October 2008 Vol 2, Issue 6 - E-newsletter for IABC T&T Members From the President: Hello fellow communicators, I feel so proud today, knowing that I am part of a local association that is linked internationally and that now has over 16,000 members worldwide.  This major milestone in its history was announced recently by IABC, and it is said that the numbers are growing rapidly! We are only 80 odd members but we are certainly part of this melting pot of people who make a difference by volunteering to ensure that we are being heard every day. The new board met a couple weeks ago and we had a great session where everyone had a chance to present plans for the next year and to discuss ideas for seminars and other activities for the association. This month we are holding a very interesting discussion called - Global Financial Meltdown, Challenges and Strategies for business communicators when the crisis hits home - This promises to be a spirited discussion, see details below. As you know by now, IABC is very big on accreditation and October is Acreditation month.  In this issue, we have a segment on questions and answers with Cloreth Green, the first ABC in the Caribbean who is from Jamaica and secretary of our region. We take the opportunity in Café to congratulate those members who have been with us for the past two years, from inception of the association, and also welcome all our new members.  Congratulations also to UWI on the Silver Quill award that they received for their magazine STAN. Please take the time to read this issue of Communication Café and browse our website for a review from The Futurist Conference held last week via this  link  .  Additionally, our Founding President, Judette Coward-Puglisi wrote this  blog from the same Conference titled:  Futurist Says Marketers Need to Embrace Social Media. We look forward to seeing you at our October event and please don't forget to participate in our Professional Development survey, this is to assist IABCT&T in planning topics for 2008 to 2009 period. To participate go to: PD Survey .  As a token of appreciation for your support, we will send you an IABC T-shirt from the 2008 International Conference. Be Heard™ Giselle La Ronde-West President, IABC T&T (2008-2009) Global Financial Meltdown Ronald F. deC. Harford, Chairman, Republic Bank Limited, Hyacinth Guy, Director, Human Resource Management Association of T'dad & T'bgo (HRMATT) are just 2 of the Panelists included in IABCT&T's October event titled: Global Financial Meltdown: Challenges and Strategies for the Business Communicator when the crisis hits home Friday 24th October, 2008 12 Noon to 2:00 p.m. Jaffa Restaurant, Queen's Park Oval, POS. Invitations with further details to be emailed shortly. To reserve your spot or for further information email:  Christine Francois, V.P., Professional Development IABC Silver Quill for UWI STAN For the second year in a row, our chapter produced another Silver Quill Award winner.  This year, UWI's publication, STAN, won the Silver Quill Award of Excellence in the Magazine Category. UWI's Marketing & Communications Office, led by former IABC T&T Chapter VP Communications, Dawn Marie De Four-Gill and Anna Walcott-Hardy of Walcott Consulting, are the recipients of this year's prestigious award. A successful publication, STAN previously received recognition from the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) copping the 2006/7Award for publication excellence for the print version; again in 2007/8 ACU Award for publication excellence for the STAN ONLINE version and the 2007 APEX award.  Underpinning its success is the involvement and support of former and present Campus Principals: Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie, Professor Bridget Brereton and Professor Clement Sankat. Former UWI Communications Manager, Anna Walcott, has served as Editor and Creative Director of the publication since 2002, stated her reason for entering the IABC regional awards. "With the Silver Quill, I would also be able to rank the magazine among the work of my peers and colleagues, gain feedback from the judges, and if it won, the award would bring greater credibility to the publication and promote UWI," said Anna. IABC T&T Chapter congratulates Anna Walcott-Hardy, Dawn Marie De Four-Gill and the UWI Marketing and Communications Office. Welcome to new Members During the month of September, IABCT&T welcomed three new members from the Unit Trust Corporation.  They are: Danielle Jones (Assistant Vice President, Communications); Lisa-Marie La Veau (Manager, Advertising); and Margaret White (Manager, Events) We are delighted you joined the fastest growing association for professional business communicators. Interview with IABC Accreditation Ambassador, Cloreth Greene from Jamaica Communications Café interviewed Cloreth Greene (CG) from Jamaica.  Cloreth is an Accreditation Ambassador for IABC and President of IABC Caribbean.  In this Q&A she shares the benefits of being an ABC (Accredited Business Communicator). Communications Café: There are many other accreditations you could have  acquired, why did you choose ABC? Cloreth Greene: I value communication and the art of its applications as the core to business success internationally, in any industry and at every level.  Becoming an accredited business communicator therefore was for me a public signature of my understanding of the rudiments of business and of my ability to effectively practice them.  For this reason primarily, I opted to become accredited as a business communicator. Interview continued here... Accreditation Month If you have the qualifications and have always been interested in pursuing the ABC designation, now is the time to apply! IABC's Accreditation Program offers professional communicators a way to demonstrate their ability to think and plan strategically and to successfully manage the skills essential to achieving effective organizational communication. Submit your accreditation application and fee any time from 1st October through 15th November, and your name will be entered to win one of the following prizes:  See more info on IABC's website Quick Links IABC T&T Chapter IABC T&T Survey IABC International Accreditation Interview (IABC Caribbean) IABC Barbados Interview with IPRA Magazine Be Heard™ in High Definition! Just to let you know an IABC T&T sponsorship kit will be available shortly, but in the interim you can email Dexter Charles, V.P., Sponsorship & Advertising to discuss the advertising options on our Website, Communications Café, Podcasts and the upcoming sponsorship opportunities to promote your brand.  We pride ourselves in offering 'value for money', so you can expect maximum return on what is limited expenditure.    Thank you for your ongoing support IABCT&T is proud to have 84 active business communicators in its dynamic professional network.  Of the 84 communications professional, 31 percent, (26) have been with the Chapter since its inception in 2006.  These members are: Candace Ali; Wendy K Bishop; Lisa Ransome; Nadine Johnson; Sherma Mitchell;  Giselle La Ronde-West; Natasha A Mohammed; Alicia Lewis; Judette Coward-Puglisi (Founding President); Karel Stephen; Oneka Bushell; Wynell Gregorio; Nicole du Boulet; Maria Mohammed; Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill; Rhonda Jaipaul-O'Garro; Gerard Best; Heather Gem Ible; Karel McIntosh; Ayesha Boucaud; Richard Lawrence; Brevard Nelson; Caira E Cudjoe; Maria Rivas-McMillan; Patt Christopher and Carlon Kirton.  We thank you for your ongoing support of IABCT&T Chapter. My iabctt.com News feeds. Industry news. Best practices in communications.      If you've been having as much trouble as we have just keeping up with information, then you're in the right place.       IABC T&T's V.P. of Branding, Brevard Nelson, developed a new portal on www.iabctt.com with a customized feature, which allows you to have all your news in one spot, feeds from top Communication sites. Log on to the myiabctt section, click on my iabctt.com and enter your IABC ID (6 digit number) as your username and your first name (eg Frank, with the 1st Letter in CAPS).  Once logged in we encourage you to change your password in the Account section. Feel free to customize your page with the RSS feeds that you like. If your favourite feed is not there, email us at branding@iabctt.com so we can add it.  Your information gathering will never be the same again. 2009 Golden Quill Awards Local communicators are encouraged to enter the 2009 Golden Quill Awards.  IABCT&T members can visit IABC International Website for further information or view this article on Tips from a Judge for preparing a Golden Quill entry.