Are you in need of some quality professional development? Would you like to attend FPRA state conference but just are not financially able?

Because we value quality professional development, the board of directors for the Space Coast Chapter voted to provide one conference scholarship to an active, deserving member of our chapter with a professional level membership (i.e. this is not for associate members whose primary job is not public relations).

To apply for consideration to receive a conference scholarship, all you have to do is send a letter that outlines the following:

1) A short paragraph about you and your job — what your role involves and what your public relations duties are in your work.

2) A paragraph about your past experience with regard to conference: have you been before? what did you find most beneficial? How does attendance help you in your job? If you haven’t attended, why is the main reason you want to go?

3) The conditions surrounding your financial need.

Send your eligibility letter to:
Amelia Woodbridge
McBride Woodbridge Marketing
150 Coconut Drive, Indialantic, FL 32903

Deadline: June 15, 2009
Recipient will be notified by July 1, 2009

Questions: call Amelia Woodbridge at 837-1000.

Make plans to attend the June Professional Development Program

The Difference Makers! Winning Communication Practices of High Performing Organizations
Special Guest: Ron Hess, Motiv8 Communications

As organizations concentrate more on improving operational efficiency, they expect employee communication to contribute in valuable ways to bottom-line results. Ron Hess, President of Motiv8 Communications, will discuss 10 employee communication practices that separate high performing organizations from mediocre ones, accompanied by meaningful tips and eye-opening stories and real examples of how communicators can get in the game and accelerate winning through effective, focused organizational communications.

Motiv8 Communications is a full service employee communications consulting firm based in Port Orange, FL, south of Daytona Beach. Motiv8’s clients include numerous well known companies and government organizations. Ron Hess served 27 years in corporate communications and managed internal employee ommunication programs at leading companies such as GE, Eaton, Internatinal Paper and Watson Wyatt. Ron is a frequent speaker and writer on employee communication topics.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
11:30 am Networking; Noon Program
Holiday Inn Viera — Wickham Road and I-95
$20 Members and Students, $25 non-members
Lunch options: Chicken Florentine with Rice Pilaf; Cheese Manicotti w/Marinara

RSVP: Katherine Sonn, 722-4440 or sonncenturyoaks@cfl.rr.com by Friday June 12
PLEASE INDICATE FOOD OPTION WITH RESERVATION

Make plans now to include “PR on F.I.R.E.” in your summer schedule: Foundation, Innovation, Reputation, Education.

The Tuesday lineup is full of professional development and networking opportunities, beginning with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and wrapping up with a “PR Under Fire” panel discussion, featuring public relations professionals from various industries. 2009 Dillin Keynote Speaker, Eugene Campbell, Vice President of Community Relations and Minority Business Development for Walt Disney World Resort will start the day. This presentation will focus on the Foundation and Reputation components of F.I.R.E. as Eugene talks about Disney’s comprehensive, integrated approach to corporate responsibility. He’ll also talk about how the company addresses crucial issues related to the environment, community, workplaces, product development, and other factors that shape stakeholder perceptions.

Interested in International CSR? Join Leticia Solaun, International Public Relations Liaison for CH2M HILL, for her presentation One Size Does NOT Fit All: Cultural Influences in CSR Decision Making.

Or join Joe Curley, APR, CPRC, and learn the ten strategies you need to earn a position on the management team at his presentation, “PR is Not Always Loved by Management: Here’s How to Get the Romance Started.”

Wendy Cobrda and Amy Hebard, founding partners of Earthsense, LLC will Educate us on Green Public Relations and Marketing. Following their presentation, you’ll have the opportunity to hear about Green Printing and Paper from Wayne Dennis, Corporate Director of Sustainability for Mac Papers, and Kathy Paiva of FidelityPress.

And back by popular demand are the Counselors’ Network Roundtable lunch discussions. Our seasoned professionals will facilitate discussion about hot public relations topics.

We’ll wrap up Tuesday’s professional development with a panel session you won’t want to miss: “PR Under Fire.” What do you do when your employer, or you personally, are suddenly the focus of the community’s and the media’s attention? Here from public relations professionals as they talk candidly about their experiences in addressing challenges they’ve faced in their respective industries, how they have responded to those challenges, and how they continue to demonstrate the value of public relations and the bottom line return to their employers. Moderated by Suzanne Sparling, APR, FPRA Past President, panel members are Jack Levine, 4Generations Institute (non-profit); Lauri-Ellen Smith, APR, PIO for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department (government); and Deirdre Breakenridge, President, PFS Marketwyse (agency).

