President's Message
Dear WMPRSA Members:
For my final president's message, I thought I'd provide an annual report of sorts. The board of WMPRSA had several goals this year and I think we did a pretty good job of making progress toward them.
Professional Development--Member
surveys have shown us that the best value for WMPRSA membership is quality
programs. This year we had a successful slate of programs ranging from the "tactical"--everything from Meet the Media events to a session on working with a photographer--to the "strategic"--which
included a range of sessions on diversity, corporate social responsibility,
and share of discussion measurement. It's telling that three of our speakers
this year have spoken numerous times at national conferences. We also broadened
our programs geographically to include events in Cadillac and Kalamazoo.
Diversity--We
took up the challenge from the national office to do our part locally on
PRSA's Diversity Initiative. Our January "Meet the Media" event focused on
minority and alternative media. In May we brought in Marc Little, a national
PRSA diversity committee member and president of the Black PR Association.
We also shaped our own local diversity plan and have begun ways to reach
out and make the PR profession more diverse in West Michigan. We have offered
to do career fairs and other events at area high schools and colleges to
encourage students--minority and otherwise--to understand the PR profession
and consider it as a career. My op-ed in MiBizWest yielded a variety of responses
from minority PR practitioners who are not as yet members of WMPRSA, and
I have encouraged them to join us so that we continue to have diverse viewpoints
represented in our profession and our professional organization.
Advocacy--Another national priority that we adopted locally this year was to advocate for the profession. Several WMPRSA members wrote guest editorials and letters to the editor--ranging from the Traverse City Record Eagle to US News and World Report to PR Week. Our plan also includes the strategy of partnering with other local professional organizations to help expose them to what PR really is. Thus, our September event on Corporate Social Responsibility with the Econ Club was a wonderful success of discussing relevant PR topics with more than 300 professionals, most of whom are NOT in PR. I and others on the board have also met with area
journalists who have the business beat to encourage them to understand PR as being more than mere publicity. Several articles resulted from these meetings in which PR was described more completely, as a legitimate discipline in its own right, and not merely a shady activity to cover the mistakes of management.
Membership--Our
membership committee worked very hard to reach out to young professionals
as well as to re-engage some senior level practitioners. They were
successful in recruiting several new members and bringing back some whose
membership had lapsed. We need both. The young professionals are the future
of the profession and our organization. And those with years of experience
are vital as well for their perspective, insights, and help bringing in outstanding
speakers and other ideas. Our membership remains at right around 110, and
we hope to continue to expand it.
Finance--Doing
all of the above on a minimal budget is an accomplishment in itself. We as
a board worked hard to get sponsorships and in-kind contributions so that we can offer good programming and keep communicating via the newsletter and Web site while keeping administrative costs at a minimum. And it certainly helped. We also
have developed a fundraising plan to solicit sponsorships for the newsletter,
Web site, and each program for next year. We also just recently approved
a modest dues increase so that we can continue to bring quality professional
development and other value to you (see article later in this newsletter).
Our hope is to continue to offer value for members at a reasonable cost.
We also have a goal of raising seed money for the Hal Walton Scholarship
which is given to a local PR major each year.
I can't end this "annual report" without thanking some key people. Carol Tanis took on the task of compiling this newsletter. Jill Ward of ADAC Plastics revised our Web site with PRSA's newly branded logo and has maintained it promptly. Julie Metsker and
Sue Ann Clark in the WMPRSA office have been efficient and effective in all
we ask of them. Our board has been extremely helpful in taking on a plethora
of tasks that fly below radar but are nonetheless vital. And Ruth Steele
Walker of Foremost has been invaluable as a president-elect, assisting me
with ideas and counsel all year long. I wish her the best, and I hope you
do as well, as she takes the reins for 2005 to continue working on the above
goals and start some of her own.
Happy holidays and a prosperous new year to you all.
Enhancing the Profession,
Tim Penning, APR
2004 WMPRSA President
penningt@gvsu.edu |
