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Tuesday, September 7, 2010
- In This Issue -
PRSA Luncheon
Congratulations!
Events
Web site News
Annual Meeting
Featured Member
Bookmark This
Job Feature
Pinnacle Survey
General News


May 2008
PRSA Luncheon:
May Luncheon: Leveraging Social Media
Social media is all around us and is changing the public relations landscape. Consumer generated content is growing exponentially and is giving people the opportunity to impact your brand both positively and negatively.
 
You know it when you see it, yet it’s a stretch to think how you might leverage social media in your organization. Mike Sansone, self-proclaimed “Conversation Conductor” and business coach, will share the latest tools, trends and techniques to help you connect with your customers and amplify your relationships through social media at the next PRSA luncheon May 15 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The luncheon will be held at DeWaay Capital Management, 13001 University Avenue in Clive.
 
Mike is an independent business consultant specializing in business blogs and conversational copywriting. His experience in public speaking, sales and marketing, writing, and real-time online communication are strengths Mike relies upon in his role as a Conversation Conductor.
 
Prior to starting his own business, Mike helped to build thriving online communities with America Online, Real Fans Sports Network, Ignite Sports Media and HeyMax. He also has coordinated the growth of offline communities as a property manager, volunteer, and minister.
 
Tickets are $20 for members; $25 for guests and $15 for students. Please register online by May 9.
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Congratulations!:
Remund Named Roy H. Park Fellow at UNC
PRSA Central Iowa Chapter Ethics Chair and recently-named Outstanding Chapter Member Dave Remund, APR, will be packing his things and heading southeast at the end of the summer.
 
Remund was named a Roy H. Park Fellow at the University of North Carolina, one of eight professionals selected from a national pool of candidates. The three-year, fully funded commitment requires Remund to relocate to Chapel Hill, N.C., in early August to begin work on his doctoral degree in journalism. In addition to taking classes and working on his dissertation, Remund will also conduct research in public relations and teach courses within the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
 
On a personal note, Remund says he feels fortunate to be realizing his goal of teaching at the college level, particularly since his parents did not have the same opportunity.
 
“I’m very excited to have been awarded this generous opportunity by one of the top journalism schools in the nation,” he said. “While at UNC, I'll continue to work for Innova part-time as a senior adviser. I’ll consult on client needs, business development and company operations, and travel back to Iowa several times per year to help provide coaching and guidance to the staff. It should be a perfect blend of my professional passions.”
 
Remund said he’ll share his contact information in Chapel Hill once it’s been established.
 
Congratulations, Dave, on this outstanding achievement!
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Events:
PRSA Announces PRIME Awards
PRSA Central Iowa Chapter held its annual PRIME Awards ceremony Thursday, April 24 at Scottish Rite Consistory in downtown Des Moines.
 
The awards recognize excellence in public relations projects from throughout central Iowa. Following is a list of PRIME Award winners:

Internal Communications
Award of Merit: GuideOne Insurance, “GuideOne Goes Tobacco-free”
PRIME Award: Ruan Transport Corp./Integer Midwest: “Ruan 75th Anniversary
 
Annual Report
PRIME Award: Iowa’s Development Disabilities Council/Strategic America, “ID Action in Review”
 
Newsletters
Award of Merit: City of Des Moines Public Information Office, “CitySource: Your Direct Link to City Hall”
PRIME Award: Nationwide, “InSight: The Allied Insurance Employee Newsletter”
 
Magazines
PRIME Award: GuideOne Insurance, “Momentum Magazine”
 
Other Collateral
Award of Merit: ARAG/Integer Midwest, “ARAG Legal Wheel”
PRIME Award: Flynn Wright, “West Glen Town Center Brand Presentation Piece”
 
News Writing
PRIME Award: Megabus.com/Hanser & Associates, “Go West for $1 Megabus.com News Media Kit”
 
Feature Writing
Award of Merit: Iowa Dept. of Economic Development/Integer Midwest, “Ten ‘No Kidding’ Iowa Travel Spots Worth a Visit”
PRIME Award: Dairy Management, Inc./Integer Midwest, “Dairy Farmer Profiles”
 
Promotional Writing
Award of Merit: Iowa State University/ZLR Ignition, “Where Breakthroughs Happen”
PRIME Award: Iowa Dept. of Economic Development/Integer Midwest, “Generation Iowa Web Site Profile Promotion”
 
