Dear Members,
Today is an historic day for CPRS Calgary as we celebrate our 60thAnniversary. As one of the oldest professional public relations chapters in the world, we have an excellent opportunity to build on our past. In the coming year, we look forward to drawing on the institutional knowledge and expertise of our long-term members, while also setting forth an exciting program of activities for members of all levels of experience.
Some of the key highlights for our Diamond Anniversary year include:
- A CPRS Calgary 60thAnniversary celebration logo
- A dedicated 60thAnniversary events page on our website at https://cprscalgary.com/event/be-part-of-our-60th-anniversary/
- Professional Development ‘Diamond Sessions’
- A ’60 for 60’ weekend event where CPRS Calgary members can participate in whole or in part of a weekend session where we collectively donate 60-hours to a charitable organization to help them with the public relations needs
- Targeting registration of at least 60 members to make our mark at the 2019 National Conference in Edmonton next June
- Movie Night in February
- Our ‘Signature Event’ in May
- Enhancing the 50thAnniversary Legacy Scholarship
Our Events Chair Michelle Crossland, APR is heading up the committee. If you have some other ideas and suggestions, please reach out to Michelle. If you would like to volunteer to help with some of these activities (which is a great way to build up APR Maintenance points!), please reach out to our Volunteers Chair Danielle Alfaro. Contact information for both Michelle and Danielle can be found on our website.
In other news around the Calgary Society,
APR EXAMS & NEW APPLICATIONS
Please join me and the Board in wishing our candidates the best of luck with their written and oral exams this Friday! Calgary has one of the highest percentages of APR members in the country and I’m sure our colleagues will do us proud again this week.
If you are considering applying for your APR, the next round has a December 1stdeadline. If you need more information, check out our website at https://cprscalgary.com/member-services/accreditation/, or contact our APR Chair – Kim Jones.
MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Although the official deadline just passed and our mentee and mentor numbers are almost aligned, there may still be room to participate. Please contact our coordinator Michelle Stewart at mstew595@mtroyal.ca.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
You may have already noticed our approach to PD has a different look and feel this year. While we will continue with traditional in-person PD events per the feedback we received from the member survey earlier this year, we have also added a variety of other PD options and activities such as social media outreach and our ‘Book Club’ (what PR Books and articles we’re reading these days). Our next in-person PD event is coming shortly, watch for it on our Events Page on our website. If you have a Book Club suggestion, please touch base with our PD Chair Tracie Kenyon.
ENHANCED PLANNING CALENDAR UPDATE
In my previous communique, I referred to our development of a clear calendar of events for our members, capturing all events, activities, deadlines and items of note. Some key activities in the coming weeks:
- APR written and oral exams October 19
- In-person PD event October 30
- CPRS Calgary Board meeting on November 5
- CPRS Student Event November 7
- APR deadline for new applicants December 1
- Joint CPRS/IABC ‘Holiday Party’ December 6
I encourage you to regularly check out website for the latest calendar updates, which we are trying to populate for the next year. Some months we may not have specific dates for items locked in, but we’ll list them anyway so you can at least have line of sight for planning purposes.
STUDENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
It gives me great pleasure to welcome our Student Portfolio Chairs Busola Fapojuwo, a 4thyear student at the University of Calgary student in Communications, and Megan Fox, a 4thyear PR student at Mount Royal University. Both have been very active on our Student Committee for the last two years and will be strong contributors to the Board this year.
BOARD ROLES YET TO BE FILLED:
President-Elect: Per my previous email, we are returning to a structure that will include a designated President-Elect. The role is being designed to stabilize succession planning. Our By-Laws encourage this role to be filled by an APR and someone with previous Board experience. If you would like more information or would like to discuss it further, please feel free to contact our Board Special Advisor Nancy Arab or Past-President Shawn Davis.
We also require a Sponsorship Chair to assist us in the development of potential revenue streams and in-kind support. Please don’t be scared off by thinking this has to deliver big dollars, as many of the sponsorship activities are smaller and tactical in nature (ex: accessing suitable venues at little or no costs for PD and other events, a company that might be willing to host an event and provide those in attendance a lunch or refreshments, etc.). Of course, big-ticket thinking is also welcome! If you have an interest, please reach out to Nancy or Shawn.
THE STATE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN ALBERTA
An area I believe that is not well understood is the state of Public Relations in Alberta, from an in-house perspective, an agency perspective and from the media and public’s perspective. I would like to establish a small CPRS Calgary committee to research this topic so that we may take a lead role as the voice of Public Relations in Alberta, dissecting and understanding practices, issues, barriers, public perceptions our profession faces as well as the value we bring to the table. The goal would be to develop an annual or biennial program that we can share with industry, students and educators, government and our employers or clients. If you have an interest, please contact our Volunteers Chair Danielle Alfaro or myself.
In closing, we have much to be proud of in our 60 years and a foundation that we can leverage for the next 60 and beyond. We look forward to your input and participation. Also, please visit our website often, please reach out to the Board and myself at any time if you have any questions, suggestions or wish to play a more hands-on role with our organization and committees.
Sincerely,
Tom Ormsby, APR
