May President’s Column, Yankee Chapter 2024
From Robin Schell, APR, Fellow PRSA, Yankee Chapter President…
One of the most rewarding parts of serving as President of the Yankee Chapter this year is enjoying the success of our many hard-working committees and vol unteers – it has been so much fun to work with you all and to see the fruits of your labor! Thank you for all you do.
Our Membership Committee of Mark Elliott, APR (Chair), Clark Dumont, APR, Fellow PRSA, Keri Pappalardo and Mackenzie Kreitler has hosted two successful in-person socials in Concord (March) and Exeter (April). Thanks to Robin Giampa, APR, Director of Communications at Phillips Exeter Academy for hosting us on April 11th for an informative campus tour and a networking social at the Lamont Art Gallery. We were amazed at the creativity of the art exhibit – all pieces were submitted by Phillips Exeter Academy employees! Stay tuned for news of our next membership social, slated for Manchester in September.
For those who want to do a road trip to Freeport, ME — on Wed. May 8th, the Maine PR Council is hosting a member social from 5-7 p.m. at the Maine Beer Company entitled “Doing Good Through Great Beer”. This is a nice chance to meet our neighbors to the north (with a side benefit of getting in a little spring shopping at LL Bean!) To register: Maine PR Council Mixer & Social at Maine Beer Company – Yankee PRSA
By the way, we are creeping closer to our goal of 100 Yankee Chapter members … we are at 98 members right now! If you’re a new member looking to join a committee, please give me a call at 603/770-3607 to discuss the possibilities. If you’re looking for find out more about PRSA and Yankee Chapter membership, contact our chair, Mark Elliott, APR at melliott@velcro.com.
Our Professional Development Committee, led by Kristen Lestock and Denise Hutchins, has been meeting weekly with members of the Maine PR Council and the Boston PRSA Chapter to plan our multi-chapter half-day conference, “AI and PR: Sparking Curiosity, Removing Fear” that will be held May 29th from 8 a.m. – noon at the Nackey S. Loeb School in Manchester. Thanks to all of our sponsors to date: Easterseals NH; Northeast Delta Dental; the Nackey S. Loeb School; Jackson Jackson & Wagner and Boston PRSA/President Kelly McFalls. It’s not too late to become a sponsor, so if your organization is interested, please let me know before May 10th so we can include your logo on our website and in conference materials. For those who haven’t yet registered, here is the link: AI and PR Half-Day Workshop: Sparking Curiosity and Removing Fear – Yankee PRSA
If you are going to be in the Manchester area the night before the conference, on Tuesday, May 28th, we’re pulling together an informal dinner at Diz’s Café at 6:30 p.m. Diz’s Cafe: Restaurant on Elm Street in Downtown Manchester, NH (dizscafe.com). Please let me know by May 24th if you’d like to attend (cost is not included in the conference registration price).
Thanks to our Accreditation Committee, led by Mark Elliott, APR and Joe Gallagher, APR for coordinating the multi-chapter panel discussion on “Starting Your Accreditation Journey” on April 9th. We had a nice turnout for the live program. Thanks to our moderator Brad Belote, APR and panelists Cristal Steur, APR from the PRSA Greater Worcester Chapter; Greg Glynn, APR from Maine PR Council and Thomasena Shaw, APR from the PRSA Boston Chapter for sharing their insights. If you missed it, check out the recording: https://velcro.zoom.us/rec/share/mA8on6mh0LI_stsoXlUnti1K6ONQ-oB8YCx9YPct-Ci8vYs4XeOLtFJXFdsOqrkj.tvWgeCAmyJ7NNayE
Our Bylaws Committee, led by Jane Law, APR has put together a number of recommendations for updating our Bylaws – we will be discussing these at our next Board meeting on May 8th at 3 p.m.
Thanks to Donna Eason, APR and new Yankee Chapter member Mary Flowers for their work on the PRSSA Grants and Scholarships Committee – they have put together a proposal for our Board to discuss that involves transitioning our scholarship funds so we can support more PRSSA events and help graduating PRSSA students with scholarships to continue their membership and involvement in PRSA when they graduate.
Why Do PR Practitioners Need To Develop A Relationship With AI? Word of Wisdom From Tony D’Angelo, APR, Fellow PRSA
As we prepare for our upcoming half-day conference on “AI and PR”, we’ll be sharing insights from a variety of practitioners… the blog below captures the highlights from an interview with Tony D’Angelo, APR, Fellow PRSA, Professor of Practice at Syracuse University and Shelly Goldman, host of “Let’s Talk PR” on the impact of generative AI on the PR profession.
Why PR Practitioners Need to Develop a Relationship with AI – Yankee PRSA
New Member Spotlight On Tara Bishop
Want to get to know our new members better? Be sure to visit the “Meet A New Member” section of our website! This week, the new member spotlight is on Tara Bishop, Communications Director for the Diocese of Manchester, who is currently serving on the Communications Committee: https://www.yankeeprsa.org/new-member-profile-tara-bishop
PRSA’s DEI Initiatives
In April, PRSA ran a very informative presentation focused on inclusion of the Deaf community. Here is the link to the recording:
On May 16th, from 5-6 p.m. you can learn more about the issue of ageism in the program, “Diverse Dialogues: Shifting Perspectives – Age Is Just A Number”. To register:
Diverse Dialogues: Shifting Perspectives: Debunking ´Age Is Just a Number’ | PRSA
For more information about DEI initiatives, please contact our Yankee Chapter DEI Representative Jill Kimball, APR, Marketing Manager for Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, at j.kimball@nvrh.org.