FPRA - Florida Public Relations Association Blog

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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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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As students we are primarily focused on getting PR experience, building our portfolios and making great grades. The President’s Luncheon made me realize it’s never too soon to think about the future. Being surrounded by PR greats and hearing their long lists of accomplishments is motivating in a way that’s larger then life. You just have to be in the room to feel the power.

The steps we take now will lead us to accomplishing the HUGE dreams we may have in the coming years. Start preparing now by becoming involved in a FPRA executive committee or any volunteer event. Get to know the people around you, make contacts, but most of all make friends. Combined the knowledge we have can produce amazing results and strategies to accomplish anything. PR has a very bright future and you can be a part of it.

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For those of you who are here at the conference, I HIGHLY recommend visiting the Vernona, a AAA Four Diamond restaurant for any meal, especially dinner. We decided to splurge and go before the President’s Welcome Reception. I’m a big Food Network fan and love cooking and food in general. I figured since FPRA was nice enough to send me here, I would use my own money to splurge on something I have always wanted: a four course meal.

First course: Key West Shrimp Ceviche, Heirloom Tomatoes, Avocado, Baby Corn,
Second: Seared Rare Tuna, Pistachio Tabbouleh, Broccoli, Saffron Emulsion,
Third: Olive Oil-Poached Beef Tenderloin, Anson Mills Carolina Gold Risotto, Pioppini Mushrooms, White Truffle Fumet,
Fourth: The Tasting Plate- Crème Brulee, Key Lime Tart, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Gelato and a Soufflé.

Trust me, you have to go here before you leave!!

Anyway, back to business! The President’s Welcome Reception was held on the greens of the Ritz out by the harbor. As the sun set, FPRAers mingled and dined upon beautiful desserts similar to the ones listed above. As I’m sure you guessed, I didn’t have a thing because I was so full! But the desserts all looked like they would have tasted delicious. I didn’t get a chance to meet the president, but I will be sitting with her at the banquet, thanks to Dr. Rayburn. So I will get to ask her questions then. (I will have to write the answers on paper though since Dr. Rayburn gave Stacey and me strict orders for the banquet table. “You must have FUN and if you blog, you get flogged!”)

Is there anything you would like to ask FPRA President, Jessica Rye, APR?
What was your favorite dessert from this evening?
Did you meet anyone interesting at the roundtable of sweets?

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Let me be the first to welcome you to the 69th annual conference of the Florida Public Relations Association. This year's theme: PR: The Convergence of Art & Science.

This annual conference is FPRA's premier professional development event. Members of FPRA, as well as other PR professionals from around the region, will gather in Sarasota today for three days of professional development, networking and fun. By offering experts on a variety of industry-related topics, it is our goal to present concepts and tactics that participants can immediately apply to their own jobs.

It's going to be a great conference, and we hope you will take full advantage of this conference blog.

On behalf of the conference blog team, welcome to Sarasota!

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I posted an article back on June 25 seeking individuals interested in being part of the blog team for FPRA’s Annual Conference in August. I am happy to report that we had some takers!

Throughout the three-day conference these individuals will post their reactions to speakers, sessions and the conference in general. The blog will also feature podcasts as well as plenty of photographs... and maybe even a few surprises!

So without further adieu, let me introduce to you this year’s annual conference blog team:

DONNA FOSTER is the communications manager for the Gainesville Technology Enterprise Center. She has been an active member of FPRA since 2006 and currently serves as the Electronic Media Director for FPRA's Gainesville Chapter. She will also serve in this role on next year’s board. As a first-timer to the FPRA Annual Conference, Donna was chosen as the recipient of her chapter's Annual Conference Scholarship.

CHRIS GENT is vice president of corporate communications for Kissimmee Utility Authority. He has been a member of FPRA since 1994 and currently serves as the Webmaster of FPRA's Orlando Area Chapter. Chris has served five years on the FPRA State Board, including three years on the Executive Committee. He is a past president of the Orlando Area Chapter and winner of both the Doris Fleischman Award and the Dick Pope Grand All Golden Image Award.

JOSH HALLETT is owner of Hyku, LLC, a social media consulting firm based in Winter Haven, Fla. Josh has been a member of FPRA since 1996, and has always been an advocate of technology's role in public relations. This included developing the first statewide Web site for FPRA in 1996 and FPRA Blog Week in 2006. Josh is currently a member of FPRA's Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter and blogs frequently about the impact of social media on public relations and traditional media.

VALERIE NORMAN currently serves as president of FPRA’s Tallahassee Student Chapter. She works as a PR assistant at CoreMessage, Inc. where she has displayed her talent in aggressive media outreach, helping her company earn a FPRA Image Award for pro bono work with the Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals. She was also awarded a conference scholarship by FPRA's Capital Chapter. Valerie will be blogging the student sessions at this year’s conference.

PAUL RAMEY, APR is assistant director in charge of marketing and public relations at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. He is a past president of FPRA's Gainesville Chapter and will be serving on the FPRA Executive Committee this coming year as Vice President of Technology. Ramey has more than 19 years of journalism, public relations and communications experience, including work in print, radio, health care and public schools before being hired on by the museum in 1999.

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Over the weekend I discovered the new blog from Communique, the student chapter from Rollins College. There is only one post up so far, but we'll see what develops.

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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" »

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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!

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In the lead-up to FPRA Blog Week I plan to post some links to resources that may be beneficial to FPRA members. First up is a web site created by a group of students from Auburn University called Forward-Moving. The site is designed to serve as:

the online springboard for new and upcoming PR professionals.
Our goal is to provide insight, answers and information to sharpen your perspective and help you go Forward in your career.

Here you'll find:

- commentary and advice from students, faculty and professionals from around the world from varying levels and areas of PR
- information to help you find PR experience and how to make the most of it
- the opportunity to learn about trends and tools that they don't teach you in college
- helpful interviews with professionals
- a comprehensive list of suggested reading material including blogs, books and professional publications

The content on the blog is a great resource to any young professional, but can also serve as a refresher to veteran PR pros.

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