Kicking Off the Year Ahead
Dear Yankee Members,
It is a pleasure to serve as this year’s president. Lisa Lance has left us in a strong position from which to move forward. It is clear: Yankee PRSA is strong.
We are financially stable, highly respected across the Northeast District, and delivering professional development and programming that other chapters look to as a benchmark. Now, our work is about focus, follow-through, and translating that strength into measurable growth.
Below is how I’m framing our year ahead.
Our Big Picture Goal is Future Proofing
Sustain Momentum — Don’t Lose the Thread
We’ve built something that works:
- Strong, consistent communications
- High-quality, relevant professional development
- A chapter culture people genuinely value
Our priority is not reinvention — it’s execution at a higher level. That means planning earlier, coordinating better across committees, and assigning clear ownership so great ideas don’t stall.
Grow Membership in a Measurable Way
This year’s membership goal is straightforward and intentional:
- Reach 100 members.
That milestone matters — not just symbolically, but structurally (Leadership Assembly representation) and strategically. Getting there requires:
- Clear value messaging, segmented by career stage
- Stronger conversion of engaged non-members
- Continued personal outreach paired with smarter digital targeting
Growth is not one committee’s job. It’s the result of Professional Development, Communications, and Membership working together.
Lead with Professional Development
Professional development remains our strongest differentiator — and our most powerful membership driver.
This year, we will:
- Continue AI programming, but go deeper and more practical
- Expand crisis communications beyond case studies to anticipation and recovery
- Offer a mix of virtual, in-person, and series-based formats
- Be intentional about audiences, especially Vermont, healthcare, education, nonprofit, and marketing-communications professionals
PD planning will happen earlier, with a clearer annual calendar, so Communications can promote effectively and Members can plan ahead.
Be Clear About Who We Are — and Who We’re For
Public relations today is not siloed, and neither are our members’ roles. Our messaging needs to reflect reality:
- Integrated communications
- Marketing, PR, government, nonprofit, healthcare, and higher ed
- Professionals at every career stage
This year, we’ll focus on telling our story better—through testimonials, clearer website language, and consistent messaging that explains why Yankee PRSA matters no matter where you sit in your career.
How We’ll Work This Year
To make all of this happen:
- Committees will prioritize a small number of achievable goals
- Chairs will bring clear budget requests tied to outcomes
- We’ll use calendars—editorial, PD, and events—to stay aligned
- Tasks will be assigned clearly, with owners and deadlines
We are a volunteer organization, but we will operate with professional discipline. That’s how we respect each other’s time and deliver results.
I’m incredibly optimistic about this year. The ideas are strong. The people are committed. Now it’s about moving from conversation to action.
Thank you for your belief in this chapter.
Let’s get to work.
Best,
Kim MacLeod, APR
President, Yankee PRSA
kmmacleod7@gmail.com
Share Your Thoughts on Local News in New Hampshire
The Granite State News Collaborative, a New Hampshire nonprofit network of 20+ local news, education, and community organizations working to strengthen journalism, is seeking input on local news through its Community News Survey.
In an interview published on Ink Link, Melanie Plenda, executive director of the Granite State News Collaborative and host of “The State We’re In,” said the goals of the survey are to shape coverage across the state, make sure news outlets are covering topics people care about, and help news outlets deliver news in the way people consume it. “It’s really going to help us to better understand how people are interacting with news, — whether they’re even consuming local news, and if not, why not? And how we might bring them back to local news,” she said.
The survey will be open until February 1. Learn more about the Granite State News Collaborative and take the survey here.
Event Recap: The Ins and Outs of Influencer Marketing
Strategies from Multiple Perspectives
By Casey Huczko, Intern at Cultivate
On September 5, 2025, influencer marketing experts Lindsay Bumps, Erin Torres, and Nick Mattera joined a panel discussion on influencer marketing. Organized by the Yankee Chapter of PRSA and Cultivate, a Burlington, VT-based PR and communications agency, with moderation by Lisa Lance, Yankee PRSA Chapter President and Abbey Berger-Knorr, Senior PR & Communications Associate at Cultivate and Yankee PRSA Member, the event explored strategies for finding success in today’s crowded influencer landscape.
April 2015 Yankee PRSA e-newsletter
Last Call: Take Our Member Survey by April 10 & Enter to Win!
If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to participate in our Member Survey and get entered to win a $25 Common Man gift card. Each year we strive to provide you the utmost value in your Yankee Chapter PRSA membership. We need to hear how we can make the Yankee Chapter better serve you!
Breaking Down Barriers: Improving the Relationships Between PR Professionals & Journalists
“The conflict between Romeo and Juliet can be compared to the relationship between journalists and public relations professionals. They rely on one another, but there are many forces that split them apart,” says blogger Adreanne Peters.
