The Update

2/2006

Welcome to the official newsletter of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter. Past issues can be found by going to www.prsaspokane.org and clicking on the "Newsletters" link.

The joint PRSA/SPRC breakfast meeting on Friday, Feb. 3, will feature Barb Beddor and Toby Steward from STAR-USA, the organization that is bringing the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships to Spokane.

The meeting will be held at Cataldo Hall on the campus of Gonzaga University from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and is open to any interested public relations professionals or students. The meeting fee, which covers breakfast, is $9 for members, $11 for non-members and $7 for students.

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By GARRY MATLOW
Chapter President

Isn't this a wonderful time of year? No, I'm not talking about freezing temperatures, gray skies and credit card bills trickling in as "morning-after" reminders of holiday excesses. I'm thinking of the new beginnings that come when the big ball drops at Times Square on New Year's Eve and everyone looks forward to a fresh start.

Your PRSA Board of Directors operates on a calendar year, so January brought a fresh start for us, too. I took over as chapter president after two years working alongside Maggie Crabtree. Other board members shifted roles as well.

We've consistently stayed around the 50-member level in the chapter over the past few years. That makes us smaller than a lot of chapters, which means we have to be wary of board member burnout. That's what comes from trying to do as much as chapters in larger cities and in areas where PRSA is the only local option for PR professionals seeking to join a group.

We still want to give you the best value for your membership dollar, but we'll be asking for your help as the year goes along. As individual board members, we just can't do it all ourselves. While we have chairmen for the the Day on the Job in April, the Fall Workshop, the Holiday Auction and other activities, we need committee members to take on a small part of a to-do list. Think about how you might be able to help. Contact a board member from the list in the right hand column of this screen and let us know.

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Two new members joined the Greater Spokane Chapter Board of Directors in January. Chris Bieker, outreach coordinator for the USDA Farm Service Agency, and Lance Kissler, health communications specialist for the NIOSH Spokane Research Lab, were elected to three-year terms.

Ann Nolan, marketing coordinator for Second Harvest Inland Northwest, has completed her service on the board.

The board held its annual retreat on Jan. 14 and agreed on areas of responsibility for the year.

Garry Matlow will serve as president for 2006. Tamitha Anderson will be president-elect and special events chair. Maggie Crabtree, past president, will be secretary-treasurer and chair the webcasts and accreditation efforts. Steve Blewett will continue as programs chair. Annie Matlow will be membership chair. Maria Ranniger will be professional development chair.  Lance Kissler will be member communications chair. Chris Bieker will be PRSSA liaison, overseeing the Day on the Job and scholarship efforts. All will be looking for workers to assist them with specific projects.

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Mark Your Calendar for Day on the Job

Share your lessons learned and valuable insights on our profession with the next generation of professionals during the Day on the Job event Friday, April 7.

The event matches enthusiastic communications students from area universities with participating professionals for a job-shadowing experience.  As much as possible, students are paired with professionals whose jobs most closely match their interests.  Participating schools include:  Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, University of Idaho, Washington State University and Whitworth College.

The Day on the Job event begins at the regularly scheduled PRSA/SPRC breakfast meeting at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, April 7.  Scholarships and internship awards will also be announced during the meeting.  Spend as much of the day introducing your student match to the working world of public relations as is convenient to you.

If you would like to take this easy opportunity to give something back to the profession, sign up for a student match by contacting PRSA board member Chris Bieker at chris.bieker@wa.usda.gov or (509) 323-3014.  Students interested in shadowing a professional may also contact Chris Bieker.

Underwriting of the event in the form of sponsorships in any amount is most welcome.

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Greater Spokane PRSA will offer The Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) Study Course on Wednesdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. from April 5 to June 7 at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Spokane. The 10-module program is at no cost to Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter members.

The course covers all aspects of PR practices, history and theory. The program is designed to prepare professionals to take the Accreditation Readiness Review but any Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter member can sit in on a module or the entire course and take advantage of this great professional development opportunity. If you have ever thought about getting your APR, or just want to brush up on your skills, these classes are for you! Contact Maggie Crabtree at mcrabtree@shrinenet.org to sign up.

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Do you regularly attend the PRSA International Conference (at least in years when it's not cancelled by a hurricane)? Your PRSA chapter is looking for someone to serve as its Assembly Delegate.

The PRSA bylaws require us to elect an Assembly Delegate to serve a three-year term. Service would include meeting with the chapter board before and after the National Assembly, which is held in conjunction with the International Conference.

The Greater Spokane Chapter offers a $500 stipend to help its Assembly Delegate with expenses.

If you're interested, send an email to gmatlow@arc-spokane.org or mcrabtree@shrinenet.org.

