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Ugh….Why Are We Switching Luncheon Venues?

If any of you have ever had to plan an event you know that three of the most important things to consider are venue, food, and price. So when our contract at the Sarasota Yacht Club was up for renewal, we as a board had to look at all three areas when deciding whether we should stay at the Yacht Club or choose a new venue for our monthly luncheons.

First, we looked at the venue choices. We needed to choose a venue that was centrally located for all members. This proved to be difficult, especially since we have members from Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice. Because our members are from a variety of areas the Yacht Club or downtown Sarasota venues were not the only choices.

Next we looked at food. Food is always an obstacle because everyone has different taste buds and most venues have the same menu….but charge very differently. So that brings us to price. The price is really what helped the board make its decision to switch venues. The Meadows Country Club was able to offer us a price that would allow our chapter to generate revenue-- revenue that will allow us to have additional funds for membership scholarships for those who cannot afford to join or renew, conference scholarships, and special event speakers. Isn’t that what FPRA is all about? Providing opportunity and education to our members? Pleasing everyone can be difficult but we hope you will understand the venue change and support our decision.

We know no matter where are luncheons take place that we have amazing members who are extremely supportive of our chapter and whom we hope to see at the January 24th luncheon that will be held at the Meadows Country Club. Ourspeaker, Maggie Lacher, will share how You Tube can increase your SEO and be more effective than your website.  She will also sharetricks and secrets to fully utilizing You Tube to help your company grow. In addition to You Tube, she will touch upon other social media tools for the advanced social media user. Sign up now: www.cwcfpra.com/events/
 
---Caroline Tanner, VP of Professional Development

 

The Meadows Country Club
3102 Longmeadow, Sarasota FL

941.371.6000

Please click image for details:

 

 

Julie Yeh, APR

I’m proud to be among 15 members in our chapter who’ve earned the APR.

They say timing is everything. For me, the time was right in 2010 to earn my Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

 
A career has a life span, just like we do. Many of us reach a point in our careers in which we feel a bit of
ennui – when we aren’t really sure if we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing, and if so, if we’re really good enough to be doing it. Those are the bad days.

On the good days, we feel passionate about our purpose and dedicated to being the best PR professionals we can be, and for me, that meant anteing up my commitment to myself and my career and, yes, committing to the APR process.

No one likes processes. It’s an ugly word. It means WORK, and work means TIME, and time means MONEY. But, I can tell you, as much as I resisted spending hours preparing for the APR Computer-based Exam and assembling my portfolio for the Readiness Review, I got out of it exactly what I put into it. A lot.

For example, I learned something about the origin and history of public relations. Are you familiar with the role propaganda played in World War I, and specifically how George Creel, Chairman of the Creel Committee, used the power of publicity to mobilize public opinion?  Good stuff.

Or do you understand what criteria people use to distinguish between a “professional” than, say, a repair shop technician, and why it’s significant to make the distinction?

What do you know about agenda-setting theory? Line versus staff management? How the First and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution – and especially the First – work against the argument for the requirement that PR professionals be licensed in order to practice (like a physician or attorney, e.g.)?

I also learned that I had come a long way as a PR professional, and that I had a lot to be proud of regarding what I had contributed to my organization over the years, and that I owed it to them, as much as I owed it to myself, to embrace the professional tenants of my field.

Professionalism. Ethics. Integrity. These are the components that compel us to do our best work. We should encourage and support the unification and professionalization of public relations and encourage more members to become accredited.

I am pleased to report that there are four members of the Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association who are currently working toward or have expressed an interest in earning their  APR.  Maybe you’ll be number 5. I’m looking forward to hearing from more of our members, and sharing with them the many benefits of accreditation.

APR Information Session: Thursday, November 3, 2011, 6-7:30 p.m. @ FCCI Insurance Group, 6300 University Parkway, Sarasota, FL  34240. Please RSVP today to Julie Yeh.

Blog post by Julie Yeh, APR
VP Accreditation, CWC-FPRA
& Supervisor, Corporate Communications, FCCI Insurance Group

Day in the Life Caroline Tanner, Easter Seals SW Florida

7:00 am- I am awakened by the sounds of my daughter, Isabela, giggling and calling out momma dadda over the baby monitor. I am not a morning person but this is a great way to wake up.

8:00 am- After playing in Dora's tent and watching some Elmo... hopefully everyone is dressed and fed as my husband heads to work and I am off to drop Isabella at daycare and then also head to work.

8:30 am- I pull into work and walk through the front door to be greeted by several "Good Mornings!" and maybe one "Good Afternoon!" which makes me feel better that I am not the only one that is not a morning person.