Join us on Wednesday, April 15, for our annual Breaking Down Barriers Media Panel featuring:
- Jack Rodolico, Health & Science Reporter at NHPR
- David Sakowich, Assignment Director at WMUR-TV
- Jeff Feingold, Editor at New Hampshire Business Review
- Holly Ramer, Reporter at the Associated Press
Panelists will discuss how to break through the clutter, how to make your pitch stand out, the best way to connect with them, and more.
Date: Wednesday April 15, 2015 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Location: Southern New Hampshire University, Banquet Hall, 2500 North River Road, Hooksett, NH 03106
Bradley Scholarship Applications Due May 1
Undergraduate students, who will achieve “sophomore,” “junior,” or “senior” grade level by fall 2015, or graduate students at an accredited, degree-granting college or university in Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont who have a declared major in a public relations-related field, are encouraged to apply for the James H. Bradley Memorial Scholarship sponsored by the Yankee Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. The $500 scholarship will recognize the student’s academic achievements, leadership, and commitment to public relations. Deadline: May 1, 2015.
Chapter Member in the Spotlight: Ashley Januszewski
Ashley Januszewski
Among Yankee PRSA’s newest members is Ashley Januszewski, Digital Media Specialist for NH Higher Education Assistance Foundation (NHHEAF). Ashley’s career began shortly after her graduation from Merrimack College in 2011 when she worked for an e-commerce company in Nashua. Today, Ashley is primarily responsible for the digital strategies associated with marketing NHHEAF and its sister agencies. From shepherding a recent web redesign to creating unique email campaigns, social media integration and leading several design efforts, Ashley’s diverse skills are making a big impact in helping NHHEAF to support New Hampshire’s college bound families.
Ashley’s membership in Yankee PRSA is directly related to her desire to help NHHEAF communicate effectively with diverse public audiences and increase its national customer base. A natural leader with charisma and great sense of humor, Ashley is eager to learn more about opportunities for involvement in the Chapter.
When not collaborating with the Community Engagement team at NHHEAF, Ashley visits with friends, family (including her three younger sisters) and Pomeranians. As a new homeowner, Ashley has discovered a love of gardening and home decorating. An outdoor enthusiast, Ashley enjoys the beauty of New Hampshire.
Ethics Quiz: What Would YOU Do?
Join the conversation in our monthly ethics feature, “What Would You Do?” The scenario posed is similar to what you may find in the APR exam, and tests your ability to identify the best PR approach to address a situation. Here’s this month’s scenario:
Identity crisis:
You work for a public relations firm. A trucking client requests that your firm dedicate a person to their account. You are assigned for six months to this client and will work in their trucking office full-time.
How do you introduce yourself to a local reporter doing a business story on the company?
Join the dialog and post your answer, comments and questions on the YPRSA Facebook or LinkedIn pages. A gift certificate will be awarded for the first correct response!
NOTE THIS
Like Us on Facebook and Stay in the Know!
Stay up to date with PR news of interest at the YPRSA Facebook page. Like us on Facebook and join the conversation!
10 Ways to Maximize Your PRSA Membership
Do you know how to make your PRSA membership work for you? Learn how.
Join PRSA in April and Receive Free Section Membership
New members joining PRSA through April 30 will receive a free Section membership! See application page for details.
The Power of the APR
Interested in exploring how to acquire professional accreditation? Contact Jane Law, APR or Rosemarie Rung, APR or Mary Ellen Hettinger, APR.
Looking for a Job?
Visit the YPRSA Jobs Board to view regional job postings, like this one: Communications Associate for Gateways Community Services based in Nashua, NH. Visit the PRSA Jobcenter for additional local, regional and national job opportunities.
Free Member Webinars
PRSA webinars are a FREE benefit of membership. Make the most of your membership – check out these upcoming live webinars – also available on demand:
Apr. 14 | Google Analytics for PR Pros
Apr. 30 | The Power of Brand Journalism
View the complete list of upcoming PRSA events >>
KEEP IN TOUCH
Got news you want your fellow YPRSA members to know about? E-mail AnnMarie French, e-news editor!
Watch your inbox for news about upcoming YPRSA professional development seminars and other news. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to our LinkedIn group.
March 2015 YPRSA e-Newsletter
Survey Says! March 25 Session Explores Science of Surveys
Andy Smith
UNH Survey Center Director Andy Smith will discuss the most basic research tool – the survey – at the March YPRSA professional development seminar. He’ll explore how to determine when you need a survey, the right questions to ask, and how to design an effective survey. Examples of good and bad survey questions will be reviewed, and he’ll discuss pros and cons of various survey options.
