If you grew up in rural America and would like to revisit that place, or if you're curious about this foreign territory known as the rural Midwest, a new memoir by a Central Iowa PRSA chapter member invites you into a fascinating and disappearing world. In her first book-length work - Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl - Carol Bodensteiner shares a time when life was simple but not easy, a time when childhood was innocent yet rich with wisdom.   In Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl, Carol takes readers with her to relive farm life in middle America, in the middle of the 20th century. Carol grew up in eastern Iowa, working side by side with her parents and sisters on the family-owned dairy farm. In her new book, she preserves for generations to follow this natural, deeply textured way of life that has been nearly lost in our country.   "Writing this memoir has been a great way to revisit the experiences that prepared me for life," says Carol. "When I look back at these stories I see connections between my childhood and adulthood I never realized existed. Who knew there could be so many connections between a dairy farm and agency life?"

Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl includes vividly told stories of everything from the unique nature of eating 'lunch' on the farm to driving a tractor for the first time, from teaching a new-born calf to drink to losing a million dollar bet, from the excitement of attending the county fair to experiencing the rewards and disappointments of 4-H projects. Each chapter offers scenes from farm life by presenting experiences that shaped the author's values and worldview. Photographs throughout trigger readers' senses and memories.

Carol was spent 23 years working at two public relations agencies, most of that at CMF&Z Public relations where she was president for 10 years. Currently, she consults, teaches public relations writing at Drake University, and writes. She and her husband live on an acreage near Des Moines. Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl is available in paperback format for $13.95. Books are available locally at Beaverdale Books, The Museum Store at the State Historical Building and The Book Store. She will be doing book signings and discussions Nov. 30 at the Iowa Machine Shed; Dec. 1 at Beaverdale Books and Dec. 14 at The Book Store. Orders can also be placed online at www.GrowingUpCountryMemories.com and at www.carolbodensteiner.com.

Central Iowa PRSA Member Leads Global Corporation

Pinnacle Worldwide, Inc., an international corporation of independently owned public relations firms in 60 major cities, announced the election of global officers on the 2008 executive committee, including Ronald Hanser, Des Moines, as chairman.

Hanser will remain president of West Des Moines-based Hanser & Associates, Iowa’s leading public relations firm. He is Iowa’s first public relations executive to lead a global public relations organization. Hanser & Associates is a partner in Minneapolis-based Pinnacle; Hanser has been a member of Pinnacle’s board of directors since 1999.   Pinnacle’s officers for 2008 are from New Zealand, Romania and the United States. They include Ronald Hanser, Des Moines, Iowa, chairman; David Marriott, Seattle, Wash., president; Donna Vandiver, St. Louis, Mo., president-elect; Scott Peyron, Boise, Idaho, treasurer; Ray Casas, Miami, Fla., vice president of Latin America region; Norrey Simmons, Wellington, New Zealand, vice president of Asia Pacific region; Andrew Littauer, Bucharest, Romania, vice president of Europe region; Jeannette Boccini, New York, N.Y, member-at-large; Barbara Coles, Indianapolis, Ind., member-at-large; and Gary Conkling, Portland, Ore., member-at-large.

“ The role improves business and professional development of independent public relations firms worldwide,” said Hanser. “I am grateful to our clients who allow Hanser & Associates to serve their PR needs and to our employees who make it possible for me to help lead a worldwide PR organization.”

Start Your Engines…

Mike Beecher, director of Media Relations for the Iowa Speedway, described the fast-paced excitement taking place in Newton at the October PRSA luncheon. Beecher offered insight into the constantly changing and ever evolving world of motor sports media. With responsibilities ranging from organizing news conferences and coordinating race-day activities to responding to media inquiries and issues management, Beecher and his staff are pressed to move as quickly as the cars lapping the track.

The Iowa Speedway, designed by NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace, has garnered national attention. In June, it hosted the Iowa Corn Indy 250 featuring the sport’s most popular drivers including Danica Patrick and Dario Franchitti, along with celebrities Gene Simmons and the Teutuls of American Chopper fame to further stir up the excitement.

Beecher says his big challenge is controlling messages and being proactive, especially when unexpected events, such as parking problems, throw a snag into an otherwise smooth event. The opportunity to work with the Iowa Speedway “has opened many doors and provided many opportunities,” he added. He encouraged people to visit for a race or concert and reminded the group that the Speedway also has excellent meeting facilities available for corporate events.

“Creating A New Normal” Topic of November Luncheon"

Procter-Rogers currently oversees a Chicago-based, national public relations consulting practice, A Step Ahead Public Relations. The practice specializes in corporate communications and special event public relations. She counsels clients in the areas of integrated marketing communications, community relations and public affairs, strategic planning, special events planning, internal communications and media relations.

Cheryl was the 2006 national president and chief executive officer of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals with more than 31,000 professional and student members.

Prior to resuming her consultant practice, Cheryl spent more than nine years as a member of the corporate affairs team for Home Box Office (HBO) where she was responsible for the development and implementation of public relations and integrated marketing communications strategies across 11 states in the Midwest.

Cost to attend the luncheon is $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers and $15 for students. Register online at www.prsaciowa.org or email Adam Lackey at alackey@integermidwest.com.

Upcoming Meeting: January 17, 2008: “Creating and Marketing a Worldwide Event in Iowa: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Inaugural Hy-Vee Triathlon and a Peek into 2008”

Critique Resumes for ISU Students

The Iowa State Chapter of PRSSA is hosting a resume workshop for its paid members and members of the Advertising Club on Nov. 27 from 6:30-8:30 in Ames. We are looking for 6-8 professionals to help critique the students’ resumes and offer suggestions on how to improve them. The professional will meet one-on-one with a student for roughly 10 minutes, and then the students rotate to a new professional to get feedback from a different perspective. Dinner will be provided for professionals who volunteer to help at this resume workshop.

