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.
Branding expert to speak at May breakfast meeting
Tim Wolf, director of marketing at technology giant Itron, will speak on “Living the Brand at Itron” at Gonzaga University’s COG at 7:30 a.m. Friday, May 6.
The event is hosted by Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter and the Spokane Public Relations Council. Cost is $9 for members, $11 for non-members and $7 for students.
Wolf's presentation will cover the topics of building brand equity in the context of Itron and what Itron has done to ensure that living and building the brand is every employee's responsibility.
Based in SpokaneValley, Itron is a leading technology provider to the global energy and water industries. More than 3,000 utilities worldwide rely on Itron technology to deliver the knowledge they require to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Over the past three years Itron has built on its industry leading position in meter data collection technology for utilities by acquiring five additional companies and repositioning itself as an integrated solutions provider to the global utility industry.
As director of marketing, Wolf’s responsibilities include overseeing Itron's marketing communications group, overall brand management and marketing strategy development.
Prior to coming to Itron in 1998, Wolf's professional experience included journalism as a newspaper reporter, and public relations work in the non-profit/higher education field. He holds a degree in journalism and political science from the University of Minnesota.
Professional development is a good thing. It is as important as any other ritual we give ourselves to grow our understanding and rejuvenate our passion. I am reminded of a lecture that Dr. Jeff Stafford of EWU included in one of his master’s classes about the end results of lifelong education. He created a chart showing the universe of workers in any one field. As he cut down the pie he showed how many stopped their education at their first degree, how many networked, read topical publications, belonged to professional organizations, received an advanced degree, worked toward an accreditation and so on. As the chart cut each group out he created the point very clearly that fewer were willing to go the next step and more importantly, the more investment you are willing to make in yourself, the higher the pay, the positions and the possibilities
Stafford confirmed for me how organizations like PRSA are valuable. We have an opportunity to know other professionals, learn new ideas, practice leadership skills and grow. The regional PRSA conference last month was a great success, bringing 130 professionals together from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and California. Nike talked about turning around its PR problems through their corporate responsibility. We heard more about new trends like blogging and reviewed the basics again of getting the news out.
But more than that, I met up with old friends met over the years and met new professionals. Some were able to solve issues in their current jobs, others met other pros and found new possibilities to move up and others to relocate. I was delighted to meet again a colleague originally from Salt Lake City, who though his professional association has been able to not only grow in his profession, but has realized his dreams. He has become recognized as a national speaker and has, though his connections, learned about opportunities to move to Seattle. It all happened through the network created, and his willingness to invest in himself by being involved in the society, continuing his education and sharing his knowledge
Your PRSA membership will only be as valuable as the investment you give to yourself. There are numerous opportunities to learn! We are in the process of planning our fall workshop and you'll have the chance to try out your planning skills. You can practice your speaking skills and help our student groups who love to hear about your expertise. We have APR studies that are now on- line, making the studies fit your schedule. Whatever your need, take advantage of the many benefits available to you though PRSA. You'll be glad you did!
Online dues renewal is now available. This new member service makes renewal quick and easy at any time day or night. You may renew all of your memberships - National, Chapters, Professional Interest Sections and/or Affinity Groups, as well as adding or changing any of these options - with just a few clicks. To start, visit MemberNet, PRSA's secure, members-only Web site at http://members.prsa.org, and select "My Billing" from the left menu and proceed to renew. Online renewal is available for credit card payments only.
If your contact information has changed, you can update that easily too. Select "My Profile" from the menu. Don't know your MemberNet login or password? Click the option to have it e-mailed to you. Have questions or problems with MemberNet? E-mail our help desk at membernet@prsa.org.
Cost: $25: PRSA Member & Students$50: General Public
There are some powerful relationship realities between various community groups and organizations. Constituents are asking more questions; decisions are taking longer. Very small forces, sometimes individuals, can stop very big ideas and projects. People without credentials have enormous credibility. Corporations and institutions must prove their validity, honesty, and trustworthiness every day. Most public debate and discussion, on issues that matter, is focused more on embarrassment, humiliation, and blame shifting than on achieving beneficial progress.
In today’s environment of public suspicion, gaining and maintaining public consent to operate has become an on-going, top management concern for most businesses and large organizations. Community relationships are effectively maintained primarily through engagement with various publics and audiences within the community and your organization.
This 90-minute program will outline the key elements that lead to gaining and maintaining public consent.
Program objectives:
Some of the important questions this program will answer:
·Why do people without credentials have real power?
·Why do we have to keep proving ourselves, even if we’re honorable organizations?
·Why does the news media always get it wrong, and we get the blame?
·Why aren’t powerful facts and data convincing?
·How can we prevent situations from getting emotional?
·Why do public officials take sides against us, even when our proposal is beneficial?
·How can we avoid the communication warfare that occurs when the message is useful but controversial? How do we permanently fix the trust problem?
There will be 20 minutes of live questions and answers at the end of the program to answer your specific questions.
Three PRSSA members were announced in April as recipients of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter's scholarships for 2005.
The recipients are Lisa Hildebrandt of Washington State University, Alycia McKenzie of Gonzaga University and Becki Mulholland of Eastern Washington University. The three students were chosen from the three universities in Eastern Washington and North Idaho that host Public Relations Student Society of America chapters.
Judges for this year were Greater Spokane Chapter members in the Yakima area.
To accommodate PRSA members in other time zones as well as those who call after close of business on the East Coast, PRSA now has someone available to answer your questions until 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. Pacific), Monday through Thursday.
Please call PRSA's general number, (212) 460-1400, after 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).
Regular PRSA business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET (6 a.m. to 2 p.m. for those of us on the West Coast). The main number is opened daily at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT for you early risers).
