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| Tuesday, September 7, 2010 |
| - In This Issue - |
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January Meeting – Social Media Explained
Date: Thursday, January 15
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Hilton Garden Inn
8600 Northpark Drive
Johnston, Iowa
Every public relations professional needs to know the basics of social media and how to apply these to your day-to-day work. Join Nathan Wright, founder of Lava Row, as he explains social media and how to integrate it into your overall communication strategy.
Nathan Wright has more than 10 years of expertise in social media, Web culture, emerging media, user interface design, branding and digital communications. He founded Lava Row in 2007 after serving as the Interactive Lead at The Meyocks Group. Nathan is dedicated to fostering the creative capital within Des Moines and can often be found organizing/attending local TweetUps. In addition to his blog, Nathan also writes about Web strategy for The Des Moines Business Record’s IowaBiz.com.
Please register online at www.prsaciowa.org by Friday, January 9. If you have questions about the online registration process, please contact the chapter's treasurer-elect, Jarad Bernstein, at 515-280-2040. |
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Happy Anniversary!
In each issue of this newsletter, we will recognize Central Iowa PRSA Chapter members who are celebrating milestone anniversaries that month. This month, a special congratulations goes to Art Slusark, of the Meredith Corporation for celebrating ten years of being a member of PRSA. |
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Welcome to 2009!
Each year I am amazed at how fast a year can fly by and 2008 was no exception.
From a personal standpoint, my family was blessed with the birth of our second daughter in February. Parents will understand when I say 2008 was a long and somewhat challenging year for my family, but it also passed way too quickly as our baby is now 10 months old.
I also can’t believe that I’ve passed the halfway point on my year as your chapter president. That time, too, seemed to go by in an instant.
This year’s chapter leaders have an outstanding variety of events in the works for 2009. I hope that you will continue to participate in as many chapter activities as you can. We will have our regular monthly meetings on January 15, February 19, March 19 and May 21, while the chapter’s annual professional development Institute program will be on Friday, April 10. And, on Thursday, April 30, our chapter awards banquet and program will take place.
Information about the awards program will be made available soon, but you are encouraged to begin thinking now about the projects and programs you might want to enter. The deadline to submit entries will be Wednesday, Feb. 25.
In addition to all of this, later this month, the chapters’ board will begin a discussion about changing our fiscal year from the current June 1 to May 31 timing to a more traditional January 1 to December 31. The national PRSA office has requested that all local chapters adopt a January 1 fiscal year start.
While we anticipate this fiscal year change to have some impact on the timing of chapter activities and programs, a majority of the change will be more administrative in nature. Any changes to our chapter’s fiscal year would not take place until 2010, at the earliest.
Wishing you all the best in 2009.
Darin Leach, APR
President, Central Iowa PRSA Chapter
Ph: 284-4747 |
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Scholarships Now Available for Professionals and Students!
Now is the time to get your application in for one of the chapter's scholarships! Available to students and professionals, the following scholarships aid in the pursuit of public relations education.
Education Scholarships
For the past 25 years, the chapter has recognized a student with the Ferne Bonomi and Dr. Henry Milam Undergraduate Scholarship. Three years ago, the chapter added a graduate degree scholarship for practicing public relations professionals.
- Advanced Degree – Are you a PRSA member pursuing an advanced degree? The scholarship application is here.
- Undergraduate Scholarship – Are you a PRSSA member looking for some extra money? The scholarship application is here.
Professional Development
The chapter also provides a professional development scholarship that can be used in many different ways to further your career. Here are some ways the professional development scholarship can bring value to you:
- Reimburse your expenses for attending PRSA chapter or national events, such as National Conference, monthly luncheons, Webinars and teleseminars, or on-site conferences that further your public relations expertise.
- Use the scholarship to help fund your pursuit of the APR process. The money can be used to buy books, pay for study courses and the testing fee.
- Pay for your national and chapter memberships.
These are just a few of the ways the professional development scholarship can be used. Be creative and give us your proposal for this scholarship if your idea isn't listed. The application for the professional development scholarship is here.
All scholarship applications are due on Friday, Jan. 30. Mailing information is found on each of the applications. If you have any questions, please contact Immediate Past President, Antoinette Bernich, at 515-453-2115. |
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Young Women’s Resource Center is Looking for Communications Professionals
The Young Women’s Resource Center is looking for communications professionals to volunteer their time and talents by serving on its marketing committee. This small group meets monthly, and works to identify and implement public relations and marketing opportunities for the Center. To participate, or for more information, contact Marketing Committee Co-Chairs Rhonda Clark-Leyda or Sarah Buckley.