This session will be held Wednesday, March 25 from 3-5 pm at New Hampshire Housing in Bedford, NH.
Save the Date: Upcoming Chapter Sessions
Media Roundtable, April 15: YPRSA’s annual media roundtable will be held at Southern New Hampshire University April 15th from 4-6 p.m. Panelists include Jeff Feingold, NHBR; Holly Ramer, AP; Jack Rodolico, NHPR; and Dave Sakowich, WMUR.
Inside Air Travel, May 20: Get an insider’s tour of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport on May 20th from 2-4 p.m., followed by group discussion.
All workshop and professional development details available on our website!
Great deals: PRSA Membership Promotions
February’s FREE Chapter Promotion Extended Until March 5!
March Promotion: Free Section Membership
New members who join PRSA as a Regular Member in March will receive a free one-year Professional Interest Section Membership of their choice. Current/renewing members pay only $40 for a new one-year Section membership.
Read All About It: Northeast District Launches e-Newsletter
The premier issue of the quarterly PRSA Northeast District News, the Northeast District’s first e-newsletter, was sent February 12th to the more than 1,000 PRSA members across the District’s seven states and eight chapters. PRSA Northeast District News also links to our District’s new website.
If you are a PRSA member and you did not receive the first issue, please contact your local chapter leadership. If you are not a PRSA member, these new resources give you two more good reasons to join!
Chapter Member in the Spotlight: Amanda Flitter
Amanda Flitter
Amanda Flitter has worked in nonprofit marketing and communications for nearly five years and has a special interest in social media content and strategy. In her current role as Communications Administrator, Web Content Manager at New Hampshire Housing, she writes content for and monitors social media, administers their external and internal websites, designs marketing materials, takes photos and videos of clients and projects, and creates press content.
She is an alumna of the AmeriCorps VISTA program, through which she volunteered full-time for two years in development and marketing capacities at Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of New Hampshire and Families in Transition, both located in Manchester, New Hampshire. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, she holds a B.A. in English/Journalism and International Affairs. She currently serves on the Professional Development Committee for Yankee PRSA. When she’s not at her desk you can find her on a yoga mat or curled up with yarn and a crochet hook.
Ethics Quiz: What Would YOU Do?
Join the conversation in our monthly ethics feature, “What Would You Do?” The scenario posed is similar to what you may find in the APR exam, and tests your ability to identify the best PR approach to address a situation. Here’s this month’s scenario:
Imitation is the sincerest form…
You are writing a white paper to support legislation your organization is advancing. You find a newspaper editorial online that makes the case for this legislative initiative perfectly.
May you use the arguments set forth in the editorial in your white paper?
Join the dialogue and post your answer, comments and questions on the YPRSA Facebook or LinkedIn pages. A gift certificate will be awarded for the first correct response!
NOTE THIS
Assist a PRSSA Chapter with Survey
Husson University’s PRSSA Chapter members are working on a national competition to promote DIRECTV’s refer-a-friend program. They have developed an online survey for people who have DIRECTV to complete. If you don’t have DIRECTV, you can help by sharing the survey on your social media sites.
2015 James Bradley Memorial Scholarship Applications Due May 1, 2015
The $500 scholarship will recognize the student’s academic achievements, leadership, and commitment to public relations. See application page for details.
Like Us on Facebook and Stay in the Know!
Stay up to date with PR news of interest at the YPRSA Facebook page. Like us on Facebook and join the conversation!
10 Ways to Maximize Your PRSA Membership
Do you know how to make your PRSA membership work for you? Learn how.
Join PRSA in March and Receive Free Section Membership
New members joining PRSA through March 31 will receive a free Section membership! See application page for details.
The Power of the APR
Interested in exploring how to acquire professional accreditation? Contact Jane Law, APR or Rosemarie Rung, APR or Mary Ellen Hettinger, APR.
Looking for a Job?
Visit the YPRSA Jobs Board to view regional job postings, like this one: Communications and Marketing Manager for UNH Cooperative Extension. Visit the PRSA Jobcenter for additional local, regional and national job opportunities.
Free Member Webinars
PRSA webinars are a FREE benefit of membership. Make the most of your membership – check out these upcoming live webinars – also available on demand:
Mar. 17 | Creating Powerful IMC Strategies and Linked Tactics
Mar. 24 | Eyes on the Prize: Future of Visual Communications
View the complete list of upcoming PRSA events >>
KEEP IN TOUCH
Got news you want your fellow YPRSA members to know about? E-mail AnnMarie French, e-news editor!
Watch your inbox for news about upcoming YPRSA professional development seminars and other news. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to our LinkedIn group.