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Nicholas J. Sabula
5682 Fort Wright Oval
Fairchild Air Force Base, WA 99011
Phone: (509) 247-2694
nicholas.sabula@fairchild.af.mil

Beth Ann Smith
Business Operations Manager
Kennewick Irrigation District
12 W. Kennewick Ave.
Kennewick, WA 99336
Phone: (509) 586-9111
Fax: (509) 586-7663
bsmith@kid.org

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Applications are now online for the three scholarships offered by the Greater Spokane Chapter of PRSA to the three PRSSA chapters in the area. Completed applications are due March 6. They may be brought to the February or March breakfast meetings or sent to PRSA board member Chris Bieker as directed on the application form. Application forms may be found at http://www.prsaspokane.org/documents/Scholarship_2006.pdf. One scholarship is awarded to a PRSSA chapter member from Washington State University, Eastern Washington University and Gonzaga University. The Greater Spokane Chapter of PRSA will announce the scholarship recipients during the April 7 breakfast meeting.

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By MAGGIE CRABTREE, APR

One of the responsibilities each of us as PR professionals have to do is check our facts when we create a story and repeat information as fact. Our instant news sources brought a grim reminder of this with the announcement that 12 miners were “found alive,” only to be corrected a short time later of their untimely deaths. The news is fast and immediate. It can also be true with other forms of communication – and harder to stop. A recent news story indicated that through DNA they can trace one in 12 Irish men back to one particular ruler. If that’s the case, what could a story that won’t die do?

One amazing example landed on my desk this morning. Again. It was a letter that pulls at your heartstrings about a little boy named Craig. The letter asks for a business card to be mailed to a non-profit organization and instructs the recipient to mail the letter to 20 more people. On the surface the plea looks legitimate. And, the business names who are participating are impressive. But, the information outdated, is wrong, and has grown to an urban legend that has been out of control since 1989!

Craig Shergold was 8 years old in 1989. Some friends started a chain letter asking for greeting cards to get his name into the Guinness World book of Records. Within a year over a million cards were received and he was the winner by far. But the cards have not stopped coming. To date over 350 million have been received. And, the letter mutated at some point to become business cards, then the name to Craig Shepard and the poor organizations’ Children’s Wish and Make a Wish were named as the address in later mutations. Hundreds of thousands of business cards have been and continue to be mailed. An email version occasionally starts up again to continue the agony!

The media has tried to stop the letter. Ann Landers and her sister wrote about it, AP wire stories have written about it and news stories on the media show up now and then. There was even a movie on PAX TV made in 2001 on the subject called “The Miracle of the Cards.” Out of curiosity I kept the requests I received somewhere back in 1990. By 1995 I had a 12-inch file -- thick with organizations like the Washington State Governors and the best of industry and business participating. The letters died down for a few years but within the last year I have started to get requests about every three or four months!

So, you have a “fact.” How can you make sure that the fact is correct, or your story accurate?  First, check the fact at the source. A quick reference to Make a Wish, or even Googling the name Craig Shergold finds gold on this subject. (There is more information on the web about the Craig story at about.com.) A great set of standards for journalists communicators can be found at wikipedia.org.

And, if it is your fact that is wrong, you cannot assume that you have handled the matter with a media release. Rumors and misinformation must be handled head on with the correct facts over and over again. It has been noted that repeating the rumor can actually help it revive the rumor!  You must give and repeat the right information.

And, for now, do me a personal favor. If you receive an email or letter asking you to mail cards off to a kid named Craig; please, please, think twice, check out the story, and, don’t forward it to me!

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The EWU Community-Minded Design Competition is a unique event that features the design work of regional college students who are challenged to create a design for a selected local non-profit organization. Students from across the region will be asked to submit a design solution (in the form of posters, brochures or other printed material) that address the needs of the featured non-profit organization. The top three entries will receive cash prizes, while the first place design will also be given to the featured non-profit organization and printed... at no cost to them! This is your chance as a leader in the community to have your non-profit organization receive innovative print materials for free. So what do you need to do?

There are two ways to get involved. First, if you are interested in having your non-profit organization featured for this year's competition, contact Lance Kissler (lkissler@cdc.gov) for more information about submitting a proposal. The tentative deadline for these proposals is March 11. More information will be available in the near future.

Second, if you know of college students interested in participating in this competition, have them keep their eyes and ears open for a call for entries announcement in May. They may also e-mail Lance if they wish to receive personal notification when this portion of the contest begins.

This is a great opportunity for our local college students, non-profit organizations, industry leaders and the community to come together and address social issues. Students receive pertinent experience, examples for their portfolio and cash awards! Non-profits receive community awareness and $1,000 worth of printing!

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