Register now! The deadline for early registration is July 19, 2009, and the deadline for hotel reservations at the FPRA discounted price is July 9, 2009.

Make plans now to attend the April program of the Space Coast Chapter of FPRA.

Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Time: Networking: 11:30am; Lunch/Program at 12:00 noon
Location: Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center Melbourne-Viera
8298 N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne, FL 32940

Food options: Chicken Artichoke, with sun-dried tomato, served with Duchess Potato. Veggie: Mushroom Ravioli

Cost: $20 members, $25 non-members
RSVP: Katherine Sonn, at 722-4440 or email sonncenturyoaks@cfl.rr.com and PLEASE REMEMBER TO GIVE FOOD CHOICE.

“Video out of the Box: The Ins and Outs of Electronic PR”
With video now in the hands of everyone and the line blurring between traditional news and online entertainment, where should a PR professional focus? Sue Stauffer of Verocity Creative and Roycom Communications, an Orlando-based video production company, will discuss the use of video in PR, including strategic issues for both pro-active and re-active use of the visual medium – both on TV and online.

This multi-media presentation will utilize case studies and video clips of work Verocity and Roycom have done for companies such as Universal Studios in Orlando, Nickelodeon, Burger King and others. Whether you’re seeking 15 minutes of fame, or you find yourself with 15 minutes notice before the TV news crew arrives, this program will help you achieve your maximize your PR spotlight!

Our Speaker - Susan Stauffer
For more than 15 years, Susan has been a catalyst in entertainment communications. With a generalist’s strategic vision and a specialist’s experience on the front line of field execution, Susan has brought passion and performance to the arsenal of a variety of organizations. With roles on both sides of the desk – client and as agency/production company as Account Director or Project Manager/Producer - Susan brings a unique set of skills and resources to address the needs and nuances of any situation.

Susan is currently the principal of Verocity Creative Communications and executive producer in Roycom Communications where she provides turn key production and creative content for a variety of clients. Roycom has just this month announced their merger with the regional production powerhouse, Go To Team, based in Charleston, South Carolina. The combined alliance brings an exciting new level of cutting edge creativity and muscle to an established team with a track record of excellence.

Take some time to gain some valuable knowledge from this Professional Development Podcast from our state association featuring Scott Monty, Head of Social Media at Ford.

The Ford Motor Company is one of America’s iconic brand names recognized worldwide: one of the so-called ‘Big Three’ US automakers that includes General Motors and Chrysler - all presently embroiled in US government actions to support the industry with a proposed $14 billion bailout.

While this business backdrop sets the scene for mainstream media headlines and reporting, Ford continues to communicate and engage with its stakeholders and other interested parties, employing the full spectrum of tools and channels as appropriate.

It’s the area of social media and communication that is the prime focus of this “For Immediate Release (FIR) Interview” with Scott Monty, Head of Social Media at Ford’s worldwide headquarters in Dearborn, USA. In this conversation with FIR’s Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz, Scott talks through the events surrounding a Ford fan site and alleged counterfeit Ford parts, how criticisms of Ford’s legal moves blew up across auto-enthusiast and other websites and blogs in a 24-hour period, and the key role Twitter played in enabling Scott to rapidly defuse and help to successfully address those criticisms. Scott also talks about The Ford Story, and offers five critical tips for any communicator embarking on deploying social media in the enterprise.

Click here for podcast.

Join us for the March Space Coast FPRA Professional Development Program. This is an important and valuable program for any practitioner working in Brevard County.

Florida Today: Change and Multi-Media News
Special Guests: Bob Stover, Executive Editor

FLORIDA TODAY continues to expand its multi-media resources, taking news online and utilizing live video streaming. Bob Stover will talk about these new initiatives and address them from a PR perspective regarding how we can utilize these tools in our public relations programs AND provide FLORIDA TODAY editors with rich, relevant news material. He’ll help us understand the relationship between print and online and educate us on we can work more effectively with them. He’ll answer questions such as:

1) is there an online editor and do some stories go online and not in print, or vice versa?
2) Can I submit a video clip and caption or small blurb to be used … Or does FLORIDA TODAY shoot all their own material?

