Greater Spokane Chapter Jan. 2010 Newsletter

1/2010

ADVANCING THE PROFESSION AND THE PROFESSIONAL
Should you wish to read the online version, here is a link to the January 2010 newsletter: 

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT:

Happy New Year! Welcome to the official newsletter of the Greater Spokane Chapter of PRSA! I’m excited. Why? Because I am looking at our PRSA Chapter plans for this year and we have so many creative events and valuable, career-enhancing opportunities coming up in 2010 that it’s a pleasure to present them to you. So without further ado, please take time to read your entire newsletter so you can be up-to-date on PRSA Great Spokane Chapter’s exciting news!

Thank you,
Cher Merrill, President

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Only two weeks until PRSA’s first “Third at Four” event of 2010!

January PRSA Program: “Smart Measurement: How Smart Measurement Can Help You Survive the Media Revolution” Teleconference with Johna Burke and Conversation and Tips from Barb Chamberlain.

Effective measurement of social media efforts continues to be a hotly discussed topic. What is the ROI of 100 FaceBook fans or 1,000 Twitter followers? How can I keep track of who is reading my blog or clicking through my links? If these are some of the questions you’ve been asking yourself or your communications staff about, this teleseminar is for you.

BurrellesLuce Vice President Johna Burke, a prominent authority on media monitoring and measurement, will present “How Smart Measurement Can Help You Survive the Media Revolution: Learn to Demonstrate Your Effectiveness” via teleseminar.

Barb Chamberlain, Director of Communication and Public Affairs at WSU Spokane, will lead a follow-up discussion and provide tips on how she manages and measures her efforts in social media.

Date: January 21, 2010
Time: 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Investment:
     • Free for PRSA members
     • $15 for non-members
     • $10 for students
Location:
     Inland Northwest Blood Center
     210 West Cataldo Avenue Spokane, WA 99201

Please Note: Our Professional Development Meetings and Teleseminar events always count as one (1) point of APR credit. That’s important for those with APR accreditation, who must show continuing education as a core of their competency.

UPCOMING PRSA EVENTS:

Only one week left for “early bird” discounted tickets! Tickets for “SUDS for Scholarships; An Evening Out to Keep Local Talent In Spokane,” PRSA Spokane’s annual fundraiser for local scholarships, are on sale!

If you’ve been thinking about joining us on February 18 from 4-6 p.m. at the Steam Plant Grill, get your tickets at the discounted price of $35/person or $55/pair until January 15! Your ticket price includes sampling of the Steam Plant award-winning microbrews (student tickets for $20 (drink tickets not included) are also available.

KXLY’s Mark Peterson will play host to an evening of beer tasting, fun, drawings and networking. Rich Hadley from Greater Spokane Incorporated will be talking about the importance of grooming and retaining local talent.

The event will feature a full bar, appetizers and numerous valuable auction items. All proceeds from the auction will be used to fund scholarships for students at local universities. More details can be found here.

To reserve your tickets now, or for further information about tickets or donations,
contact Nick Lawhead (509.444.2350, nickl@desautelhege.com) or Renee Parkins (509.293.0505, renee.parkins@email.wsu.edu). They can also provide .

Sign up for Day on the Job! Calling all public relations, communications and marketing professionals!  Sign up now for Day on the Job and host a local student for a half-day job shadow. We are once again offering the flexible date program. Students and professionals will choose a mutually beneficial date in the month of March to complete the job shadow. Job shadows should be approximately four hours long.

Day on the Job is a very beneficial experience for students, giving them a glimpse of the “real world” and a typical day in the field of communications. It’s also a great way for students to become familiar with different types communication professions.

Professionals and communication students wishing to participate should contact PRSA board member Alison Mallahan at alison.mallahan@hillandknowlton to receive a sign up form or visit http://www.prsaspokane.org/prssa.asp. 
Please sign up by Friday, February 19, 2010.

Participating schools include: Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, University of Idaho, Washington State University and Whitworth University.

If you have questions, contact PRSA board member Alison Mallahan at alison.mallahan@hillandknowlton.com or 509-321-1184.

Popular Social Media BootCamp Returns on March 18, 2010. Twitter, FaceBook and blogs continue to be at the forefront of the conversation for many businesses – what are these tools, should your company be using them, how should you do it? These are important questions to ask and attendees will be pointed to some of the answers at PRSA’s popular Social Media Workshop in March.

The program will feature hands-on exercises along with hosted conversations about best practices and advice. Specifics such as topics, time and location are still being determined so please stay tuned. But don’t forget to mark your calendar for March 18, 2010 for this event!