8:40 am- I settle into my office chair and begin to check and respond to new email. Then off to check and update our social media sites. Shameless plug: Be sure to like Easter Seals of Southwest Florida on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and add us to your circle on Google+.

 

 

 

9:00 am- Pick out art work by artists in our Art Initiative program as gifts to board members who are rotating off the board and order plaques for each art piece.

10:00 am- Amanda from the Bradenton Marauders stops by for a tour of our campus and to drop off 100 free tickts to their Monday night baseball game for our clients. Go Marauders!

 

10:30 am - Update our website with new featured items, art work, photos, and a blog.

12:00pm -It’s my coworker’s birthday so we are off to Station 400…I highly recommend the balsamic chicken. Happy Birthday Julie Smith!

1:00 pm- It's karaoke time for our clients!! "Beat it", "Walk the Line", and "You Light up My Life" echo into my office. I debate whether I should join in but the phone rings....saved from embarrassing myself.

 

 

 

1:30 pm- Need a little pep in my step to carry me through the afternoon so I put on Pandora Radio. Station of choice: The Counting Crows

1:45 pm- Look at my whiteboard (old school style) and check off a few things on my to do list:

• Schedule our next METV Program
• Make a video with my new Bloggie
• Work on Volunteer Program
• Finalize Walk With Me event details:  Saturday, November 5^th at Payne Park….come join us!

4:30 pm- Off to spin class...GO LEGS! Then another birthday celebration at Selva Grill with our out of town guests!

 

A Day in the Life of A Local Public Relations Agency Owner

Suzanne Dameron, Owner, Lime Communications

7:30 am. Check email. I’m waiting on a critical email. It will approve a message that will go out to a small group of people working behind the scenes to get a project rolling.

It’s Monday morning. I develop my to do list for the week and day while I’m waiting. I look over a proposal that I worked on last night. It’s for a special event in our community as well as an annual communcations plan. It needs a little tweaking.

8:00 am. Facebook - While searching for something that is relevant, timely and useful to post on our relatively recent Facebook page, I found a great slideshow about Flickr – in 30 seconds it spotlights several ways to utilize Flickr; the original slide show was designed for nonprofits but it works for all sectors. Here is the link www.slideshare.com. I use Hootsuite so I can post to several channels at once. Many people will be interested in this.

9:15 am. I arrive at the office at little later than usual since I was working at home this morning. I set right to reviewing and updating the critical contact lists for the project previously mentioned. Our agency is assisting in developing two contact lists: those who can endorse the project publicly and those who can work behind the scenes.  

10:15 am. Our intern arrives. She is taking on getting calendar items submitted for a special event as well as creating a targeted media list for another project. This talented student is from New College and she is a radio host on our local public radio station. 

10:30.  News Release: I begin working on two versions of a release. The first will be released if there is a a successful outcome to a client project. The second will be released if there is an unsuccessful outcome to a client project.

Noon: The executive director of a local nonprofit takes me to lunch. We are doing a pro bono project for them so it’s very thoughtful and unexpected. We discuss how Lime Communications can further help their environmental cause.

1:00. A staff assistant is back from vacation. We review the notes from a client meeting that took place right before she left town. The next project is the quarterly print newsletter. It is for an organization that has a NO social media policy. The print newsletter is an important piece of their communication plan.

1:30. I get a call about giving a presentation on social media to a non-profit in town. Yes! I enjoy doing this. Yes, I can include ten tips on blogging in 10 minutes with five minutes for Q&A!  

1:45. I begin working on a large, ambitious project. The organization wants both an interactive annual report and a print annual report. So we’re creating a hybrid. This will be our second digital annual report and we’re one of the few agencies in the country who have done one. There has been much discussion about the value of the annual report – the interactive digital version is a great answer to the dilemma. Today we’re reviewing print annual reports from around the country – so many great ideas!

4:45. I leave the office to attend a presentation run through with a client. Several board members and staff will meet to be the audience for the client making the presentation tomorrow morning. My press releases are ready – fingers crossed that the client presentation succeeds and the YES news release gets distributed.

6:30. The meeting ends. I head home.

A Day in the Life of Emily Zier

Emily Zier, interactive designer, atLarge, Inc.

 

My name is Emily. My co-workers call me EZ because… 

1. I break things up into baby steps so even the trickiest projects seem easier. I call it my "easy, done" setting.
2. We're pressed for time so we grab each other's initials over our first names.
3. It's an abbreviated version of "EZ Train"--a reference to my soccer days when I'd plough through any defensive line.

