From economic woes to fake news, the 2010s have certainly brought a range of challenges and awkward moments for each of us, for our profession as a whole, and for our professional association at the local and national level. But as the saying goes, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Through a whirlwind of change, CPRS Calgary and CPRS national have remained steadfast believers in the importance of continuous professional development with an emphasis on transparent, honest, and ethical PR practice.
As we transition from 2019 into 2020, it is my great pleasure to first and foremost bring New Years greetings on behalf of the Board of CPRS Calgary. The past few years have definitely been challenging for CPRS Calgary but, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Board members and volunteers alike, we are emerging stronger and look forward to renewed growth and energy in the 2020s.
A new CPRS Calgary President.
One of the most recent challenges we have faced was the news that our former CPRS Calgary President, Tom Ormsby, APR, had accepted a new job that would take he and his family away from Calgary and back to Atlantic Canada. While this was a wonderful development for Tom and his family, we are sad to see him go. Tom’s leadership and contributions to CPRS Calgary have been many and he will be sadly missed.
At a special meeting of the Board on November 25th, I was elected President in Tom’s place. I look forward to continuing the great work begun by Tom and our past and present Board members. If you’d like to learn a bit more about why I joined CPRS and the value I believe it offers, take a look at the CPRS Calgary YouTube video interview I recorded earlier in 2019.
While our Board is not huge, we certainly have no lack of bench strength or enthusiasm. We have regrouped quickly and already have some exciting plans in place for professional development and other activities in the new year. I encourage all CPRS Calgary members and student members to consider becoming involved with our Board. One of the best ways to gain more value from your membership is to get involved. Being part of the Board, helping plan an event, assisting with the accreditation process, taking photos at events and posting to our social media channels, summarizing interesting PR articles to share through our Communications committee – whatever fits your talents and your time is of value to our organization. But more than that, getting involved gives you a chance to work with peers and colleagues who can become valuable contacts in your career. Check out our volunteer job posting and consider stepping forward.
Fall 2019 highlights.
Since first gathering as a Board in September, we’ve undertaken a number of initiatives designed to provide greater variety and to encourage increased member engagement. We’ve developed an exciting professional development program that includes not just in-person events, but also webinars that can be offered at a much lower cost with greater convenience for our members. In November, we launched a monthly e-newsletter and in early December we launched a new, cleaner, more up-to-date website.
And there’s more to come!
Don’t miss our January 29th PD event entitled Politics and PR. In February, the Global PR Alliance has declared Ethics Month and we’ll be hosting a great workshop and case study event on Ethics in PR led by our friend and colleague Sheridan McVean. For March, we’re working on a fun and informative event around Calgary’s craft brewing industry that we’re calling PR by the Pint. Watch your email and subscribe to CPRS Calgary social channels for details on all these events, coming soon!
Also watch for upcoming webinars. Topics in the works include personal branding, conversion copywriting, and search engine optimization. And don’t forget that the CPRS national website is a rich source of professional development information and webinars that are included with your CPRS membership. Of course the highlight of the program year for CPRS national is the annual CPRS National Conference being held this year in Quebec City. I’m registered. Are you?
In closing, thank you for being a member or associate of CPRS Calgary. Our organization exists to serve you, and we exist to serve one another as PR professionals. Let’s say good-bye to the awkward teen years and work hard together to make CPRS Calgary a roaring success in 2020 and beyond!