NEWS OF INTEREST:

Internship Opportunity Announced for Area Students. Are you a student in search of a rewarding internship experience to prepare you for the world of work? Are you an employer in search of bright, enthusiastic student interns who are seeking real-life work experiences? Every year during February and March, the communications and marketing organization MarCom matches student interns with their member organizations to provide ten-week summer internships. Through the program, students work 30 hours per week for a local host organization while receiving a $2000 stipend and invaluable work experience.

The deadline for 2010 Internship Applications is Friday, February 12th. Click on this link to can out more and Download Student or Host Applications.

PRSA Offers Volunteer Connections Volunteering within PRSA is an excellent way to give back to the profession and to make a difference in our community. It’s also one of the best ways to get good value out of your Membership. So get involved!

Every one of our activities – from meetings to special events to PRSSA student activities – needs people to help make them a success. There is literally something to fit every schedule. Share your expertise and expand your network while leading your peers.

PRSA volunteer opportunities include:
     • Chapter Board positions
     • Chapter Committees including Programming, Fundraising,
       Meeting Planning, Membership, APR, Awards, Sponsorship,
       Advocacy and more!
     • Section and District leadership positions
     • National committees including Advocacy, Diversity, 
       APR Marketing,Strategic Planning, Finance and more.
     • Section committees including Membership, Conference,
       Newsletter, Programming and more.

PRSA National is actively soliciting volunteers for:
     • APR Online Facilitator: APR Online Study Course
     • Professional Interest Sections Executive Committee
     • National Board Service

Whether you’re working with a Chapter, a Professional Interest Section or on a National committee, our PRSA resources can provide you with the tools needed to achieve winning results.

Log in to MyPRSA and click on Leadership Tools for resources to help you learn more about leadership. Or – better yet – call me, Cher Merrill (509.326.6885) to volunteer today. I’ll help you find a way to contribute that’s enjoyable and valuable!

And Now a Word About Sponsors… If your business or organization would like to support up-and-coming local public relations and communications students and help us provide much-needed scholarship dollars, have we got a deal for you!

Our February “SUDS for Scholarships” Fundraiser is seeking sponsors – at any level. We’re seeking items we can use in our live auction and prize drawings as well as companies who can help defray some of the event costs so more dollars can go to scholarships. In return, we will shamelessly plug your organization! For more information on “SUDS” sponsorships, contact Fundraiser Chair Renee Parkins, (509) 293-0505 or renee.parkins@email.wsu.edu.

There are more opportunities to sponsor PRSA activities – including our Second Annual Social Media BootCamp, our Day on the Job Week and other PRSSA activities or our “Third at Four” Professional Development and Teleseminar meetings.

What’s more, your organization will benefit not only from recognition but also from knowing you’re supporting the public relations profession. Please contact anyone on your PRSA Board to determine a level of sponsorship that would suit your organization best.

PRSA Accreditation Program Provides Professional Status Established in 1964, the PRSA APR Accreditation Program is the profession’s only national post-graduate certification program. Currently, more than 5,000 professionals from agency, corporate, association and education fields hold the APR mark.

Our Greater Spokane Chapter offers a valuable program of study to prepare you to take the certification program. The skills you will acquire through the study process are applicable to any industry or practice area.

If you are interested in learning more about our PRSA accreditation program, attend our PRSA Greater Spokane Chapter meeting on January 21st at the Inland Northwest Blood Center, and learn more about the APR accreditation process from Accreditation Chair Maggie Crabtree. Or contact Maggie Crabtree at (509) 999-2928 or maggie@crabbytrees.com. (Click here for more information or to attend our Greater Spokane PRSA January 21st meeting.)

PRSA National Offers Scores of Interesting Podcasts. Are you aware of the wealth of valuable information you can take advantage of online through PRSA national’s “One the Record Online” podcasts? If not, you should be!

Hosted by award-winning producer/communication Eric Schwartzman, these podcasts are viewable any time, any place where you have online access. The short, pithy segments offer interviews and features with national journalists, online media professionals, government specialists, communications managers – the tops in the business.

So next time you’re taking a breather at Starbucks, or grabbing a quick lunch at your desk, log on to On the Record Online. It’s just one more way your PRSA membership pays off.

Put it in Writing… Do you have a story idea or some valuable information that our PRSA members would enjoy knowing about? Send your announcement, idea – even a shameless plug – to Monique Dugaw, PRSA’s Communication Chair, Monique, by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the next newsletter – which is usually published the first week of the following month.

Notices and announcements can also be placed on our website or other online sources (Linked IN PRSA Spokane, Twitter/PRSA Spokane, etc.) Just send your information, with all the details to Monique and we will do our best to give the information some free media exposure.