December 2014 Yankee PRSA e-Newsletter
Five Days at Memorial – Life & Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital
Thursday, Jan. 29, 9-10 a.m. (Free Members-Only Webinar:)
Yankee PRSA members should enter the discount code GUEST when registering.
Join author Sheri Fink, MD who will discuss her New York Times best seller by the same title. After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients fast for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths. Five Days at Memorial, the culmination of six years of reporting, unspools the mystery of what happened in those days, bringing the reader into a hospital fighting for its life and into a conversation about the most terrifying form of health care rationing.
About the Presenter
Sheri Fink is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital (Crown, 2013), winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction, the Ridenhour Book Prize, the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
Learn more and register now! >>
Annual Meeting Highlights, Approval of New Officers
L-F: Moderator Tom Bebbington, Jim Fantini, Adam Vaccaro (photo by Matt Chagnon)
Yankee Chapter members and guests were treated to an insider’s view of last summer’s Market Basket protest of the firing of long-time CEO Arthur T. DeMoulas at the chapter’s Annual Meeting November 20 at Red River Theatres in Concord.
Moderator Tom Bebbington, Jim Fantini, Adam Vaccaro (photo by Matt Chagnon)
Tom Bebbington moderated a panel discussion that featured Adam Vaccaro, a business reporter with Boston.com who covered the protests from beginning to end, and Jim Fantini, a long-time vendor to Market Basket who orchestrated the “We Are Market Basket” Facebook group employees used to organize and rally.
Following up on the discussion, the November 23rd edition of the Concord Monitor carried this story about Market Basket called “Market Basket Official: How’d we do it? We just did it.”
The December 7 issue of the Concord Monitor carried this article by Sarah Palermo, which features comments from YPRSA Chapter members Rosemarie Rung and Brett St. Clair:
Also during the annual meeting, Jason Alexander, founder of Alexander Technology Group, was presented the chapter’s annual Patrick Jackson Award. The award recognizes a professional who is not in the public relations field but nonetheless successfully uses public relations principles to benefit his or her organization and society.
During the business segment of the meeting, members elected the 2015 chapter leadership team, headed by president Erin Hathaway of CCA for Social Good.
Copies of the Yankee Chapter’s 2014 Annual Report also were distributed at the meeting.
Chapter Member in the Spotlight: Jon Boroshok
I’m a matchmaker and story teller. My strength is engagement — with consumers, management businesses, and students (I can even collaborate with Millennials). Through public relations and marketing communications, I create a positive user experiences and build community. I interview experts and customers, and tell their stories through earned media and case studies.
After years of agency and corporate PR experience in the New York City and Boston areas, I started a boutique agency specializing in marcom for start-ups through large corporations.
I also served as an Adjunct Instructor at Emerson College and Bentley University. I won a Bentley Service Learning Faculty Award, and was the adviser of Emerson’s PRSSA chapter. In September 2011, I moved my PR practice to a project basis, and became a full-time instructor in Communication at Southern New Hampshire University. I’m helping to build up SNHU’s Comm program and also serve as Newspaper Adviser. With help from YPRSA, I also established the first PRSSA chapter in NH.
While still relatively new to YPRSA, I’ve met some great people who are always willing to lend a hand or offer advice and expertise. YPRSA members have been guest speakers in my classes and were so supportive in helping start SNHU’s PRSSA chapter. Their excitement and enthusiasm is contagious, and I think my students are starting to recognize YPRSA’s wealth of experience, wisdom, and networking opportunities.
Twitter: @JBWrites
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/boroshok
Web: www.JournalistForHire.com
Note This
Like Us on Facebook and Stay in the Know! Stay up to date with PR news of interest at the YPRSA Facebook page. Like us on Facebook and join the conversation!
10 Ways to Maximize Your PRSA Membership
Do you know how to make your PRSA membership work for you? Learn how.
The Power of the APR
Interested in exploring how to acquire professional accreditation? Contact Brett St. Clair, APR or Bob Lindquist, APR.
Looking for a Job?
Visit the Yankee PRSA Jobs Board to view regional job postings. Our latest posting: Communications and Organizing Manager for NH Voices for Health. Check it out! Visit the PRSA Jobcenter for additional local, regional and national job opportunities.
Free Member Webinars
PRSA webinars are a FREE benefit of membership. Make the most of your membership – check out these upcoming live webinars – also available on demand:
Jan. 22 | Digital Media and Today’s News Release
Jan. 27 | Twitter PR Secrets
View the complete list of upcoming PRSA events >>
KEEP IN TOUCH
Got news you want your fellow YPRSA members to know about? E-mail AnnMarie French, e-news editor! Watch your inbox for news about upcoming Yankee PRSA professional development seminars and other news. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to our LinkedIn group.