamp Act), Samuel Adams started writing articles (4 newspaper in American then), making speeches about separating from England, led the Boston Tea Party, wrote an article labeling 5 deaths the Boston Massacre–these are all examples of early PR.

Burson remarked that as we move into the future, PR professionals need to focus on content. The speaker also noted that over the years, women have increasing entered the field and now there are more women in the field though typically, the higher positions are held by men. Burson feels this is a serious issue that needs to be recognized. He feels the field should be more balanced in terms of gender and that professionals entering the field should have more journalism experience.

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Last night's Scholarship Fundraiser grossed $9,845 for the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation.

Congratulations to the Central West Coast Chapter for planning and hosting this year's fundraiser.

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Listed below is the schedule for Day 2 - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 of FPRA's 69th Annual Conference.

7:00 am - 4:00 pm: Registration Open

7:30 am - 8:10 am: Breakfast with Exhibitors

8:15 am - 8:20 am: Announcements

8:20 am - 9:30 am: General Session B: Dillin Keynote Address - It's Time to Speak Up for Public Relations

9:45 am - 10:45 am: Breakout 3A - Measuring and Optimizing PR in the Changing Face of New Media

9:45 am - 10:45 am: Breakout 3B - The Latest and Coolest in Internet Marketing

9:45 am - 10:45 am: Counselors' Network Breakout 2

11:00 am - 12:05 pm: General Session C - The World Turns on Public Relations

12:15 pm - 1:30 pm: Roundtable Lunch Discussions led by Counselors' Network

1:40 pm - 2:45 pm: Breakout Session 4A - Tools for Behavior Change: When Your Bottom Line is Changing What People Do

1:40 pm - 2:45 pm: Breakout Session 4B - Meeting the Challenge: Employee to Employer - Becoming Your Own Boss Has Risk and Rewards

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm: Chocolate Break

3:00 pm - 3:55 pm: APR Review and Study Session

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

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Reception of the Presidents

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Golden Image Awards Gala

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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... and the convergence of art and science. 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: 471
Total page views: 1,212
The average visitor on Monday stayed on this blog for 4 minutes, 14 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 2007 Golden Image Awards winners. Be among the first to hear who will be taking home the state's top PR awards for 2007.

See you tomorrow.

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Tonight was the annual scholarship fundraiser to benefit the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation. The event was held at nearby Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a respected center for research and education as well as a famous orchid showplace.

Conference attendees were treated to an open-air trolley ride to and from the gardens.

The auction featured dozens of items, including weekend getaways, sports tickets and collectibles, artwork and much more. The fundraising total is currently being tabulated and will be announced in the morning.

Many thanks to the Orlando Area and Central West Coast chapters for sponsoring this fun and worthwhile event!

Click here to view the photo slideshow.

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