 | Jenny Baker
2012-2013 DP/PC Chapter President |
This year is off to a great start, and we have a number of remarkable programs planned for the future. Please be sure to add this month's meeting (Wednesday, October 17, 2012) to your calendar. The director of the Mulberry Phosphate Museum, Jessie Ward will be discussing "Starting from Scratch: Bringing a Small Organization into the 21st Century." Don't forget to RSVP with Amy Wiggins at awiggins@LakelandChamber.com. Also, if you attended last month's meeting you noticed that our food was in the back of our meeting room at the Lakeland Yacht & Country Club (LYCC). The main buffet pricing no longer fits in our budget and we didn't want to increase our member fee beyond $20. So we will now have one meat/protein option, one starch, one vegetable, tossed salad, soup of the day and a platter of cookies for lunch.
Secondly, we have set the date for our popular media breakfast, which will be held Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at the Lake Myrtle complex in Auburndale. Please keep in mind this will take the place of our March meeting at the LYCC. Our 2nd Annual Carillon Classic 5k Run & Walk is set for Saturday, May 25, 2013 at Bok Tower Gardens. These two great events allow you to get involved in FPRA and get the most out of membership! If you would like to volunteer on the Media Breakfast committee, please contact the chair Rosa Driggs (rosadriggs@polkfl.com), and for the Carillon Classic, contact one of the co-chairs Katy Martin (Katy.Martin@lrmc.com) or Marybeth Soderstrom (Marybeth_Soderstrom@polkworks.org).
I would like to thank our members who took time out of their busy schedules to fill out the Annual Member Survey. Your response will help our board plan different events and professional development opportunities throughout this year. Again, we truly appreciate your time and involvement.
All of you should have all received your membership renewal letters in the mail by now. I encourage you to get those turned in as soon as possible. The deadline to renew before the price increase is October 31, 2012. If for some reason you haven't received your renewal letter, please let me know.
Last, but not least, we are looking for monthly meeting sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring one of our luncheons or know someone, please contact our fundraising chair, Rosa Driggs for all the details.
If you have questions or concerns about any of the information above, please don't hesitate to call (863-904-4654) or email (JBaker@WatsonClinic.com) me. I look forward to hearing from you.
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| Calling All Former Interns |
Have you recently had a PR/Communications intern from Florida Southern or Southeastern? DP/PC Student Liaison Jessica Lawson is looking for previous interns who are still at one of the local colleges and may be interested in joining the student chapters. Please send students' contact information to jlawson@spcaflorida.org. Also, if you're in need of an intern, please let Jessica know as that will be one of the student chapter initiatives moving forward this year. Thank you!
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Renewals
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Thank you to the following members for renewing:
Jennifer Bush
Josh Hallett
James DeGennaro
Susan Clayton Black
Cindy Rodriguez
Kris Keprios
Nancy Martinez
Jennifer Cooper Baker
Cathy Wolosin
James Frankowiak, APR
Kristin Guira
Fernando Valverde, APR, Fellow PRSA
Bradley Ruhmann
Donna Sheehan
Amy Wiggins
Kelly Rote
Callie Neslund
Cyndi Jantomaso
Chrstine Nikdel
Katie Worthington
Be sure to renew before Oct. 31 to avoid a price increase!
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| Member News |
Thank you, Thank you very much!
Immediate Past President Danny Kushmer received a beautiful plaque at the September meeting to thank him for his service during the past year. He is pictured above with (from left to right) Marybeth Soderstrom, Jenny Baker, Kristin Guira, Sheree Saulter, Jessica Lawson, Cassie Jacoby, Jim DeGennaro.
Organization-wide Public Relations Makes First Annual SPCA Florida Event a Huge Success
On September 22, SPCA Florida and its McClurg Animal Medical Center opened its Campus of Kindness to the community for an engaging, educational behind-the-scenes look. More than 1,000 community members are estimated to have taken the medical center tour during which they learned about the importance of vaccinations, heartworm prevention and nutrition. Attendees viewed two live surgeries, and kids were able to have their stuffed animals mended during teddy bear surgery. Jessica Lawson, Director of Community Relations attributes the successful event due to organization-wide public relations plan that included word of mouth buzz from staff and volunteers, posters and fliers distributed prior to Downtown's 'Dog Days of Summer' First Friday event, extensive media pitching and follow-up (resulting in at least three large newspaper blurbs/photo ops), social media and email marketing. Paid radio advertising was also used in conjunction with a live radio broadcast during the event.
Congratulations are in order!
THE LAKELAND AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE was honored by the Florida Association of Chamber Professional for its excellence in public relations and communications. The 2012 Public Relations Program Award was presented for the Chamber's 2012 "I Can..." awareness and branding campaign. This campaign featured Chamber members from all industries and highlighted the opportunities that Chamber membership provides for businesses in Lakeland.
AMY WIGGINS, vice president of communications for the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce, was among the first statewide class to receive Florida Certified Chamber Professional status from the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals. This certification is reserved for a chamber professional with five or more years of service in Chamber management and program development.
  What's Danny up to? Danny Kushmer is enjoying his role visiting other chapters as VP of Chapter Services on the State Board. He is pictured here with (left) Leah Saunders, Tampa Chapter President, and (right) Ashley Mock, Treasure Coast Chapter President, where he installed their new boards last month.
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| October Speaker |  |
Starting From Scratch: Bringing a Small Organization into the 21st Century
Jessie Ward, Director of the
Mulberry Phosphate Museum
10/17/12 at 11:30 LYCC RSVP
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| Happy Anniversary! | |
Ginnie Duffey Troyer, APR, CPRC
- 40 years
Cindy Sternlicht - 30 years
Frances McMichael, APR, CPRC
- 28 years
Susan Clayton Black - 10 years
Kris Keprios - 8 years
Shirley Whitney - 8 years
James Frankowiak, APR - 6 years
Cathy Wolosin - 6 years
Daniel Kushmer - 5 years
Callie Neslund - 1 year
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| October Sponsor |
facebook.com/PolkAcademies
Contact Rosa Driggs at rosadriggs@polkfl.com or
863-701-5247 if you would like
to be a sponsor.
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| Quick Links |
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| Newsletter Notes |
If you would like to submit content and photos for the newsletter, contact newsletter editor Jennifer Olivier at jolivier@fphi.org.
Toot your horn! We are happy to include your new job/baby/degree/
certification/promotion/wedding
announcement, etc.
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| Save these Dates! |
10/11 - FPRA Board Meeting
10/17 - FPRA Monthly Meeting
3/19/13 - Media Breakfast
5/25/13 - Carillon Classic 5k Run & Walk
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| Gentle Reminder |
If you have not done so already, please take a few moments to complete the survey you received via email from FPRA State President Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC about the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB). Your input is very valuable!
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