Bob will share video clips with us about how FLORIDA TODAY layers online and print work, as well as show a video on the new live video streaming. Bob will give us an update on the status of things at the paper and share where things are headed for the rest of the year. And to help us all refresh our outdated media lists, he has agreed to provide us with a new list of the how the departments are structured, along with a list of editors and reporters, and their contact information. This is a terrific opportunity to engage with a high level executive at our area’s largest newspaper and update your own tactics and strategies for working with them.

Bob Stover has been Executive Editor of Florida Today since June. He was managing editor of Florida Today 1999-2008 and has worked in other editing roles at the paper since 1992. Prior to that he held several editing and reporting positions at the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock. He serves on the BCC Entrepreneur Lecture Committee, the Associated Press Editors innovation committee and the Reaching Out Holiday Board. He has a BA from Ouachita University in Arkansas and a masters degree in journalism and urban studies from the University of Maryland.

EVENT INFORMATION
DATE: March 18, 2009
Holiday Inn Viera – Wickham Road and I-95
11:30 am Networking, Noon Program
Cost: $20 members and students, $25 non-members

Food options: Chicken Marsala with Penne Alfredo, Cheese Manicotti with Marinara
Includes salad, vegetable and dessert

RSVP Katherine Sonn: 722-4440 or via e-mail at sonncenturyoaks@cfl.rr.com

For those of you interested, the 2009 Space Coast Chapter Image Awards entry deadline is Tuesday March 24, 2009. Awards will be handed out at the April 21 professional development program. You will have time to tweak for entries for submission to the state Golden Image Awards, which will be due in May. You should be receiving the 2009 Call for Entries in the mail soon.

For now, please refer to last year’s Call for Entries for the local competition. You can download it here

For any questions on the Image Awards, call Amelia Woodbridge at 837-1000.

PR on F.I.R.E.
Foundation, Innovation, Reputation, Education

The State Annual Conference Committee continues to seek out speakers who will help you grow as a public relations practitioner. Here is a sneak peek into another great speaker who is bound to hit a “home run” with conference attendees!

Tom Hoof, Marketing and Communications Director for the Tampa Bay Rays, will share his experience about rebranding a professional baseball team. In November 2007, the majority owner of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball team decided to make drastic changes and renamed his team the “Tampa Bay Rays.” As a result of his decision, the team went through a rebranding campaign that re-energized fans and made everyone in the Tampa Bay area feel like they had ownership of the Rays. Join us at the 2009 FPRA Annual Conference to hear about the campaign and the astounding success the team experienced in 2008.

SAVE THE DATE
Location: Boca Raton Resort and Club, Boca Raton, FL
Date: August 9 – 12, 2009
Registration Fee: $595/person

Remember, you can register now and make your hotel reservations. Room prices are tiered, starting as low as $145/night. We look forward to seeing you at the conference in August 2009!

Visit the state website to download a registration form

Space Coast Chapter FPRA Corporate Spelling Bee committee looking for members

With not much thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, our chapter had to cancel the annual Community Leaders for Literacy, a Corporate Spelling Bee in August. Due to the other events already on the Space Coast chapter’s calendar, the Spelling Bee was rescheduled for May 2009.

Rolling Readers Space Coast, Inc. is still the recipient of the proceeds of the May 2009 event. Rolling Readers is a 501c3, non-profit volunteer literacy organization, founded in 1997 to serve economically disadvantaged children in Brevard County. They are a grassroots organization that has created a partnership with Brevard County Title I schools and community businesses and organizations like yours that support their efforts to make a positive impact on local children. Please refer to their website at www.rollingreadersspacecoast.com for further information about their program objectives.

Our Corporate Spelling Bee is intended to create an awareness of the corporate and human cost of illiteracy. If we are to have an informed and educated workforce to meet our future needs then they must learn to read at an early age. Illiteracy can also reflect or cause other social problems in our society:

Now, more than ever, in these challenging economic times Rolling Readers can use our help in developing literacy skills and inspiring a lifelong love of reading in Brevard County children.

Whether you are a long-time member of the chapter or a new member looking to get involved in a community event, we can use YOU. It is an extremely fun evening for us and for the spelling teams that gives back to the community now and in the future AND you don’t have to dress up or eat rubber chicken.

Join the Spelling Bee committee and take part in presenting this FUN and worthwhile event. Call Ann Colchin at 452-9242 or by email at ahunt21@cfl.rr.com