For more than 30 years, the Young Women’s Resource Center has served Central Iowa as the leading provider of information and counseling to young women ages 11 to 21. The Center partners with parents, schools and the community to develop programs specifically to meet young women’s needs in today’s ever-changing environment. The Young Women’s Resource Center provides 16 programs that collaborate with local schools to serve more than 1,600 young women each year. For more information about the Center, visit www.ywrc.org. |
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Dr. Jim Verlengia Discussed What’s Important in Life
On December 11, Central Iowa PRSA members gathered for a professional development seminar in Des Moines featuring Dr. Jim Verlengia as a guest speaker.
Dr. Verlengia presented a highly motivational and thought-provoking presentation, which allowed members to take a step back from reality and focus on what is important in life. He reminded everyone not to take life too seriously, as “making a living is not the same thing as making a life.”
He asked us, as dreamers, not to use the past and present to determine our future, but instead to embrace today to push us to where we want to be tomorrow. In the words of Dr. Verlengia, “I am where I am today because of what I thought yesterday. To be where I need to be tomorrow, I live in the moment of today.”
Dr. Verlengia is currently a Program Director at Heartland AEA 11 and leads a team in Des Moines Public Schools. He has dedicated his life to education, serving students as a teacher, coach and administrator. |
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Student/Professional Mentor Program
All current participants of the 2008 Central Iowa PRSA Mentor Program and their student mentees are invited to attend the February monthly luncheon. Please join us for the great food, presentation, additional conversation and networking opportunities. This is the only all-program event for the year, so please remind your student mentee(s) and plan to join us for a great luncheon. |
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PRSA Recommends!
 The PRSA Professional Resources Center offers extensive resources designed to serve your professional needs, including an instructive and insightful selection of books offered to members at special rates. These publications include practical guides by PRSA Professional Development presenters, including Ann Wiley, James Lukaszewski, Joan Gladstone and Angela Sinickas.
One book on the “PRSA Recommends!” list is “Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging” by John Cass. If advertising and public relations were the best ways to connect with a company's audience through traditional media, and blogs are the best way to connect with millions of customers through the medium of online consumer generated media, then how can companies best use blogs to connect with their audience through the medium of consumer-generated media? The answer is through blogger relations, the process of interacting with bloggers and blog readers to get a company's message to an audience. This book targets business people, marketing professionals, public relations firms, search engine optimization and online marketing agency staff with a primer on the importance of corporate blogging and how to conduct a successful blogger relations ongoing campaign.
Visit the PRSA Bookstore and Marketplace for additional titles. Online ordering is available at the PRSA Store and Marketplace for PRSA Members; non-members please contact the PRSA Store at 212-460-1459 or resources@prsa.org to complete your order. |
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Leigh McGivern is Named New Spokesperson for Des Moines Schools
Congratulations to Leigh McGivern for being named the new director of community relations for the Des Moines school district and serving as the legislative liaison for the district. Leigh also serves as our chapter’s assembly delegate ethics officer. To read more about Leigh’s new position, visit the Des Moines Register’s Web site. |
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A Warm Welcome to PRSA’s Newest Members
In an effort to welcome new members to PRSA, each month, we will highlight individuals who have recently joined the Central Iowa PRSA Chapter. This month, we are pleased to welcome the following individuals to our chapter:
- Ann Marie Edwards, Edwards Communications
- Shelley Goecke, McFarland Clinic
- Diane Hernandez, Midwest Oral and Facial Surgery
Current members are encouraged to introduce themselves to these new members at future luncheons or events and make them feel welcome. |
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Meet Lindsey Maas
Each month, a different PRSA member will be featured in this newsletter. However, instead of reading a member profile, these will be presented as podcasts. This month, Lindsey Maas is being featured, who is serving as an intern at USDA Rural Development and for the Central Iowa PRSA Chapter. She is a senior at Simpson College studying Public Relations and Corporate Communications and is involved in the school’s PRSSA Chapter. In this podcast, Maas describes her duties as an intern for USDA Rural Development and PRSA, as well as shares information about how some of her classes are helping her prepare for the future and what she likes to do in her spare time. |
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