2012: The Year of More!

Happy 2012, fellow PR pros!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and entered the year feeling rested, renewed and energized for all that the next 12 months have in store. Since those of us working in public relations are cut from the same cloth, my guess is that many of you did what I found myself doing as I hung up my new wall calendar: made a to-do list – written or mental – of things I’d like to accomplish before Dec. 31. I also suspect that at least one thing on your to-do list was related to your career. Because I have the honor of serving as PRSA Northeast Wisconsin’s president for the next year, that’s exactly where our to-do lists overlap.

For the Chinese, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. The Mayans believed it’s, well…something even scarier than that. But PRSA Northeast Wisconsin is touting 2012 as the Year of MORE! What does that mean? Simply put, we are enhancing nearly every element of our organization this year, which means YOU get MORE out of your membership and MORE tools to advance yourself professionally.

I’m really proud of the hard, smart work that our committees have been doing to prepare for 2012 over the last few months. They have heard the feedback our members shared during last year’s survey and are executing initiatives designed to give you, our members and future members, MORE of what you need and want to enhance your professional skill set and network.

One example is the first programming meeting of the year, which will be held Tuesday, Jan. 24, over lunch at The Marq in De Pere. We will be doing something we’ve never done before: a PR fire drill. Renowned PR and crisis management guru Evan Zeppos of Zeppos & Associates in Milwaukee (whose firm managed the Miller Stadium Big Blue disaster among many other crises) will lead us through an interactive exercise that both tests and teaches us. Oh, and did I mention that some members of our local media (Rich Ryman and Nathan Phelps of the Green Bay Press-Gazette and Brian Kerhin, news assignment manager at Fox 11) will participate, as well? This glimpse into how media minds work in a crisis will be invaluable to any PR pro! I think we’ll be talking about this meeting for years to come, so don’t miss out – register today!

I promise you’ll be seeing and hearing more about our new initiatives in the weeks and months to come. Until then, keep connected with us by coming to our meetings, reading E-News, and visiting prsanewis.org or our Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin pages! You’ll find MORE of what you’re looking for!

 Join us in January:
PR Fire Drill

Crisis. The mere word sends shudders down a PR professional’s spine. Why? Because when they hit, your organization’s ability to pull through will depend heavily on the rapid-fire strategic decisions you make, the counsel you provide and the actions you take. PRSA is kicking off 2012 with a can’t-miss program designed to make sure you’re ready.

Plan to join us at The Marq (De Pere) on Tuesday, January 24 for a lunch meeting. (Registration begins at 11:15.) Evan Zeppos, president and founder of the well-known Milwaukee-based public relations firm Zeppos & Associates, will lead us through an exercise that is sure to challenge your crisis management skills no matter where you fall on the career spectrum.

Evan will be joined by Rich Ryman and Nathan Phelps (business editor and reporter at the Green Bay Press-Gazette) and Brian Kerhin (news assignment manager for Fox 11). Evan will present our media friends as well as our group of PR pros with a real-life scenario…and then guide us through the management of that crisis situation and the critical decisions and actions that must be handled.

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity! Not only will you get to see and hear how the news media digests a breaking news story, but you will also get a better understanding of how their approach to a crisis intersects with ours. In doing so, we’ll all learn how to manage a crisis in a way that allows us to work more effectively with the media while also helping our organizations manage through the event – preserving, and perhaps enhancing, reputations along the way.  

Tuesday, January 24, 2012
11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

The Marq, De Pere 

Tickets:
$20 Northeast Wisconsin PRSA Members
$30 non-Northeast Wisconsin PRSA Members and guests

$15 Undergraduate Students

Register Today!

Hold the Date: 2012 Midwest District Conference Planned for July

Preparations are under way for the 2012 PRSA Midwest District Conference, which will be held July 19-20, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois. Many thanks to the Chicago Chapter for volunteering to host this event.

This conference will be the PRSA Midwest District’s first district-wide event in many years, and we expect to attract up to 200 public relations professionals. Attendees include owners or partners of small- to mid-size firms, independent practitioners, corporate communicators, public relations practitioners working in government and with non-profit organizations and young professionals, all of whom come to the conference to connect with colleagues and get new ideas and share best practices that can immediately be implemented in the workplace. The theme for the this year’s conference will be Reestablishing the Value Proposition: Trust and Transparency in PR.

If you’re interested in presenting, PRSA has issued this call for presentations. Other questions can be directed to Jim Streed, APR, who is working with the Chicago planning committee.

Welcome New Member Noelle Casiano!

Q: Where do you work? What is your role at the company?    
I work for Ministry Health Care at Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield. Our organization has about 15 hospitals and more than 20 clinics in northern and central Wisconsin. http://ministryhealth.org/MinistryHealth.nws

 
Q: Please share some of your education/employment background.
I grew up in Auburndale, Wis. and attended UW-Oshkosh for my undergrad in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and graduated in 2007. I was a PRSSA member for a little more than a year while in school and also worked at Sprint as a Sales Consultant. In 2008 I moved back to Auburndale and started at Ministry Health Care as a marketing assistant. This year I was promoted to my public relations role and joined PRSA to connect with other public relations associates. I have recently started my Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing online through Walden University. I am in my first class and so far I am learning quite a bit and not just about the subject matter. It has been interesting juggling work, events, family and school.

Q: Describe your typical day. 

My typical day consists of writing press releases or some form of internal communication for a variety of events, notices or announcements. I also am a liaison for those at our hospital and our marketing department that is stationed off site. I help produce brochures, pamphlets, etc. and am part of our social media team that handles the Ministry Health Care Facebook fan page, Twitter account, etc. There always seems to be some sort of event going on that I am planning or helping with.

Q: What do you hope to get out of PRSA?

I hope to network with others and learn from them by gaining more knowledge and strategies in the field. The meetings have been a wonderful opportunity for me to meet people and everyone is more than willing to help and to answer questions.

Q: Any hobbies?

In my free time I enjoy reading and spending time with family, especially my niece and nephews. The joy on their faces is priceless when I am playing Barbies or farm with them. I also like to digitally scrap book, play board games and play sand volleyball at our park in the summer.

January Anniversary Shout-Outs!

 We asked your fellow Northeast Wisconsin PRSA members with January anniversaries to give us their expert advice on the following— 

"What is your New Year's resolution this year?"

 "In 2012 I resolve to get enough sleep. It may not sound tough, but this is recycled from last year so that tells you something about my success so far." — Rachel Lom, Write Image, LLC (member, 9 years)

"I love to cook but have trouble finding recipes in my collection. I want to scan my favorites, save them on a jump drive and always have them accessible.” — Nancy Whitton, Menasha Corporation (member, 5 years)

Other January anniversaries include:

8 years:
Erin Elliott, Hiebing

1 year:
Daniele Frechette, UW - Green Bay

Linda Johnson, Manitowoc Foodservice