Media Relations
Award of Merit: Winefest Des Moines/Strategic America, “2007 Winefest Des Moines”
PRIME Award: State Historical Society of Iowa, “Media Mania: The Caucus Iowa Exhibit Media Relations Program”
 
Community Champion Award
Award of Merit: Iowa Public Radio/ZLR Ignition, “Iowa Public Radio Branding Project”
PRIME Award: Strategic America, “Strategic America Executives Make a Splash for Charity”
 
Special Event
Award of Merit: Winefest/Strategic America, “Winefest”
PRIME Award: Salisbury House Foundation/Strategic America, “2007 Salisbury Classic Weekend”
 
Crisis and Issues Management
PRIME Award: MidAmerican Energy Company, “MidAmerican Energy Company February 2007 Ice Storm Response”
 
Integrated Campaigns
Award of Merit: Iowa Credit Union League, “Keeping the Dream Alive Advocacy Campaign”
PRIME Award: Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, “Join the Ride Iowa Campaign”
 
Audio/Visual
Award of Merit: Megabus.com/Hanser & Associates, “Go West for $1 Megabus.com Video News Release”
PRIME Award: Dairy Management, Inc./Integer Midwest, “DMI Audio Feeds”
 
Electronic Communication
Award of Merit: Western Iowa Advantage/Integer Midwest, “Western Iowa Advantage Quarterly E-Newsletter”
PRIME Award: Dairy Management, Inc./Integer Midwest, “DFSN E-Newsletter”
 
Web Sites
Award of Merit: Flynn Wright, “Westglentowncenter.com”
PRIME Award: Pella Corporation/Integer Midwest, “Pella Pressroom”
 
Non-Profit
Award of Merit: State Historical Society of Iowa, “Eyes of the World on Iowa: The Caucus Iowa Exhibit & The Iowa Caucuses”
PRIME Award: Iowa Credit Union League, “Iowa Credit Union League Values Brochure”
 
Best in Show: Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, “Join the Ride Iowa Campaign”
Outstanding Chapter Member: Dave Remund, APR
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Web site News:
Go Online to Add Your APR Designation
 
If you have an APR designation, take a few minutes to go online to add it to your member information. Here’s how:
  • Go the “member’s area” at the top of the Central Iowa PRSA Web site
  • Login
  • Go to the “my account information” tab
  • Add “APR” to the suffix box and click on the update box
It’s that simple!
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Annual Meeting:
To wrap up a year of great luncheons, speakers and events, Central Iowa PRSA members are invited to attend the Annual Business Meeting Thursday, June 19 at Principal Park. A short business meeting will take place in the Butter Kernel Corner picnic area at 6 p.m., followed by a buffet dinner consisting of all of your favorite picnic foods: hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and more. Then it’s time to “play ball” at 7:05 p.m., where the I-Cubs will take on the New Orleans Zephyrs. What a great opportunity for members to socialize and network with each other, while watching America’s favorite pastime!    
 
The registration fee to attend the meeting will include a ticket to the game, an I-Cubs souvenir and the buffet dinner. Be sure to register by June 12 to help us make the final event of the year a homerun!
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Featured Member:
Member Feature: Kami Rankin, Polk County Conservation Board
Name: Kami Rankin
Position: Community Outreach Supervisor
Company: Polk County Conservation
Alma Mater: University of Northern Iowa
Family: Husband Joel, sons Luke (5) and Drew (3)
 
PRSA Member since: 2000
 
Easy question: What is your background? How long have you been employed by Polk Co. Conservation Board?
I began my career working for Johnston Community Education as a Recreation Programmer. I began working for Polk County Conservation is 1999 doing outreach.
 
What does your typical day look like? Do you get to go out and enjoy the parks and trails?
Although never typical, my “typical” day involves assisting the organization and various units conduct a wide variety of communication initiatives. The Community Outreach Unit handles internal communications, public relations and marketing, advertising, and oversees approximately 13,500 hours of volunteer service on an annual basis. Constant deadlines and an abundance of computer work prevent me from getting out on the parks and trails as much as I would like. However, I make my rounds assisting with many special events, meetings, and projects that are held in our 16 different parks and trails.
 
