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
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