Contact Emily Oliver, 221-3015, emilyo@ia-icul.org.

Abbas Meets Olympic Hopeful

Member Emily Abbas, APR, Drake PRSSA Chapter Liaison, poses with Governor Culver and Olympic hopeful gymnast Shawn Johnson at “Shawn Johnson Day” at the State Historical Building. Emily is Corporate Communications Manager at GuideOne Insurance, one of a handful of local companies that have donated money to fund transportation costs for Shawn’s family to attend her upcoming competitions

The 2008 Central Iowa PRSA Institute will be Tuesday, April 8 at Iowa Health Conference Center in Des Moines. Anyone interested on being on the planning committee is encouraged to contact Darin Leach at 284-4747, or darin.leach@ia.usda.gov.

Also, please let Darin know if you have a speaker suggestion, or if your company is interested in being a sponsor at this year’s event.

A very big thank you to all the members who have already volunteered to help out with Institute.

National Dues to Remain Unchanged

Great news was announced at the 2007 PRSA National Assembly; national dues will remain unchanged in 2008. National dues have remained flat since 2002, and this is a wonderful testament to how well-managed PRSA is on a national level.

Dave Remund, APR, represented Central Iowa at the National Assembly, held Oct. 20 in Philadelphia, Pa., just prior to the 2007 PRSA International Conference. (Second delegate Kelly Sankey, APR, was not able to attend due to travel complications.) Several amendments, resolutions and motions were debated and voted upon by the Assembly.

Following is a recap:
• A proposal to shift the composition of the Board of Directors to regional representation, vs. district representation, was defeated.
• A proposal to establish a task force to study and revise the PRSA bylaws, was approved.
• A proposal to establish a task force to develop a strategic approach to expanding and promoting the PRSSA affiliate program was approved.
• A proposal to establish a task force to establish web collaboration opportunities between PRSA National and its chapters was withdrawn, due to the fact that a related effort had already been included by the national board in its 2008 strategic plan.
• Proposals to honor PRSSA on its 40th anniversary, and to honor active and veteran military members, were both approved.

In related news, the Assembly delegates participated in a review of PRSA’s three-year strategic plan, carrying forward input gathered from the boards of local chapters. The three top concerns raised by the PRSA Central Iowa board -- improved/streamlined communication, greater chapter development resources, and enhanced seminars/training/conferences -- were all incorporated into the working draft of the national plan. Thanks to the Central Iowa board members for their candid input and constructive suggestions.

Beyond the Inverted Pyramid

by Sara Gilbert, Drake undergraduate PR student

Keep reading this article. It will provide useful information. The most important facts will be in the first two paragraphs.

Any reporter reading the lead for this news release would have thrown it away in seconds. When public relations professionals write boring leads, they are essentially giving readers permission to quit reading the copy.

“Beyond the Inverted Pyramid,” a professional development teleseminar presented by Ann Wylie of Wylie Communications, was jointly hosted by the Central Iowa Chapter of PRSA and Drake University’s PRSSA student chapter in late October. The focus of the teleseminar was that the inverted pyramid technique of writing might not always be the best way to get results. Wylie suggested using a feature-style lead to gain the attention of the reader. Key messages should be disseminated “in a nutshell” in the following paragraphs.

Workshop attendees included nearly 40 students, ranging from first-year to graduate level studies. Professors Carol Bodensteiner, APR, Fellow and Ronda Menke, APR and PRSSA professional liaison, Emily Abbas, APR also attended the workshop.

Don’t give readers permission to quit reading your news release or story. Use feature-style writing to get results.

Provision: Competition

Principle: Promoting healthy and fair competition preserves an ethical climate while fostering a robust business environment.

Intent: To promote respect and fair competition among public relations professionals; to serve the public interest by providing the widest choice of practitioner options.

Guidelines: As a PRSA member, you shall:

• Follow ethical hiring practices designed to respect free and open competition without deliberately undermining a competitor.
• Preserve intellectual property rights in the marketplace.

Examples of Improper Conduct:

• A member employed by a client organization shares helpful information with a counseling firm that is competing with others for the organization's business.
• A member spreads malicious and unfounded rumors about a competitor in order to alienate the competitor's clients and employees in a ploy to recruit people and business.

Name: Beth Dorsett Position: CORE Communications Manager (CORE is a large technology project) Company: Wells Fargo

Alma Mater: University of Texas - Arlington
Family: Husband, Rusk; three kids, Caitlin (14), Noah (10) and Rebecca (8) plus two dogs, a horse and a fish!
How long have you been a member of PRSA? 2001 (with a year off due to budget constraints)

Is your job today what you thought you’d be doing 10 or 20 years ago? How has it changed?
Ten years ago, I was working at a television station as a Public Affairs Director. The whole Corporate Communications world was entirely new to me when I started at SBC in 1998- what a great career option! Ten years ago, who would have guessed the developments we’d see in strategic communications, social media, and the speed of communication? As I look back at my career, there has definitely been a shift toward stronger consulting and a need to do everything faster!

How do you keep current on issues in public relations, particularly when they deal with large corporations like Wells Fargo?
We have a talented group of communicators that stay in touch through formal meetings and informal conversations to share information and insights. There’s a huge advantage to being an avid reader of industry/professional news and publications. And finally, we love the ability to take advantage of the PRSA tools!

Other than your cell phone and wallet, what is one thing you always have in your purse?
Blackberry instead of cell phone and 5-10 pens of different types