With such a recreation-oriented job, what are some things you like to do in your free time?
Outdoor Recreation has always been a key part of my life. I grew up on a farm and spent most of my childhood days exploring the great outdoors. Athletics became one of my main interests and priorities in high school and college, softball being my favorite which kept me outside a lot. When the weather is nice, I'm generally outdoors exercising, doing yardwork, golfing, or playing a wide variety of games/sports with my two sons whom I adore. 
 
Your job particularly sounds like one in which you get to learn something new every day. Is there one thing you have learned in your time there that has served you particularly well?
One of the things I like most about my job is the variety and the fact that I do generally learn something new everyday. A few things I've learned over the years that have served me well is to be a team player and appreciate the skills and talents of my co-workers so I can better do my job, as well as respect and acknowledge well-intended public and volunteer feedback for the greater good of the organization.  
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Bookmark This:
Bookmark This: PRSA Recommends “Blogging for Business: Everything You Need to Know and Why You Should Care”
Why do 20 to 40 million Weblogs, or blogs, serve as an outlet for an estimated 32 million readers worldwide?  And why do these numbers continue to skyrocket?
 
In Blogging for Business, authors Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos tell you exactly how and why more companies are incorporating blogs into their business strategies. This smart new guide helps you engage in the global conversation by creating and maintaining blogs to generate heightened awareness and greater customer mindshare.
 
Worldwide corporations from EDS and IBM to General Motors and Sprint are leveraging the myriad applications of blogs for product marketing, customer affinity programs, public relations, and internal communications.  Packed with top-notch recommendations from two pros, Blogging for Business demonstrates that blogs offer a competitive advantage that businesses cannot afford to overlook.  
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Job Feature:
Newsletter Editor In Service to Our Country
If you’re looking for an opportunity to support our military men and women and the businesses that employ them, read on.
 
The Iowa Committee of the Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve (ESGR) is looking for a volunteer to write a quarterly newsletter. First, some background.
 
The National Guard and Reserve comprise almost half of our nation’s total military force. Today’s citizen soldiers face unique challenges in balancing their military and civilian careers. As deployments have increased in both number and length, those challenges have grown.
 
A Federal law (USERRA) protects the job rights of employees who perform military service. One way we inform both military employees and their employers of their rights and responsibilities is through a quarterly newsletter. You can see copies of the newsletter in the news section of the Iowa ESGR Web site: www.iowaesgr.com.
 
If you would like to know more about the newsletter, ESGR and how you can be involved, I look forward to talking with you. Don’t hesitate. We need you now.
 
Carol Bodensteiner
Iowa ESGR Public Affairs Chair
(515) 224-4582
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Pinnacle Survey:
Sustainable Development Survey
What does sustainable development mean to your organization?

We hope you’ll share your answer—and learn how others answer that question—by taking a very brief survey right now. Please click here to take the survey.

Hanser & Associates and our partners in Pinnacle Worldwide are distributing this survey to leaders in every industry in dozens of countries with a goal of finding out how the business world is approaching sustainable development.

No personal information is captured by this survey; your answers are anonymous.

We will share the global, baseline results with you in June at no cost. You will see data on sustainable development from other organizations in your industry and from around the world.

Please click here to take the survey right now, and forward this email to colleagues on your own email list today.

Thanks for your participation!
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General News:
Essman/Research Earns “Top Rated” Designation
For the seventh consecutive year, Des Moines-based Essman/Research has been recognized as a “Top-Rated” research facility by Impulse Research Corporation. The rating is based on results from an independent survey of over 5,000 researchers and moderators worldwide by Impulse Research Corporation, an international research firm based in Los Angeles, Calif.
 
Impulse Research Corporation recently released the results of its survey in the 2008 edition of the Impulse Survey of Focus Facilities, a directory published since 1992 and used by researchers worldwide. More than 900 facilities worldwide were rated on six factors, including recruiting, personnel and the services they provide, facility, location, food service and overall value.
 
Of the Iowa focus facilities rated and included in the 2008 directory, Essman/Research received the highest “overall” rating.
 
Essman/Research offers a wide range of full-service customized quantitative (telephone, online and mail surveys) and qualitative (mystery shopping, usability testing, one-on-one interviews and focus groups) research services. They provide research services to companies and organizations across the country including agriculture, health care, business-to-business, financial services, education, retail and nonprofit organizations.
 
Essman/Research is a division of Essman/Companies, which also includes Essman/Associates, an integrated marketing communications company established in Des Moines in 1977.
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