So, now that we're on a first-name basis--I can tell you more about my work. I'm an interactive designer with atLarge, Inc. What the heck does an "interactive" designer do? If you guessed jump up and down while designing--you're wrong. (It happens to the best of us.) As an interactive designer, I design everything except print campaigns. Usually, that means I'm working on social media campaigns, websites and mobile apps. I collaborate closely with atLarge programmers, writers and account managers along the way. 

Here's how my day typically starts:

I roll out of bed by 7.40AM ready to start the day. In case you can't tell--I'm a morning person;)

Why so chipper? The way I see it, I get paid to do something I love that I'm good at--why wouldn't I be stoked to meet the day? Plus, I paid buko bucks to go to the design school of my dreams--shout out to Pratt Institute --so I'm cashing in on my investment! (Actually, I will continue to make payments for the next 10 years but that's besides the point.) 

We're a pretty casual crew so I grab a sundress or jeans and a T and I'm set. If I'm meeting with a client, I'll lay out my clothes the night before. Otherwise, I grab what catches my fancy.

I roll into atLarge 5 minutes early so I'm ready to go right at 8.30AM.

This is my ready, set, go ritual:

• Start my coffee. 
• Greet my office mates. 
• Turn my computer on.
• Grab my coffee.
• Sit down at my desk.
• Put my glasses on.
• Slap the iPod on.
• Put the headphones on. (By the way--noise-canceling headphones are pure genius. If you don't have a pair, you're missing out. I like my Bose Triport headphones.) 

Now, I'm officially on the job. (Notice my serious game face.) 

I check my email to make sure no one needs anything new from me. (Off the hook for emergencies today.) Then, it's straight to my calendar to review due dates. Now, I set my priorities for the day. Looks like I'll be finalizing a set of logos, working on website comps, testing a mobile app I designed and working on the atLarge newsletter.

Here we go.

Fun with Logos

Just a few tweaks before my show-and-tell meeting with the client. Ahh, that's nice. 

Now, I'm off to a quick meeting with my client. They love it. Sigh. I've been working on this for two weeks so it's nice to see it all come together. 

 

Fun with Websites 

This project has been on my plate for six weeks now. Three weeks ago, I shared moodboards which are rough ideas for colors, treatments and overall look and feel. Last week, I shared rough design comps. Now, I'm in the homestretch. This week, I share my final round of design comps so I'm perfecting all the nitty gritty details and making sure the design flows throughout all the pages before I hand it of to our development team.

 

 

Date with atLarge Newsletter  

I love working on client projects but it's nice to come home to our own brand. Since our newsletter is shipping out in a couple days I lay out our August issue so it's ready on time.

Want to see the finished newsletter? Sign up for our newsletter stuffed with digital marketing goodies that's delivered to your inbox each month.  

 

App Check  

This is an iPhone app that we're launching in a few weeks. I'm troubleshooting to make sure my icons and treatments look right across the app. I document a couple of suggestions to discuss with the programming team in our next project meeting.  

 

Website Walkthrough  

This is a project that's in build. The designs were finished a couple weeks ago but this is my first look on the development site. I check for any inconsistencies in design treatments and any usability flaws that would make a visitor confused. We're having a walkthrough meeting with the client next week so I'll continue to check the site as the programming team moves along.

 

My Design Process  

As you can see, there's a lot of variety in the work I do. My process is always the same though. Here's a peak:

• I ask a lot of questions and read everything I can about a client's industry.
• I take scrupulous notes in every meeting and refer back to them often.
• To keep a client's big picture business goals in mind--I'll write them out on sticky notes and post them where I can see them. 
• I create wireframes and moodboards for every interactive design project. 
• I also keep a working Evernote notebooks for every project. (Quick rave on Evernote. I use it to capture everything I love online--a cool blog post idea, an awesome social media contest or a killer website. I snatch a screenshot and store it away. I have notebooks topics like buttons, footers, headers, navigation, image treatments and design elements.)
• I share designs early with clients to make sure that I'm headed in the right direction before I've spent too much time speeding down the wrong path. (I move fast because I'm still on New York time.) 
• Once designs are approved, I work with the rest of the team to bring them to life. 

 

Inspiration Check 

I need a little bit of inspiration so I have lunch with my online buddies. Let's go surfing. 

CMYBacon - Inspiring and funny things in the world of art & design

Dribbble - Show and tell for creatives

DesignWorkLife - Cataloging inspiration daily

Pattern Tap - Web Design Collections

 

Time for a Social Call  

Just a few minutes left in the day so I tweet some of the awesome design gems I found inspiration surfing. (Want to stay up to speed on my finds? Feel free to follow @EmilyZier and @atlargeinc for a daily dose of fun.) 

 

Whew, and before I know it--it's closing time!